For the past 7 years I've been riding in the Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS)mountain bike races. I compete in the 60+ age group as I am now 67. Last year I was getting burned out and after the first race of the season I decided to take a year off. This year I'm back and re-energized but also I want to do something a little different.
Last week I converted my geared 29er to a fully rigid single speed bike. That means it has only one gear and no suspension. Most mountain bikes have 27 gears and at least suspension forks if not full suspension front and rear. My bike is a 2008 Specialized hard tail Stumpjumper 29er which I previously had setup as a fully rigid 1x9. The front wheel is an American Classic and the rear wheel has a cycleOps PowerTap hub. As a single speed, race ready, the bike weighs 20.8 pounds. The original bike with suspension forks and 27 gears weighed over 27 pounds.
My plan is to compete in my regular age group, Sport 60+, with my fellow 60+ riders riding their geared bikes against my single speed. So will I look like an idiot or can I make my buddies question the money they spent on high tech gears and suspension?
Sound insane? It probably is. I plan frequent updates about training and single speeding. The first WORS race is May 1st at Iola, Wisconsin with lots of short, steep climbs each lap.
Stay tuned,
Mike
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