The concept of the Speed-0-Thon is to be replicable… that means.. anyone can do it.
Eric Barone’s speed attempts aare done using specialized wearables and a custom one- off bike and together the investment is HUGE. So huge that if anyone other than Barone chose to do it.. they’d need to find sponsors aplenty in order to cover the costs.. or be as rich as Gingrich.
I wanted to make my attempt open.. kind of like Open Source software.. so that anyone anywhere could do it.
That meant that most, if not all, the parts had to be off the shelf
it also meant that the section of road chosen for the trial had to be general and publicly available. And as a side note- it had to be of a general grade that is common for standard roadways.
I admit- I am going to use gravity for my speed attempt but.. if I stop pedalling the deal is off.. so gravity will~ literally~ just be an “assist” and not the main or only force in speed attainment.
So, the Sturmey- Archer rear hub is a BOON to this project. And using my old Courier Rig.. that vintage Stumpjumper Steelie.. well, on a paved stretch of highway I’m hoping I won’t need rear suspension.
And the AMP fork up front? It’s one of the best forks available.. it’s~ essentially~ a “suspended rigid fork” with the way it works. I chose it mostly because of “stiction” of standard Rock Shox style forks- stiction being legs compressing at different rates on a corner. I figured that if I had to do any cornering on this thing.. I’d want the wheel to be locked and dialled in rather than all loosey goosey in the forks. Also- the AMP fork doesn’t have a TON of movement.. just enough for a highway descent (well, and an old schoolie singletrack cross country burn.. but who’s counting).
So, with 54 gears available.. and front suspension to smooth out the descent.. I’ll be strapping on my Bell Full Face Helmet soon and pedalling out to the Scott Lake Hill between Calgary and Morley and.. going for it.
My assumption is that I’ll be hitting speeds faster than the highway allows so I won’t have to, technically, close the road for the attempt.. at least- not the first one. It’ll be “guerilla” attempt and maybe I’ll spin over to the abandoned gas station that has the abandoned go cart track for some fun and games/ burn off some adrenaline 😉
