July 22, 2011
Pro Bike: Brad Cole’s rigid belt-drive Boo 29er
Just racing Burke’s new Crusher in the Tushar takes some serious cajones, or at least a momentary lapse in one’s sanity.
But to race for 80 miles, up over 10,000ft of vert, with just a single gear? I was getting ready to call up Nurse Ratchet when Brad told me this plan. Maybe some old-school therapy would help dissuade him.
It turns out Nurse isn’t really practicing anymore, so Brad had his way–and with great success! He took a dominant win in the Crusher’s singlespeed category (yes, apparently there were others who had fallen off the deep end), coming in top-15 in the overall top men’s division to boot!
So, what steed helped him perform this masochistic, sadistic, demented, tormented act? A fully-rigid, belt-driven bamboo-carbon mountain bike with 29″ road bike wheels and tubulars.
At least he had brakes!
Now feast your eyes on the gallery of a madman’s bicycle. And reflect on the famous words (many times the *last* words): “If you’re gonna go, go all in!”
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- Boo 29er custom: belt-driven fully-rigid singlespeed bamboo-carbon hybrid bike with tubulars and road pedals! Talk about unique…
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- We designed this Boo to be ultra-light and efficient with tubular Challenge prototype tires on 29″ wheels and the ultra-stiff Niner carbon fork.
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- The best 29er fork on the market: incredible stiffness and steering precision, minimum weight, Darth Vader looks
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- Bill Marshal of Challenge Tires hooked us up with a set of the brand-spanking-new tubular 29er tires. Brad: “They’re stupidfast.” Enough said.
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- TRP Dash Carbon levels provide both leverage and reach adjustment, on the fly, and a fantastic shape for one-finger braking
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- In case your mental state begins to deteriorate mid-race, Niner’s famous instructions steer Brad true
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- a super-slick Chris King mango BB matches the bomb-proof mango NoThreadSet (and will soon match the mango ISO Disc Singlespeed hubset!)
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- We spec’d the ultralight TRP Dash Carbon with TRP’s MotoGP-derived wave rotor.
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- The newest gem from Gates Carbon Drive Systems, called CenterTrack, is as efficient as a chain but bulletproof and requires no lubricant!
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- The new CenterTrack allows us to build tighter rear triangles with more tire clearance, especially important on 29ers
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- Boo’s new water bottle mounts are internally reinforced, saving weight and providing a cleaner look while securing bottles closer to the frame’s tubes
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- Mmmmmmmmmmm…bamboo and carbon fiber…yummy!