Hey gang,
I am waiting for my Coker in about a month.
Questions for the Coker rider, how fast can you go on this uni?
On uphill speed? Downhill speed? Off-road speed?
How far would you go before getting tired? 5th mile? 10th? 20th?
Does it take alot of effort to catch up to a say a 10-speed cyclist?
Will getting a shorter 125mm crank make a difference in going faster?
Thanks!
PeTeR
I’m waiting on my coker too, do you often pass bikers? I’d love to see the looks on their faces. I bet Hardcorecokerrider passes peeps all the time
I passed a biker going uphill, into a headwind. It was hard work, but so worth it. I’d say on my relatively small amount of experience on a coker, flat speed is about 10-12 MPH average. Uphill depends on how steep you are talking. The uphills I’ve ridden slow it down a bit, but not a whole lot. I am riding on 152 mm cranks, and it’s not too bad, but after a while more riding and building up of muscles, I might change out to 127s or 140s. Downhill goes a little faster, maybe 15 MPH. It’s fun, just don’t UPD!
People have their own comfort zones and top speeds. My comfort zone is the lowest in the group in which I ride and is about 9 mph. I have to start to work at 10 mph. Bruce Dawson probably rides in the comfort zone of 12 to 13 mph and John Childs at around 11 mph. Everyone else in our group likes to ride (cruise) at about 10 mph. A ten percent increase in average speed takes quite a bit of energy.
My top measured speed on a Coker is 16 mph. I think both JC and Bruce have gone faster than that and I’m pretty sure Irene Genelin has gone faster than that. Riding faster than you can run out of a UPD from a Coker is scary business.
We had seven Coker riders on a ride last weekend. Six of us went about 26 miles, Bruce road 50 miles. He’s in training for the Seattle to Portland Ride. It was a flat ride and I don’t think any of us were too tired. I dinked around idling and riding backwards on the Coker for awhile after doing the ride so I couldn’t have been that tired.
I daily ride 5.5 miles to and from work, or 11 miles round trip. Frequently I go that 5.5 mile distance without getting out of the saddle. That’s about the limit for me before a crotch rest is required.
Hills, of course, depend on length and slope. I often climb long hills with no hands while my sissy riding partners are grabbing their custom titanium sissy handlebars to maintain balance.
I read that somewhere here that the highest acheived speed on a coker was 30 MPH! I might have to see it to believe it on that one.
-Lee
What kind of saddle do you use? Air? KH? (gasp)Viscount?
Wherever, whenever, and however fast that unofficial speed record was, I can assure you it was set by Christian Hoverath. It was probably on a long downhill trying to catch a bicyclist on the Ride across Europe. Several people saw him do it but I think that there are only estimates of the speed. Do a search and you may find renditions of the story by Christian and the other participants of the ride.
I pass bikers all the time.
And when I ride my coker with my family and they ride bikes, they have to work to keep up with me. But I find it easier to ride fast on a flat than down hill. I feel less controled going down hill. My coker has 125’s, I’ve been thinking about trying some 89’s I have, that would be crazy!
I have an airseat conversion. Mine is one of the Gemcrest vinyl covers with a dogbone sock that holds a folded, 20" tube. No foam in mine. I made bolt plates for the carriage bolts so they wouldn’t have to anchor into the plastic of the Miyata seat frame. I have ridden the 5 miles on a Viscount saddle while wearing jeans before I got the airseat.
I occassionally pass bikers on my Coker. In general, they are lying on the ground with someone administering CPR to them. But, some are actually riding at the time. In Seattle traffic I generally pass more cars than I do bicycles.
So now you dont need pants?
Pants are for sissies. I ride naked and I covered the Gemcrest with 80 grit sandpaper.
The extra fine stuff, huh? 
Will there be a new photo soon?
Speed.
I average between 14.8 and 15.1 on my evening little rides with my bike friend. He I guess could cruise faster as he is faster down hills than me and he is learning to ride faster up hills as he is slower. It is only 10 miles (I do a 2 mile warm up first).
Offroad I can do when racing in something like the Redbull, 10mph, but that is racing and it leaves me absolutely shattered.
Top speed on most road rides is normally upper 19’s, but about 17 when off road.
Christian is very fast and also a good consistant rider. He makes a good riding partner.
Roger
Average speed on the European Tour, for the riding day, was 6 mph. I think that included breaks.
I think all of our Seattle area rides average 6 mph breaks included. This would be reasonable for crotch breaks for all riders. We usually go until someone has to get off, not from being tired, but from restricted blood flow.
http://www.bloomington.in.us/~bbc/tours/rain/rain.html#desc
This is my goal once U-Turn gets me rolling?
Is this doable?
Or should I just fugituhbahtit!
For all you trivia fans, Rockville Hills Park, the 2003 CA MUni Weekend Friday riding location, is also located on Historic Route 40. Yes, it’s the same road!
I don’t know how fast I go on my Coker. I have to get a computer hooked up on there to see my average speeds to and from work. I do the 8.2 miles in around 38 minutes, but that includes all stops for lights or whatever.
As Harper said, different people are comfortable at different speeds. Crank length is also a factor in this. It’s easier to go fast on shorter cranks, as long as your route isn’t too hilly.
You will not pass lots of bikes. Though the Coker’s wheel is big, it’s still equivalent to a fairly low gear on a road bike. The top speed I’ve done is probably around 20. Anything over running speed is a risk I’m no longer interested in taking. I was once clocked at 22-23 mph on my 45" wheel (6.5" cranks).
Do it, maybe I’ll join in. I’ll have to see the timing though, I need to schedule time off way in advance.