Koga Beachracer

Hi,

I'm from the Netherlands and I'm very much interested in the 'gravel grinding thing' because gravel riding is actually what I've been doing for many years already here in The Netherlands. In the region where I live we have many gravel and dirt roads. We also have signed MTB routes that alternate these gravel roads with single tracks, but most often me and my friends tend to ride these roads bypassing the single tracks, making it a full gravel ride.

We don't have gravel races or gravel grinding events here, but what we do have are beach races. Beach races are helt along the Dutch shores during the winter. They have grown popularity over the last few years, just like gravel races have in the USA and Canada. Along with beach races a new breed of bicycles emerged; the so called 'beach racer'. A beach racer has lot in common with a gravel racer; they have fat tires and special dropbars to escape the wind. In fact I use a Dutch beach racer for riding gravel (I don't live close to the beach). It's called the Koga Beachracer. It has an aluminium frame and a carbon fork and weighs only 10.2kg. It comes with a special beach handlebar, a Shimano 105 11-speed cassette (11-32) and a single chainring crankset (beaches are flat). However, the bike can be easily upgraded with a double crankset, which I did. I opted for a Shimano 42-34 XT crankset and Shimano Ultegra shifters. The bike has a 29 x 2.5 tire clearance.

I'm curious what you all think of this bike. Would you regard it has a gravel racer (given it would be assembled with a double crankset)?

Kind regards,
Diederik

I'd ride that on Iowa gravel any day
Depending on the region, I can drive north half an hour and be in a mix of gravel/sand, or south for larger chunky gravel. Those fat tires would help on both.

I like it, how much in dollars? Wish the web site was in English.

I have hundreds of miles of roads here in Minnesota where that Koga would work into the mix.

Also curious about frameset cost.

Cool bike, Diederik!  Appreciate the nice description. Not many "road" bikes will take 2.5" tires!

Some questions:

Do the longish chain stays (445mm) help with traction on the beaches?

Why the minimal BB drop of only 50mm?  Seems like this might make it less stable than a lower drop.

Walt Brown wrote:I like it, how much in dollars? Wish the web site was in English.

\n \nIt costs €1599,- here, that should be between $1700,- to $1800,-. This should be the English page: http://www.koga.com/en/bikes/race/collection/beachracer.htm?frame=H \n \n

gomango wrote:I have hundreds of miles of roads here in Minnesota where that Koga would work into the mix.

Also curious about frameset cost.

The frameset is not being offered commericially, only the whole bike is.

levity wrote:Cool bike, Diederik!  Appreciate the nice description. Not many "road" bikes will take 2.5" tires!

Some questions:

Do the longish chain stays (445mm) help with traction on the beaches?

Why the minimal BB drop of only 50mm?  Seems like this might make it less stable than a lower drop.

The long chain stays certainly help with traction on the beach; they help keeping the bike straight in loose or wet sand. This bike makes you want to go fast forward in a straight line. It is not particularly well suited for technical single tracks.

The bike indeed has a minimal BB drop. I can hardly swing my leg over my saddle because of that. The small BB drop is specific to beach riding; it allows you to keep on going in very loose sand. A typical beach race not only covers beach but also takes some interruptions through the dunes along the shores. This forces the competitors to ride through extremely loose sand between the shore and the dunes where even 2" tires completely disappear in the sand. This makes the races more attractive to spectators.

Regards,
Diederik