Tour Divide 2010

[cbillman]

Speaking of single-speeds ... here's an article from Oklahoma Living Magazine by Jon Billman about a Pan-Oklahoma trek he took 2 years ago. I drove his butt out to the tip of the panhandle, where OK meets Colorado and NM and he rode back east 651 miles to the Arkansas border in about a week's time.

http://www.ok-living.coop/media/July08.pdf

I think this quote sums up some of the appeal of SS bikes:
"... exactly what I wanted: an aluminum, single-speed, rigid mountain bike with fat tires and pincher brakes for the price of two pair of high-tech running shoes. Why a single-speed—one gear—33 teeth on the chain ring and 18 on the rear cog? Simplicity. Asceticism, maybe."

[Surly Gourmet]

SS stands for Single Speed. Single as in one. So a filp flop hub or having an extra, different sized gear would make it a two speed.

[DaveH]

OK, some qualified SS person has to fill me in on the SS  classing and mystique.....Are they slower overall? Is it is kind of like of like recumbent vs. upright? What about 26" bikes vs. 29"?  

SS can be faster - and can be slower.  It's really course dependent.  I have done extensive riding on both gears and SS with power meters, and I can say without a doubt the SS is more efficient than gears (meaning less energy required to cover a specific route as measured at the hub).  The current course record for the Grand Loop was done on a SS, as well as the 2nd fastest ride on the same loop.

The SS efficiency advantage starts to kick in for longer events.  XC racing not so much - you get dropped on the flats.  12 hours and beyond it can help.

Of course some routes aren't that kind for SS.  Super steep sustained climbs + long flats = off the back.  If it's just one or the other you can gear appropriately for it.  I have not done the divide but imagine there is a lot of both.  Can't really say...but based on Plesko's ride I'd think it is close to a wash.  Until you add mud to the picture then reliability is certainly a plus.

As for changing gear mid-ride?  It's a moot point, by the time a rider needs to change a gear it's too late, they are screwed!  It's really an ethical question but I don't see it as changing the outcome.

[Esent]

Anyone know if Forest Baker's SPOT is malfunctioning or if he has a problem?

Keep going riders, don't let the mud bring you down.

[ktucker]

 
So sorry to see that Eric Lobeck is having problems hope he gets going soon.
Here is a BIG  WAY  TO  GO  for Eric Bruntjen moving on up to 4th maybe
even 3rd

[ktucker]

 
OPS the head banger was for Eric Bruntjen not Eric Lobeck
I need one with a tear drop for him  Don't give
up Eric L

[ksb]

I'm new to the forum but addicted to the Tour Divide leaderboard. Looks like Matt Lee is holed up in a rental cabin near at the base of Sawtell Peak Rd. Hasn't moved for an hour and Google maps shows his location to be near Island Park Rental Cabins.
I was also thinking that altho' the mud will jam up the rear of the bike, Matt is running a single-bladed Lefty fork which will prevent/reduce mud gathering at the front as he has no fork bridge.

[bruce.b]

   I've been riding SS only since the mid 1990's. I've ridden a ton with multi geared riders and my experience is pretty much what DaveH wrote. Long flats that aren't technical is where you get dropped big time by the gearies. Climbs not as much. If it's so steep you can't ride it you usually don't lose a whole lot walking. The most annoying aspect for a singlespeeder is how darn slow most multi gear riders climb. It works a lot better to stay on top of the gear at least somewhat (meaning to not go so slow that you're turning the pedals super slowly) on the SS. I try to get to the front for climbs and usually have to wait at the top for most of the gearies.
   I still find it kind of amazing what you can climb on a SS. On my pure offroad bike geared at about 46 inches I can climb all but the steepest trails that I can climb geared. The main limiter is when my knees get too hot and the grease in them begins to smoke.
   When I head out on a all day ride on the bikepacker geared at 55 inches I find that the flat pavement sections feel too slow, for the first hour or two. After that I get in a groove (get tired?) and usually feel great and in just the right gear for the rest of the day unless I bonk. Then almost any gear feels too big. I never have a problem with walking steep offroad climbs, I've been doing it so long it just seems normal. There's not a whole lot of paved climbs I can't clear at 55".
    bruce.b

[ztirffritz]

So sorry to see that Eric Lobeck is having problems hope he gets going soon.
Here is a BIG  WAY  TO  GO  for Eric Bruntjen moving on up to 4th maybe
even 3rd

I'm not sure how Eric Bruntjen is doing it.  I've been on rides with him and he is a monster, but ALL of these riders are phenomenal, yet he is eating up the course.  Everyone else seems to have slowed down and he seems to be actually going faster...Go Eric.  All of us in Yakima are pulling for him.  I want to see all the training pay off.  He said he was feeling sick in his only call-in so far.  Maybe that just makes him angry like the Hulk or something like that.

[krefs]

Looks like Matt Lee is holed up in a rental cabin near at the base of Sawtell Peak Rd. Hasn't moved for an hour and Google maps shows his location to be near Island Park Rental Cabins.

There's dinner to be had there! 

[ScottM]

From Todd Ison:

The attached photos were taken of Matthew Lee, the current leader of the Great Divide Tour, on Red Rock Road with the Centennial Mountains in the background looking west .  Matthew had just crossed the Continental Divide (Montana-Idaho border) directly behind him about 6 miles up the dirt road.  On the Tour Tacker website, the picture location is Point 531 at 3:16 pm on 6/17/10.  The weather was cold (about 40 degrees) and very windy. Enjoy the photos. Todd Ison, a fan of the GDT

[l-s-d]

Didn't Deanna Adams run her fixie at something like 64 inches? I wonder if she would have been faster if she geared lower?

More like 73" (46x17 with a ~700x32 tire). Definitely not the fast, efficient, or easy way to go but I think it played a part in her doing as well as she did. That, and the attitude to ride the route no matter what over "racing."

Contact points are the main issue with riding a fixed gear in the dirt and having to either stand or (mostly) hike when climbing and having a big enough gear to push against on the flats and gentle downhills relieves some pressure on your "taint". If you're going to ride a road gear, you just have to be mentally strong enough to hike...a lot, and not worry about going fast. This was reflected in the fact that despite doing super long days, the covered mileage was often sub-100 miles.

Dave Nice rode a 36x16 on 700x38s (~61") in 2006 and had to do some walking in the steep rollers between Eureka and Whitefish, some of that may have to do with the much heavier gear load he was carrying than he carries now.

The only way there's going to be a sub-4 week time on a fixed gear is if someone is super dedicated to get in top form, and be able to be loose and relaxed riding down extended descents and across long flats (over and over again) with a gear somewhere in the 50s.

When in doubt, kick it down, especially on a long event and especially with a freewheel. You've got to gear for riding on Day 5+ with a load. A broken spirit is a lot slower than a tweaked ego on Days 1-4. When you're really ready, you can pick a common sense gear and be fine with it throughout. Like DaveH says: "As for changing gear mid-ride?  It's a moot point, by the time a rider needs to change a gear it's too late, they are screwed!" The only people that try to gain an upper hand via trickery are the ones that haven't put the time in. You get all the trickery you need by spending a megaton of time on the bike and sleeping outside.

[cbillman]

I think I smell a Subway endorsement for Matthew Lee in the future ... Fresh Feet!

[pro_out]

It appears Eric L is moving again. Time for an allnighter?

[MrsPivvay]

Matt looks pretty good in that picture. He must have hosed off in Lima and the mud has been reasonable today. I'm guessing he's eating at Sawtell and he'll move on shortly. There is a hotel there that's not tooooo expensive but I bet Matt will keep moving tonight unless he knows something about the course ahead that will benefit waiting. He doesn't like to stop early for any reason.

Blaine is moving on as well, nice work! He'll know what's up ahead as a vet and has probably got a plan for the next couple days in his head. We'll see if he tries to catch Matt.

SS minutia ---

Changing gears is a no-no and Jon knows this hence getting all fixed up before the race. Any change is just a really inefficient shift. As to faster or not? In much of the climby divide terrain it's pretty good. Near the end it starts to be a disadvantage with the long road detours and then the final run into the finish beyond Silver City. A SS in the lead over a gearie would be hard pressed to hold a small lead without favorable weather (headwind).

Only 4 racers have ever finished on a SS. Kent, Jenn, Nathan Bay (25+ days so GDR was "over time") and myself. For a fit true multiday racer, I'm certainly convinced it's not much if any of a disadvantage over most good climbing courses but for most people the SS is an added challenge on top of the already very large GDMBR challenge. When it's muddy it sure is nice! You can still break the chain with enough of the really bad mud but if you're careful you should be okay. Drivetrain refreshes are cheaper at least and a Surly SS cog will go the whole race easily so that leaves a chain and cog in Steamboat/Salida (~$40 retail). I also went the whole race on the chain lube I carried from the start which was two small bottles (4oz?). I think I went 300+ miles without a relube near the end, partially just to see how far it would go before it started to squeek. My already old chain tensioner rattled itself to death by Pie Town and the horizontal drop out/QR combo finished up without issue anyway.

As to a fully legit fixie racer (no offense intended to Deanna but her time doesn't really push the boundaries of racing all course deviations aside) I would love to see it. It's certainly possible but their ass better be iron As for me, I'm all for coasting for the foreseeable future.

[clancyarn]

Eric is moving again and he is well rested and on a mission. I can see an all nighter. Looks like a nice 3 way coming up..Matt best keep the record in sight

[niknak]

From the pics of ML, it looks like he's using Speedplay Frogs. They're simple by design with no moving parts and all, but in my experience the frogs don't engage easily when sandy/muddy. I wonder if he has to spend time after hike-a-bikes cleaning out the cleats with a stick.

[heathercycle]

I didn't see an attachment of pictures

[heathercycle]

Oh now I see the pictures.

Time trial bars is interesting addition to the bike.

[delilo]

Go mountain turtle!!
Anyone else with platform pedals and hiking shoes?