Cruisin'

Okay, so I realized that I’ve been using advanced cycling jargon on what I’ve always touted as a beginning biker – or even non-biker – blog. So, this post is meant to clarify some items that may have caused confusion from earlier posts related to the Salt to Saint Bicycle Relay Race.

In Slow Ride, I talked about crusier bikes. I should back up and explain the basic types of bikes on the market today to help explain this comment. Generally you can find bikes in one of three broad categories: road (or race) bikes, mountain bikes, and cruiser (or comfort) bikes. Now, for those in the industry, this is far too simplistic a set of choices as there are sub categories within each of these groups. There are also commuter bikes, but these are usually specific applications of one of the main categories I’ve listed. For my purposes, I’ll deal with only these three broad categories for simplicity.

Let me compare the main types of bikes in a table to show differences:

	Road Bikes	Mountain Bikes	Crusier Bikes
Main use	Rapid travel with minimal resistance across paved roads for long distances	Ability to climb and descend steep unpaved trails without losing traction	Moving comfortably around neighborhoods or to local stores
Benefit	Light weight, and low friction	Suspension (on most models) to smooth out rough trails	Affordable, easy-to-use transportation
Drawback	Bumps in the road come through to the rider	Traction on dirt translates to more friction on paved surfaces, requiring more effort	Upright position and soft tires can make long distance travel more challenging
Pricing	Occasionally found at big-box stores for under $200, but most models begin around $700 and can go as high as $10,000	Many examples found in big-box stores for under $200 without good dependability. Quality models begin around $450 and can go up to $7,500	Some can be found in big-box stores for under $200. Quality models start around $300, but top out around $1,000
Tires	Narrow, high pressure tires with minimal traction to provide least resistance when traveling	Large, low pressure tires with large traction blocks to provide most grip on dirt	Large, medium pressure tires with minimal traction to provide a mix of comfort and low resistance when traveling
Gearing	Most have 18 or 20 gear options, often gears are tightly clustered	Models have 18 to 27 gear options, with wide spreads between gears to provide choices from climbing to descending.	Most have a single gear ratio, but some have 3- or 7-speed internal geared hubs
Recommended distance	Rides of 10+ miles on pavement	Any distance over rough terrain	Rides up to 5-8 miles on pavement

That is probably too much information for most readers, but I wanted to be thorough about the differences before translating the Slow Ride post “into English”.

On the Salt to Saint, as with most road-based bicycle races, most riders will use a race bike. That is they’ll choose a bike with narrow, high pressure tires, that has handlebars that allow them to tuck into the most aerodynamic position for a long haul. There will be some riders who will use their mountain bikes, but with tires switched from the standard large tread pattersn to “slicks” with smooth rubber or minimal tread patterns. These are riders who usually ride on the dirt, but want to experience road riding without a major investment in a new bicycle. No-one will be riding single-speed, cruiser bikes just because they are not designed to travel rapidly over the distances involved, nor to climb hills efficiently.

To make some comparisons, it’s like the difference between wearing running shoes, hiking boots, and flip-flops on a walk. Each could be appropriate, but each will have the use for which it is the best. I wouldn’t run a marathon in the hiking boots or flip-flops. But the hiking boots would be great for summiting a mountain, and the flip-flops perfect for a stroll down the beach.

For the driving crowd, the difference is between a Porsche, a Jeep, and a Cooper Mini. Take the Mini to a club, the Jeep off-roading, and the Porsche on a long, fast drive.

Still with me after all of this rambling? I guess you are, or you wouldn’t have even read the question. Let me try to now put it all into English.

So, riding the Salt to Saint on crusier bikess. It’s like running the RAGNAR Wasatch Back in flip-flops. You’re missing out on some equipment that would make the event so much quicker and easier, but it is still something that could be done. Will you have the coolest footwear and tan lines (and blister locations) of any team in the event? You sure will. Is it absolutely insane? Yup, it is.  However, when fielding a team of novices the cost of getting the equipment is significantly lower, so that makes it an interesting idea.

The only reason to even consider riding the Salt to Saint on cruiser bikes is to win the possibly coveted MVP award that is given at the organizers’ discretion to the team they like the most. I just don’t see how they could not love a team on rainbow-hued cruiser bikes that have no business finishing – or even entering  – the event.

The entire concept is thinly veiled humor at the futility of even trying to win the event, therefore taking a stance that precludes you from even competing so that when you don’t win you can claim that was your goal from the beginning.

Was I serious about gathering a team to do the Salt to Saint event? Certainly. Was I serious about doing it on crusier bikes? Maybe. If I have enough friends insane enough to try it with me, and to get in shape for it with me, then I’ll ride it on whatever style of bike the team chooses.

I hope that has made things more clear, and not obfuscated the matter further.