Koga’s prototype beach racer

Unless you get paid for racing you don't need another "special" bike for riding on a beach, gravel, cobbles etc.

Don't get brainwashed by the marketers and don't fixate on bike categories which are largely dictated by marketing trends and UCI regulations.

Simply get a lightweight XC 26", 650 or 29er frame, rigid fork, regular drop bar, road components and tyres suitable for occasion and you'll have your versatile beach, dirt, gravel, path, cx, road, light off-road or whatever else you fancy kind of bike...

Could be some serious competition for the Salsa Warbird...

JonMack,
Let's get it sorted then!

No problem on the main beaches, it's not like we are going to be as invasive as the Beach Enduro.

I might have a blast on that beach route you mention tomorrow, I don't think I'll be commuting to work!

i stayed in scheveningen when i was at uni and it's the windiest place i've ever been, with the possible exception of 5000m up in the Andes. got a great pic of a mat with long hair standing on the beach with his hair horizontal

the main picture looks like noordwijk

most of these races combine stads of,schevenigen,noordwijk,zandvoort,ijmuiden.fantastic to watch on a sunny sunday afternoon (in a beach cafe of course)...approx 50 km watch for the wind and tide,most riders choose where the wave breaks down a good dose of salt?....sorry are mainly in winter-spring before the tourists get there

As for the funny language: every rider interviewed is talking about the influence of the strong wind on the race. Pro rider Sebastiaan Langeveld was hoping to "keep up with the best riders" but ended up winning it. The guy from SRAM mentions that they have a lot of stuff developed specifically for beach racing.

Yup, very much like Monstercross - but a slightly different in that I'd think these need to be fast and light rather than solid and beefy (a niche in a niche?).

As for the racing, it looks like a load of fun (if also a world of pain!). Ace - a good reason to visit NL in the winter!

Used to race one-on-one against my horse-rider girlfriend of the time along Tywyn-Aberdyfi beach when I was in my late teens. Bl**dy hard work but good fun. Best to clean the sand off pretty sharpish afterwards. And don't expect to beat the horse!

Looks a cyclocross bike with bigger tyre clearance, ie a Monstercrosser! Those bars do look a lot like Midges too.

The bars are Midges, aren't they? Or a very close copy.

I ride my SS CX bike down the beach in Weston when I fancy a change from my usual route, it's quite nice going out to the far end of Sand Bay on the road, onto the sand, then all the way down to the car park, along the toll road to the end and back up into the woods, or carry on back down into town and hit the main beach. It's alright when the sand is packed down but as soon as it gets the slightest bit loose, my legs really start to suffer!

This would be fantastic for Weston-super-Mare.
We have a beach enduro but no bike race, yet...

Whats the betting that if you tried to organise one in the UK (sorry England and Wales, Scotland's right to roam may have an effect) you'd suddenly find beaches are privately owned and you have to get permission to use one.

ST did do the article on beach combing by Fat Bike in the first issue of the reformatted mag (Ish 72). Maybe a Fat Bike would be OTT for racing (but then they were invented for racing Iditarod) but the Singular Gryphon comes to mind as an ideal bike. Belt drive and 11 speed Altus for drive train longevity?

I can hear the sand-ridden bearings crunch from here but still, that looks like a blast.

Cool. The road version of a Fatbike then.

Great - a whole new class of bike to add to the wish list... Looks like fun, provided you don't mind replacing the entire drivetrain after every race.
We've got some nice sandy beaches in NE Scotland that could host a race like this - the stretch of beach between the rivers Don and Ythan for starters.