I’m entered for a 28mile off-road race. There is also a 48 mile race, for which the elevation profile is shown below. The 28 mile course is the last 28 miles of this course. I hear it’s mostly fire roads, some sandy areas, some uphills that bikers have trouble riding…
I was planning on using the KH36 with 125’s, but i think I’d be dismounting way too much and wearing myself out with the remounts. I think optimally i’d use a 29’er with 125’s, but i don’t have one.
So, what a bout a 24" with about 110’s? I don’t have 110’s, but could pick some up. There must be a point of diminishing returns for the shorter cranks though, based on the course profile, what do ya’all think? Are there other crank options for a kh24 '08 other than the duel moment 125/110’s?
28 miles on mostly fireroad?! I wouldn’t even think about doing it on a 24, no matter how short the cranks are. I’d be more worried about wearing out my body from spinning such a small wheel for so many miles.
I think you should just commit to becoming more solid on the KH36 with 125s–or use longer cranks if you need to. I wouldn’t worry about the parts that bikes have a hard time with; just plan to walk those parts.
If I were doing this race and knew it is mostly fire-roads I’d go with my 36er with 150mm cranks. I’ve made it up some pretty steep and long fire-roads on that set up and there wouldn’t be much I’d be worried about as long as the route is mostly un-technical. As other long distance off-road riders have said in the past, “Always use the largest wheel you can get away with.” With the 36er you’ll be much faster all around and if there are tough sections that you’re going to have to hike anyways why not go with a 36er? Good luck, sounds like fun!
I’d go 36 with 150s if I was in that race, especially if it’s mostly fire roads. There’s hardly any climbing on the second 28 miles, and like others have said, you just hike up anything that’s too steep. You’ll knock a ton of time off your ride with the big wheel. It doesn’t look like it’s all that steep on the descents–only 1100 feet or so over 20+ miles–but you might want a brake to help your knees on the way down.