Are we talking about general riding or racing here? If we’re talking racing then a Coker or a 29’er would be ideal depending on the terrain. 24" would be way too slow.
If something is so steep it can’t be ridden up on a Coker, then it’s quicker to get off and run.
You don’t need brakes on a Coker either. Again- if something is so steep/technical as to need brakes, you can almost always go faster by running. I’ve run past many MTBkers on Downhills whilst they gingerly squeeze their brakes to negotiate a techincal section. I don’t find brakes very useful at all on 24"- for any sort of riding. You have so much leverage anyway, why would you need brakes?
Well, you’ve all sold me! I’m gonna put my 24" in moth balls and do all my Muni on my coker from now on! I guess now all we have to do is convince the VAST majority of other muni-ers to make the switch to 36 as well!
Of course I realize that you’re not trying to “convince” anybody, as I’m just being Facetious. HA!
I think your question has been answered, am I correct? Look at the course, choose your club, take a swing, have a good time.
I personally don’t own a 24" (just sold a prototype that I never rode), but use my 26" a lot. I’m an intermediate rider, in my estimation, and figure that the wheel diameter is not my current limitation. I’ve also spent a reasonable amount of time off-road on a 36", same story.
It should be obvious that each of the wheel sizes would have its own unique set of characteristics based on: weight, size, and available rims, hubs, and rubber. Those characteristics interact with the characteristics of the terrain and of the rider’s skill and riding goals.
If the rider’s goal is to gap the biggest gap, then probably the 36" is not the right tool. Most riding, though, is a ever-changing mix of many types of riding. If a rider is willing to ride miles at the mercy of a 20" so that he can do a 10% bigger gap than the next guy, then that’s up to him; it fits his definition of a successful ride.
Tiger Woods putts with a putter, no? But I bet he could putt better with any club in the bag than most of us could with a putter.
Part of my Coker wheel tests involved guys doing picnic tables, stairs, and loading docks with my first 36" (at NAUCC 2003). It was pretty amazing, and definitely surprising. I was hobbling around on a sprained ankle from trying to hop over a couple of logs with the 26".
This thread is about a road race, the Iron Horse race, in Colorado. It is on pavement and has nothing to do with the tangential topic of Coker MUni-ing. Aspenmike finished this route and Tom Blackwood made a link to his writeup. There were a couple of other unicyclists involved in the road race last year and their contributions here would be very helpful to tommillermn. This is not about MUni although the title of the thread has the word mountain in it which makes it somewhat confusing. This is about a road race on pavement in the mountains. No dirt, no roots, no rocks, no technical.
I do a fair bit of off-road on my coker. It’s pretty much stock except for the pedals and saddle and it hasn’t fallen apart…Yet. It’s required some runing maintenance and the rim’s beginning to rust after going through too many puddles/mud/snow. I’m planning on just riding it hard-ish 'til the rim gives up then investing in an airfoil once the stock one’s kaput.
I ride with 150’s which I find to be alright for just about everything. But then I live in a pretty hilly area.
I love the feeling of off-road cokering. The long turns and planning your lines well in advance reminds me of snowboarding. One of the most satisfying rides I’ve ever had was around Macclesfield Forest in the middle of a snowstorm. My dad was with me on a bike. He was having big trouble with the snow; every time he tried to turn he’d skid but the coker was pretty much unaffected. I had to keep stopping and waiting for him to catch up.
Tom, I have signed up for one more go at the IHBC, and my nephew is coming as well. We will ride the emotional/physical/spiritual train together. As far as cyclists coming from behind you on descents: most of them will be gone by the time we get to those. But for the few that we pass and then pass us, just stay right. The long ups and downs, well just hang in there, they will always end. That, and there is nothing wrong with stopping, god knows I’ll be stopping a bunch. Your hardcore, it is no different than any long endurance event you’ve done before.
As far as brakes, I don’t use em, so I can’t help you out there. The IHBC is a classic COKER ride, no need to bring the 29er, IHMO.
If you have any other questions, PM me. Looking forward to having company spinnin down main street in Silverton after a EPIC day in the saddle.
Tom, thanks for bringing up the old thread! It sure had me thinking about that day when I was reading it. What a day it was. There should be at least three or four of us that make it to Silverton this year, with any luck:p
Tom, I think you’ll have a great time in that race. I’ve raced against bikes on similar terrain (although not at that altitude) many times and it is a blast. In order to get comfortable climbing or descending for a long time, you have to be super relaxed and efficient. So that means lots of training. For the Alps tour last summer, I trained hard (1-2 big rides every weekend, commuting 3-5 days/week, plus a mid-week longish ride) for a couple of months. It only works if you consider the training a fun activity in itself. In the Alps, we considered a 1000m climb or descent just a part of a day’s ride - no big deal. In Laos, we had a day with 1800m of climbing - the stronger riders felt fine the next day (good thing too since it had 1000m of up and 2000m of down!) If you look at the huge rides Aspenmike has done in CO…it’s amazing what can be done with fitness and mental training.
Make sure your brake works perfectly, smooth and silent for those long descents. The biggest in the Alps was 2350m in a day - no problem with the brake. For a distance ride like that don’t consider anything other than a 36" wheel. You will have to decide on the best crank length for you - sounds like 150mm might be right for that ride.
I’ve driven the route of the race and have always wanted to take that train too. That is SUCH a beautiful area. Have a fantastic time and enjoy your training.
