The end of the Fall Semester drew near which usually means a new season of Florida ultra-racing, starting with the Cross Florida individual Time Trial (CFiTT) early in December. The last few years of strong finishes inched me closer to my goal of a sub-24 hour ride on the 300 mile route. But not this year...I hadn't ridden much since TNGA in August, so I'm fat and out of shape. Let's be honest...I was fat and out of shape for TNGA, too. My waning motivation was further defeated by the news of a ferry ride across St. Johns River, shortening the route to ~245 miles. Granted, this was an optional bypass, but the race start was pushed up to 4am to help as many riders get to the boat ride as possible, which meant even a sub-24h attempt on the long course wouldn't be racing the sun-rise as usual. Again, I'm fat and out of shape, and now debating whether to even ride CFiTT. Or HuRaCaN.
Suffering is usually enough for motivation, but I just wasn't feeling it. However, a stupid idea popped into mind. I remembered that Corey Hilliard came down from New York to ride the 2024 HuRaCaN on a fixed gear. Crazy! I cut my chops in competitive cycling riding the track back in the late 90s, and continued to ride fixed-gears exclusively for the next decade...until I started mountain biking (albeit, single-speed). I heard of others riding fixed off-road, but hadn't personally considered it, and I was excited that Corey might be the first to accomplish it. He seemed prepared -physically and mentally- for the challenge ahead but, alas, did not complete the route. I was disappointed, perhaps most for thinking I could've done it. So, why not try it? And, why not try it first on the shorter, flatter CFiTT route?
The conversion of a single-speed MTB to fixed-gear isn't a difficult task. The easiest method is to flip the rear wheel around, remove the brake rotor from the 6-bolt ISO mount, and attach a bolt-on cog in its place. Fortunately, Gates makes a 22-tooth combo ISO/HG cog that allows it to either bolt it to the ISO rotor mount, or use it on the HG driver (freewheel) when I return to normal, sane, single-speeding.
The next issue is what to do about brakes. Granted, it's a fixed-gear...the pedals are always moving when the wheel is moving. Slowing your pedaling, or even skip-stops, could suffice. But, I'd be riding a loaded bicycle and, after a couple-hundred miles, I might not be keen on tasking my knees with that duty. I rummaged through my bin of parts and found an XTR cassette I no longer use. I drilled out the rivets on the carrier and removed its cogs, then turned down the arms of the carrier on the lathe, leaving enough material to tap for M5 hardware. I then drilled a new bolt-pattern on the brake rotor to match the pattern on the carrier.
The rotor/adapter mount to the cassette body, which is now on the non-drive side of the frame. While moving forward, braking forces are applied to the cassette body in the same direction as pedaling forces would otherwise be applied, so in that direction it works flawlessly. However, if rolling backwards, applying the rear brake just causes the hub to freewheel. Consider you have one large gear and you stall out on a very steep climb...I'm thinking about sections of Nayles North in Santos while zombie-riding with cooked legs.
No comments:
Post a Comment