60 seconds to finish the Cascade 1200

Part V: A bike that is comfortable, and does not fail, is an incredible advantage.

There are many characteristics of a good bicycle for long distance cycling. Vintage Bicycle Quarterly has made a small business of the topic and, if you are interested, it is well worth the price of a subscription. Among riders, the subject of what works and what does not are the stuff we love to share on long rides, especially Centuries and Brevets, because we have the opportunity to meet so many riders and see so many different bicycles. On the Cascade 1200, Nate Armbrust’s Kogswell Porteur was the focus of everyone’s attention. This bike (shown here on Washington Pass) was designed specifically for long distance riding by Matthew Kogswell and VBQ publisher, Jan Heine. Nate’s Porteur is one of the first 10 off the line, and the first one most of us had seen one on the road. He had built it up just a few days earlier, and the Cascade 1200 would be its shake-down cruise.

The base price for a complete bike worthy of a Brevet is about $2,500 (US). At least four manufacturers are delivering finished bikes for long distance riders in this price range. These are not touring bikes, as we would think of them, but they share much in common with the category with respect to frame design and componentry. I wrote about three bikes I like here on R2R, and I have since discovered others. I chose the Rivendell Atlantis, though you could do equally well with another frame builder (or better still with a hand-built, custom frame).

The right frame for the job.

Much has been written about the ride qualities of frame materials, and the debate continues. Despite its prevalence on a Saturday morning club ride, you will see very few carbon fiber frames on a Brevet. The main reason for this is that Carbon, although light, can be compromised by over tightening component clamps. To avoid stressing or cracking the frame material, components must be tightened with a torque wrench. Few of us have these devices on their workbench, let alone in the saddle bag.

Steel, aluminum and titanium are the materials of choice. Steel is the heaviest, but it is well-suited for back-country riding because it produces a comfortable ride and it is repairable, should the need arise, with common tools. If you think that frames don’t break, you are in for a surprise. I rode out of Monroe on Day One with a cyclist from Tennessee. He was on a Litespeed Ultimate. The red Litespeed logo on the down tube told me it was new. I asked him how long he had been riding it. He said it was its shake-down cruise. He had just returned from the Litespeed factory in Chattanooga the week prior to the Cascade 1200, where he exchanged a frame that had cracked near the bottom bracket. He told me it was the second time he had broken a frame.

Geometry is another vital factor in the equation. ‘Shallow’ angles in the head tube and seat tube, combined with longer chain stays, result in a bike with greater flexibility and shock-absorption properties. Take a look at the differences between my two 53 cm frame sets:

(g) grams (d) degrees (cm) centimeters

The difference between the two front triangles is appreciable, but not so dramatic as the variances in the chain stay length. In distances up to about 50 miles, I would say that both frames are equally comfortable. Beyond that point, these differences in angles and tube lengths add up to a significant difference in comfort, and the ability to stay on the bike for 18 to 20 hours a day. After four days of riding across the rough roads of rural Washington state, I did not experience the low back pain, or the shoulder pain, that I often feel after three or four hours of club riding on titanium or aluminum frames.

Another key point apparent in the table above is weight. The contribution that a steel frame makes to total bicycle weight is nominal. The difference between my Rivendell Atlantis and my Litespeed Tuscany is less than 400 grams. I carry more than that in a single bottle of water.

Give me components that won’t break and are easy to fix

The way I see it, riders are in one of two camps when it comes to componentry: some buy complete bikes without a thought to what is bolted on; others buy a naked frame and build-up them up, one part at a time. Whichever way you do it, the components on your bike should reflect the kind of riding you do. If you intend to ride Brevets, the key is to insure the components are of high enough quality so they will not fail prematurely, and that they are serviceable on the road without exotic tools or sub-assemblies.

Riders have an opinion about almost every part on the bike, especially if they have picked each one individually. Here I share a few of mine:

Wheels. 32-spoke and 36-spoke wheels are the safe bet. These can be laced-up on aero rims, or touring rims. The primary benefit is, when you break a spoke, you can keep riding. Try that on a wheel with exotic aero spokes and you may be hitch hiking home. Another reason to go with 32-spoke wheels: winds in the mountain passes. Coming down the western slope of Rainy Pass gave us breath-taking views of rivers and lakes 1,000 meters below us (see the photos in Part III), but the crosswinders were fierce, with gusts hitting the bikes at 20 kph or more. Aero rims can act like sails in these conditions.

Tires. The main problem I saw on the road was flats caused by steel threads that had come unraveled from truck tire parts. You cannot see these little buggers on the road, but I avoided tire rubber as if it were glass. Even so, I picked up a few of these threads, but was able to pull them out of the treads of my Kevlar-reinforced, Panaracer Pasela Tour Guard tires. Others were not so lucky. One rider reported getting 10 flats in succession after riding through a bed of radial tire threads.

Brake Calipers. One of the most commonly overlooked parts on a bike are the brakes. Roadies are not particularly fond of riding in the rain, so the difference between short-reach and long-reach calipers is a nuance they miss. But when we think about adding fenders many of us find that our racing frames do not have enough clearance underneath the brakes to accept them. Order a pair of the long-reach versions from your favorite catalog and you may very likely be returning them; your fork is too narrow, too low to the tire, or both. Touring frames typically allow for either long-reach brakes, or cantilevers. That’s not only good news when you think about adding fenders. They also make wheel removal easier, too.

Shifters. There is no doubt about it; SIS shifters make changing gears easier. But with both brake and derailleur cables coming into the housing, I find that servicing them is a challenge, even when I’ve got my bike on the Park stand, good lighting, and a rack of tools behind me. Bar-end shifters are my first choice. They are effortless to use, easy to fix out on the road, and in friction mode, you never have to listen to your chain grind against your derailleur again.

Crank Set. Switching out my Ritchey double chain-rings for a triple was the last change I made to the Atlantis. Despite the fact that I was running 46t large and 34t small gearing, the most experienced randos said that it would not be low enough to get over some of the mountain passes, especially on roads cut and paved by small county government agencies with tight budgets. I made the change-over just two days before the Cascade 1200. Not only did it pay off big-time on the steepest climbs, like Loup Loup Pass in the North Cascades. After four days of riding and 40,000 feet of climbing, it was a relief to get into a low gear, sit back and spin over the final climbs over Washington and Rainy passes.

Derailleurs. There is not much to say about the front derailleur, other than the fact that you will need a new one with adequate reach, if you do as I did and make the leap to a triple crank set. When it comes to the rear, however, you will find that road-style derailleurs do not have the range you need to span a cog larger than 27t. Most riders opt for a mountain-style rear derailleur, which features a long cage to stretch-out the chain when it is on a 24t chain ring up front, and a 12t cog in back. I installed a Shimano Rapid Rise rear derailleur, which moves in the opposite direction of a normal derailleur; the shift cable is loosened when shifting into lower gears, reducing torque on the cogs when you decide to shift while climbing. It is a brilliant idea and a well-kept secret, for some reason.

My desert island tool kit

The night before I left for the start of the Cascade 1200, I went out to my workbench and stared at my tools. I have spent years building my tool box, but here I was, for the first time, asking myself “the desert island question.”

“If I could only bring one tool on this ride, what would it be?”

That one was easy: a Topeak Alien 2 multi-tool. But I cheated. I also carried a Stein Hyper-cracker, which is a miniature freewheel tool.

The good news was, the ride organizers allowed riders to send a drop bag ahead to the overnight Controls, so I had the opportunity to bring a small tool kit along for more serious issues. What would I put in that kit? I looked at the tools hanging on the peg board, and I picked out the ones that I use most often when I work on my bike. Here is my short list, which I tossed into a large zip-lock bag:

• 3-way box wrench
• 3-way allen wrench
• Allen wrench set
• Crescent wrench
• Freewheel remover
• Multi-head screwdriver
• Lubricant
• Electrical tape
• Duct tape

As it turned out, the only tool I used on the ride was the Alien 2. I took it out three times: first to adjust my handlebars, moving them up to make resting on them more comfortable. The second was to repair a new 10-speed chain that had snapped like a twig on the bike of a rider from British Columbia; and the third time, to use the knife to open a stubborn bag of beef jerky.

The main reason I had didn’t have any serious mechanical issues on the Cascade 1200 is that I had built-up this rig on one of the world’s most solid frames, selected reliable components, and tuned it continuously for months on my 26-mile round trip commute to work.

And, I admit, there was a bit of good fortune involved. But given the physical and psychological challenges I was confronting in Newhalem, knowing that my bike was running perfectly added to my growing confidence that I could reach the finish line before the 90 hour time limit expired. In the final installment, I will share the story of my last 100 miles, and how I finished the Cascade 1200 with just 60 seconds to spare.

Miss an installment? Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Commercial Break.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.