Bikejoring with ABAKAN
My training bike of choice has always been a single
speed, cruiser type bike with a coaster brake. I have become
very comfortable with this setup(and have never had a crash,
have really not even come close, and that is, in some cases, running
a three-dog team at speeds of around 20mph). But I am a flatlander.
I have always run on relatively flat roads or in rolling hills. This
is just my preference.
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I do not feel that hand brakes offer the balance that foot brakes do;
I feel like it is too easy to go over the handlebars
running a mt. bike or any other bike with hand brakes.
In an emergency, I want to feel that I have as much control -
and as much balance - as I possibly can.
I also don't use the coaster brake to stop the dogs.
That's not the reason I use the bike brake.
I train the dogs to know when I want them to stop,
and stop the team by voice command.
I use the coaster brake when I need to take up slack in the line,
or at any point when the bike is rolling faster than the dogs
are running. I also choose a coaster brake because I like to keep it
simple. If I am running in a very muddy or sandy area,
I'd rather keep my equipment as easy as possible to operate
and to clean. If you've ever cleaned your mountain bike
or your racing bike after you've been out on a mud run,
you should know what I mean. Any bike with a
derailleur or gearing or brake cables is going to be just that much
more technology to get gritty, and to have to oil or grease and
maintain.
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I bought a new bike for 2006, a Trek Rail 3. It
has a coaster brake, but with a three-speed gearing.
For a picture click here. This is the stock model. The bike
I bought was a man's model, and the frame was 19",
with 26 inch tires. It also has
abbreviated fenders, one thing I haven't had since
my very first Schwinn. I
changedthe Bontrager slick tires for knobby tires.
The Rail 3 rode very smoothly in the test runs.
What I found out was that even with the seat lowered
as far as it would go, the seat was still at 32". The
seat on the Huffy bike was at 28". While I was
comfortable riding the Trek by myself, I felt too
far up in the air when training the dogs.
I also liked the maneuverability of the smaller
bike; the Trek has a longer frame so is is quite
a bit more unweildy.
What I found out too, was that I still prefer the
smaller bike to the Trek. Maybe the Trek women's
cruiser model, which is two inches shorter, and has
a single speed with coaster brake, would be
a better choice. I'm going to look at that next.
For a picture click here.
For now...I'm back to running the dogs with the Huffy!
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Bikes I have run:
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1975-1981: Schwinn 24" men's model. Black.
Single speed. Coaster brake. Fenders.
1981-1994: Schwinn 26" men's model. Red.
Custom. Chopper handle bars. Coasterbrake.
No fenders.
1995-1997: Schwinn 26" women's model. Blue.
Single speed. Coaster brake. No fenders.
1999-2003: Schwinn Stingray. 20" model. Black.
Single speed. Coaster brake. No fenders.
Banana seat.
2003-2005: Huffy Rock-It. 20" model. Blue.
Single speed. Coaster brake. No fenders.
Added new stem and chopper handlebars.
2005: Trek Rail 3. Men's 19" model(26" tires).
3-speed. Coaster brake. Fenders.
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Below you will see us
on the dirt road where I had been training.
We'd had rain and the dirt had become mud. We gave it a try,
but had to turn around after about half a mile down the road.
The dogs might have been able to slog me through it, but I got
so I couldn't maneuver the bike.
So we turned around and squished back along the road.
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The bike you see just below is the 20 inch Schwinn
Stingray I used a couple of years ago.
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If you think this looks bad,
click here
to see a later mud run!
Nicely for us, the drainage on this
road has improved a lot due
to a ditch which has been added
on one side, so we don't have to
attempt any more
runs like this!
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Another main reason that I prefer a single speed bike,
and a bike over a scooter, is that I like to
be able to use my hands to grab the line if for some reason
it looks like the line is going to wrap around the front tire or get
tangled in the front fork. I can use one hand to steer, then,
while I use my other hand to take up slack in the line.
I can use my feet then, on the brake if necessary, or
to pedal for speed.
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This kind of bike has always given me the versatility I want to work
with a small group of dogs. I never run any more than three dogs with the bike,
and only then after I have trained them singly or in pairs
with the bike for some time.
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The bike pictured below is the bike
I used for 2005. It is a 20 inch Huffy Rock-it.
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Thanks to Jason,
bike repair specialist
at Gearhead Outfitters,
Jonesboro AR
for advising me
and setting the bike up.
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To the stock Huffy bike I added some chopper
handlebars and a stronger stem. With the original Huffy I kept
having problems with my handlebars either
swiveling forward or rotating to either side
(definite design flaw!).
And also my neck and shoulders would get very tired
if we were out for a long run.
Now, the only problem I have is that
my butt is in pain when we finish a run!!!
May have to look into getting a different seat...
maybe.
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Above, you can see the line set up and how I snub
down to the truck with the quick release(at red "V").
(I have since shortened the line to the quick
release so I can pull it right at my side.)
I use a quick release now because too many times
the dogs have gotten ready to go and left without me!
(Not only is this bad for training, it isn't real great
for the bike either to get dragged down the road.)
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My line setup is really VERY simple: just a single
webbing line(maybe 10 feet long) wrapped around
the bike at the stem, tied with a double half hitch,
with about half of the line going forward to hook
the dogs to, and about half going back to hook
the quick release to.
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I clip my webbing line into a lightweight
double lead tug and double lead neckline.
Above I have attached
the double lead tug to the webbing
with a regular climbing carabiner
or you can attach a snap to the end
of the webbing and clip directly to
the double lead line.
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