Whiting-Old Camp Saturday Morning

[Andrew]

I am going to demo the 29" Kona SS from The Path tomorrow, and want to take it on a route I am familiar with (hence, Whiting Ranch, Old Camp, Luge). Anyone want to join? I expect to suffer a lot, so it could be quite entertaining! I'm hoping that I'll entirely hate the experience so that I can get the idea of a single speed out of my head and be happy with the bike I already have.

I plan on pedaling from the Whiting parking lot at 7:00am (beat the heat).

[ShinKen]

Originally Posted by Andrew

I am going to demo the 29" Kona SS from The Path tomorrow, and want to take it on a route I am familiar with (hence, Whiting Ranch, Old Camp, Luge). Anyone want to join? I expect to suffer a lot, so it could be quite entertaining! I'm hoping that I'll entirely hate the experience so that I can get the idea of a single speed out of my head and be happy with the bike I already have.

I plan on pedaling from the Whiting parking lot at 7:00am (beat the heat).

come down to El moro w/us bub!! we would love to see ya in PAIN!! oops I mean in action!!! WOOHOOOO!!!

[dstepper]

Originally Posted by ShinKen

come down to El moro w/us bub!! we would love to see ya in PAIN!! oops I mean in action!!! WOOHOOOO!!!

Ya what Jose said, we will both be on our 29 rigid singlespeeds. That way you can demo a couple of other bikes at the same time. We are meeting at my house at 7am. PM me for directions.

[Wrecker]

El Moro is the perfect park for SS riding, even I can do it

[klutter]

This might be entertaining....if you manage to read this reply before you take off for the Saturday morning ride...let me know where you decided to go...I'll join you.

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by klutter

This might be entertaining....if you manage to read this reply before you take off for the Saturday morning ride...let me know where you decided to go...I'll join you.

I decided to stick with Whiting-Old Camp, since I want to do a familiar route. If you manage to read this in time, I'll see you there.

[klutter]

I'll see you at whiting

[ShinKen]

Originally Posted by klutter

I'll see you at whiting

take some pixs dood!! I wanted to see this in person!! muhhaahaaa!!

[dstepper]

Enjoy your ride, I hope you get bit by the single speed bug. 29er make excellent SS.

It is already 70 in Laguna no fog no wind...going to get hot today. I hope we are done with our ride and on the beach by 11am. Surf was 5-7 foot at Cresent Bay yesterday afternoon and there is a huricane down in Mexico that should be bringing in a south swell and warm water. I must have been body surfing and in the water for a good 3 hours yesterday.

[Andrew]

I'm only partially convinced at this point. Some things I noticed:

I didn't really like the fact that it isn't worth pedaling on the flats. The gear ratio was 32x22; at first I thought this would be too easy, but once the hills started I realized it would be plenty. It was interesting not having a bailout gear.

On the way up to the flag, there were two spots where I wasn't able to clear the hills (top of mustard road, and one spot on STT). This is pretty much what I expected.

My muscles and technique for standing and mashing need some work, as I wasn't able to keep it up long, and staying half-way seated seemed to work better.

The demo bike came with a rigid Surly fork. I was glad to find that Luge was still fun, even without my spongy bike.

Sorry Jose, no pics! I broke the LCD screen on my camera earlier this week, which I am still depressed about .

[dstepper]

Originally Posted by Andrew

I'm only partially convinced at this point. Some things I noticed:

I didn't really like the fact that it isn't worth pedaling on the flats. The gear ratio was 32x22; at first I thought this would be too easy, but once the hills started I realized it would be plenty. It was interesting not having a bailout gear.

On the way up to the flag, there were two spots where I wasn't able to clear the hills (top of mustard road, and one spot on STT). This is pretty much what I expected.

My muscles and technique for standing and mashing need some work, as I wasn't able to keep it up long, and staying half-way seated seemed to work better.

The demo bike came with a rigid Surly fork. I was glad to find that Luge was still fun, even without my spongy bike.

Sorry Jose, no pics! I broke the LCD screen on my camera earlier this week, which I am still depressed about .

That sounds like you did pretty good for the first day SSing. It is a acquired taste, I did not stay at 32x22 very long as you found out, the flats are a pain...32x20 mucho better. Rigid bike on the luge = fun.

[Pain Freak]

I think Dean might be a little biased. For the downs, there's nothing like a cushy ride. I love climbing with the ss, but the downhills kind of suck. My fork rode like a rigid today. Very painful on the downhill. 32:20 is also my combo, but I'm on a 26er, and it suits me just fine.