Speedgoat’s annual Pink Bike Raffle is upon us. As in past years, 100% of the proceeds from the $10 raffle tickets sales will go to the Breast Cancer Fund in their search for environmental links to cancer, and their promotion of consumer awareness.

What about the bike? Chris Currie from Speedgoat explains his philosophy this way: “In addition to our usual high standards, we have a few important guidelines for how our Pink Bikes are put together. First, the bike should include at least a few components you just can’t get anywhere else. Second, it should be pink. And finally, it should be nicer than most of the other bicycles in the world.”

Chris went on to describe the specifics of this year’s Pink Bike: “We could never create a bike this amazing without our sponsors, and this year we’d like to thank Niner for getting us their phenomenal new Jet 9 frame before it was even available to the public. Fox contributed an F29 suspension fork to the project. Industry Nine and NoTubes.com created a custom Ultralite set of wheels. Ritchey provided the stem, carbon bar, and post, while Hope provided the brakes, headset, and seatpost clamp. This year’s graphics and paint work are better than ever, and we’d like to thank the man behind the paint gun, Darin, at 2Wheeler Customs. We finished the bike off with an XTR drivetrain, WTB saddle, and some fine Continental Mountain King tires.”

Speedgoat’s Pink Bike Raffle goes live on Friday, May 23rd. Click here for more information.

–Karl Rosengarth

I’ve heard a lot of reasons why some riders prefer a singlespeed over a geared bike, but one that doesn’t come up often is that they are faster. Welcome to Project SingleSpeed Racer (Project SSR), a regular blog feature where I will be exploring if that could be true. Over the course of the coming months I will be looking at singlespeeds from the perspective of technology, efficiency, performance and racing. This project will focus on building the ultimate singlespeed race bike to take on all comers, with or without gears. As the project progresses we will look at how to maximize the advantages of singlespeed bikes and attempt to scientifically measure the results.

In mainstream cycling, singlespeed riders have often been looked at as oddballs. Just a few weeks ago a race promoter called me a “self-limiter”. It’s a little odd that we are looked at this way, as it is well known that a single geared drivetrain is more efficient then a multi geared one. In track cycling sprinters reach speeds over 40mph and Madison racers change pace at will, with a single fixed gear. No one ridicules them for not having 20 gears. Travis Brown has been one of the few mainstream cyclists to challenge the assumption that singlespeeds were slower. He convincingly won both mountainbike and cyclocross races on a singlespeed. Rather than spawning honest questions about how he was able to do this, most people just labeled him a freak.

The idea behind this blog is to explore as rationally as possible how racing a singlespeed is different than a geared bike, and if by taking advantage of those differences it can be faster too. I will be mixing component reviews, interviews of people involved in singlespeed technology, singlespeed specific training approaches and race feedback.

Your blogger winning the 25 mile overall title at the 2008 Michaux Maximus, with one gear.

A little background on your blogger; I’ve been riding and racing bikes since I was 12 when my friend David and I started exploring the trails around our hometown of Ashland, Oregon. I’ve competed in trials, ‘cross, XC and road racing. In 2007 I won the Expert 30-34 National XC Championship at Mt. Snow. I currently race in the Mid Atlantic area at the Elite level, usually on a singlespeed. I live in Jim Thorpe, PA with my wife, Pro track cyclist Liz Reap Carlson, and our two smelly dogs. My paying job is engineering interactive museum exhibits for science centers and children’s museum. In this capacity I mix engineering, scientific theory, and user interface design. So basically, I’m part bike racer and part science geek, with an anthropology degree thrown in for good measure.

Tune in next time for a look at how riding and racing a singlespeed is different, from an efficiency and physiological standpoint.

- Lath Carlson

To celebrate Bike to Work Day, Taylor Coffroth, seen here in the Dirt Rag Bright Idea Tee, has been organizing the City of El Cajon’s Bike to Work Day Pit Stop for the past 10 years. Each year, 70 to 80 riders stop by and are treated to free food and prizes on their way to work. Rah!

If you live in the El Cajon area, be sure and check out Taylor’s Bike To Work Day Pit Stop in 2009!

I wrote a few words about my ‘95 E-Motion B2 for the “Owner’s Bikes” section of the East Woods Research website. I thought Dirt Rag readers might enjoy reading it too:

In its current incarnation, my 1995 EWR (medium frame, serial number: EWR-RF-95-1120) sports a singlespeed conversion via a White Industries ENO eccentric hub. With a 80mm Fox fork up front the BB sits around 13.5″ off the trail. Combine that with a Hone crankset with built in rock guard (sans small ring), and you have a log-hopping, monster truck of a hardtail.

I was a bit concerned that the 80mm fork might slow down the handling too much, but the bike is still flashbulb quick in the singletrack and totally flickable. In fact, the fork seems the perfect match. Ceramic rims provide solid braking, in wet or dry conditions. Old skool Kore stem for style points and proper reach.

I’ve included a few “action hero” shots of me racing the bike at the 2008 SSUSA race in Tennessee. I railed the twisty singletrack and climbed like a scalded monkey. What a blast racing this bike! Much respect.

I went to Maui on vacation a few months back–didn’t even know I was gone-did you? I’ll completely skip all the typical rhetoric about the islands. You’ve seen the pictures, you know it’s a beautiful place. The surf, the sand, the food…

I will put a little nod in here for the little geckos often seen sunning on banana trees simply because most tourists would be ickified by them. I thought they were cool.

I would have to say that being a tourist on the island is a fun thing. I can’t imagine a better vacation if a person just wants to relax and tune out the world. Being a resident of the island is probably not so much fun. Dealing with cranky tourists all day long has got to drive a person crazy. And after talking to some locals, many are working two jobs because cost of living is through the roof. One thing we noticed early on is that most tourists drove rentals like Dodge Magnums and convertible Mustangs, while most of the locals relied on the bike for getting around. Watching traffic, being a part of traffic, this makes perfect sense. Imagine thousands of tourists in rentals cars, with cheesy maps and no idea where they are going on the roads with you. You get the picture? The bike is quick and fast and requires no parallel parking in the crowded Lahaina streets.

There were bike racks on nearly every corner and most were full. And long stretches of the main highways had awesomely large shoulders for the commuters. I have to admit, Maui would be the ideal place to bike to work….as long as you didn’t live on the top of the volcano and worked down on the beach.

Now, I’m sure someone out there on the Islands probably can add to this ramble,(ie, maybe not so nice a commute as I’m thinking) but I’m just going to close with some pretty pictures, courtesy of my personal photographer (husband) Dan.

Thanks for tuning in.

The Ride of Silence take place at various locations around the globe today, May 21st, 2008. There may still be time to find a location near you and join a ride this evening. More info from www.rideofsilence.org below:

On May 21, 2008, at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn’t aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

In 2003, Chris Phelan organized the first Ride Of Silence in Dallas after endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz was hit by the mirror of a passing bus and was killed. (Read the full history here…)

The Ride Of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent during the ride. There is no brochure, no sponsors, no registration fees and no t-shirt. The ride, which is held during Bike Safety month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for those who have been killed or injured.