35th Anniversary of the sport

[Tazio]

until now had missed this thread !

ace

by sheer curiosity, what is the length of the "race course" so what is the average speed with a time of 4' 22 :idea: :shock:

wonder if a breezer ignaz would actually cope :?:

If you read the post above yours Pat says that the course is almost 2 miles, so a 4 minute run would be an average of 30mph, so at 4'22" you're looking at just under 30 mph. Pretty quick I'd say, especially on a klunker.

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgbd4WsdhOs&hd=1

... My hands were so cramped from squeezing completely gone brakes I couldn't even hold on anymore. Well, I could have gone the extra 10', but didn't think that extra 1 second would much matter.

We tried these "modern" Sturmey Archer drum brakes when they first came out in 1985 and were wholly unimpressed by their lack of braking power and that that their labyrinth seals trapped in water and dust and probably heat as well.

Whilst I am well aware of the superior heat transfer characteristics of disk brakes, I do get the sense that the hub brakes used on the early Repack bikes were only intended for riding about town and so were simply not up to the job.

Only after the extensive testing and rejection of a large range of drum brakes including Sturmey's did Geoff Apps look at French motorized bicycle brakes. These were used by used large manufacturers like Peugeot and Motobecane for more than 20 years and could be commonly seen on mopeds throughout France. Remember that mopeds are much heavier than bicycles and that would have been used as a form of affordable transport on the Alpine passes and in other mountainous regions of France. Its therefore not impossible that they could also work fairly well on the Repack?

It would indeed be interesting to ride an Apps' bike down the Repack and to see if the brakes would survive, though unfortunately I can't quite afford the "taxi fare" from England at the moment.

 

[FairfaxPat]

Yah GJM, we tried the Solex drums, too, in addition to Normandie drums, also Sturmey Archer's, and there were a few other ones I can't remember the names of. Sure, you could ride one down Repack, they just don't work nearly as well as modern hydraulic disc brakes-vee brakes work better than any drum brake we used, also. CK pointed out that he easily passed Joe Breeze on his Series 1 Breezer with Canti's on the descent with disc brakes, when Joe normally owns him on that descent.

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Hi Pat. I agree that disk brakes are excellent at keeping their cool and that hydraulics in particular are great at preventing hand strain. We do have 2mile descents around here but not those that drop 1500 feet so I guess this is the key factor. There are however many such mountainous trails in northern Britain and when making such descents I have probably taken my time or not needed too much braking because the tracks were probably straight and smooth enough to let the bike go without suffering the consequences at the next hairpin.

Thanks for explaining



The brakes that Geoff used were not made by or branded as Solex. (This refers to one make of moped they were fitted to). The manufacturers name is Leleu, though only the word Brevette is stamped onto brake plate which is French for Patented.

 

[Repack Rider]

Two miles and 1500 feet elevation is a mild exaggeration. More like 1.8 and 1300, average slope around 14% but some parts much steeper because it undulates a little. Record run average speed figures to about 27 mph.

I tried a lot of different types of brakes during the racing era on Repack, but none worked particularly well. Best was rim brakes with big levers on alloy rims on a dry day, but that isn't saying much.

With hydraulic discs, when I hit the bottom on the anniversary run my forearms didn't have that familiar burn I remember from racing. Some of the old skoolers who chose period machinery were feeling it, and commented. The farther down the hill you get, the more effort it takes to slow the bike down.

 

[rumpfy]

The farther down the hill you get, the more effort it takes to slow the bike down.

And thats when it gets more twisty. Double whammy!

 

[jtkkz]

thanks for posting, nice pics