Typically the rules for a singlespeed race state that the bike has one
functional gear, and that's about as specific as it gets. It's meant to
be a fairly all-encompassing category, as far as I can surmise.
A geared bike locked out has the disadvantages of a geared bike
(heavier, way more expensive) and the disadvantages of a singlespeed (no
gears).
And in terms of changing gears to match the coures, savvy singlespeeders can make day-of-race adjustments to suit the course by switching out the rear cog, right? I'm not sure how that's any different from a person on a normal bike picking a gear ratio and locking it in. One gear = single speed, right?
I know that this crit is freewheel only, but the big Fort Collins gearless race has a good model which encourages participation:
YOUR BIKE: Ride your singlespeed or fixie commuter, MTB, track bike -
whatever - as long as it's got only ONE (functional) GEAR. If you wanna
race but only have at this time a geared bike,come on out, just make it
unshiftable. ( we can help with that if you don't feel too creative )
For people who don't own a singlespeed and don't want to completely
dismantle their drivetrains for a one-time event, why not let 'em race?
--- On Wed, 6/1/11, Jeff Tedder wrote:
From: Jeff Tedder
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Hammer Velo SS Crit Race Question
To: obra@list.obra.org
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 4:08 PM
So we have been asked by a few people
if we will allowed geared bikes in the SS race for the men this
Saturday.
Since we are allowing it in the ladies
race to hopefully get a good sized field for the ladies to race
in....
But we wanted the men's race to be a true
SS race only....but now people are asking and after thinking about how many
people want to ride to the race, race the geared race and then do the SS
Championship race, we are thinking of letting geared bikes in....but I wanted to
get a feeling of how everyone feels about that....If you are planning on doing
what I talked about let me know your thoughts....we may open it up or make keep
it the same depending on what kind of answers I get back....
Things to think about, SS bikes cannot
make last minute gear changes were the geared bikes can.....that's the
biggy....
But on the flip side it allows people
riding to the race to do a Cat or masters race and then race the SS race as
well...
Let me know, thanks,
Jeff
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