Last weekend I helped build some new singletrack for the AMTBC Cromer 6hr Enduro, and yesterday I raced it in the solo singlespeed class on the rigid Kona 29er.  The course was well-suited for a singlespeed, though only five of the 85+ entries were in the singlespeed class.  I used a 32×20 gear, while most of the others I talked to were on taller gears.  Most of the track would have been faster with taller gearing, and I think I could have gone with a 34×20 or a 32×18/19 without too much difficulty.  On the other hand, I was quite happy with the 32×20 gearing towards the end of the race.

I was much more careful with fluids, gels and food, and as a result, my lap times were much more consistent than on the Foxy 1000.  As far as the bike went, it had no mechanical issues; no flats, no dropped chains, nothing.  The Ignitor 29×2.1″ tyres were very grippy, predictable, fast, and I’m still very happy with them.  Also, I’m beginning to see some of the benefits of hydraulic brakes.  Even after six hours, braking with the Elixir CR Carbon brakes was easy and I had none of the fatigue that the old Paul’s rim brakes, and to a lesser extent the BB7s caused.

The rigid fork was great for the first four laps/3.4 hours–  the last three laps/2.9 hours were less than comfortable.  Most of the discomfort was in my fingers and arms, and it made some of the choppy/rocky sections in the last few laps a little difficult.  On the other hand, my wrists were fine.  Could this be due to the super-cork wrist-saving Ergon grips?

In the end, I completed seven ~13.5km laps, for a total of around 94.5km in 6:13:46.  I did manage a top-five finish, but as I previously mentioned, there were only five in my class.  Even so, I’m very happy with my lap times, and will be racing in more enduros this autumn/winter.

My lap times:

Complete results: Cromer Race 1, April 3