11,000 Feet Up And Had To Turn Back !!

thatsdax · #1 (**permalink**) 05-24-2009, 11:30 PM

Well.. I decided to see what my Titans with shifter kits could really handle. I took 2 Titan IFFM setups up past Fairplay Colorado. These two Titan IFFM are slightly different. I am running the DAX shifter kit with 1/2 drive. 44T main, 28T secondary, 8T on the gear box. I am around 6 feet tall and 175lbs. My son is running an SG setup with 36T Main #35 or 8mm, with 22T secondary and 11T Gear box. Now.. Keep in mind.. I can pull a trailer with 75 lbs of gear around town with no problems at all. But.. That is 6000 feet or so.. and on hard surfaces. Now..I am up above FairPlay.. And I would like to get above Timber line. Timberline is around 12,000 feet or so.. So.... We lit our bikes.. And off we went.. Climbing to about 11,000 feet where we hit snow falling off and on. I could see timberline and where I want to be.. My bike is dragging on the clutch on the really steep parts and I can tell after about 1/2 hour of climbing that I just do not have the gearing low enough for this kind of riding. I do not want to burn my clutch up and It was getting colder and more snow by the minute.. So.. We turned around and bombed all the way back to the cabin. It was a blast going back down.. But.. The climb.. Not so fun.. I can tell I need much lower gearing as my goal is to take a Motor Assisted Bicycle higher than anyone in the world !! I want to be the first man in History to bike a Motor Assisted Bicycle to over 14,000 feet !! I will take some pictures to show everyone. I ordered some different sprockets and that should do the trick . Since my power was down so much at those high altitudes, I will need some really low gearing. I may have to lean my carb a little also.. But..The main problem is gearing.. I hope to try again next week. This is no easy feat to be sure. Wish me luck !! And.. Enjoy the ride...

**fairracing31** · #2 (**permalink**) 05-25-2009, 12:12 AM

Good luck Dax! I hope you succeed.

robin · #3 (**permalink**) 06-03-2009, 12:56 AM

Maybe you could then sell the high altitude special !!!!

thatsdax · #4 (**permalink**) 06-03-2009, 06:45 PM

OK.. I have new gearing to try. It is the most extreme gearing I can find in 8mm. I have an 11T on the gear box and 72T on the main crank stepped down to 22T 1/2 inch to there rear wheel. Now under full throttle in 7th gear my top speed is around 24-28... I am guessing. ..It is way down for sure... But climb is good. I am not sure how high up I will be able to go, but I going to find out this weekend. I will take pictures . So .. Wish me luck.. And.. Enjoy the ride !!!

OzzyU812 · #5 (**permalink**) 06-05-2009, 11:26 AM

Don't you have to tinker with the carb to compensate for thin air??

GOOD LUCK!!

freewheeling frank · #6 (**permalink**) 06-05-2009, 01:09 PM

awesome! good luck, i also wish to try a high altitude trip but will not be able to untill about august my goal is to ride over imogene pass outside of telluride not quite 14.000 but pretty darn close. i will attempt on the jag with honda clone 8tooth primary 51 tooth secondary. good day all, and once again good luck cant wait to see the pics,frank

**Bikeguy Joe** · #7 (**permalink**) 06-05-2009, 01:12 PM

How about pedal assisting it?

thatsdax · #8 (**permalink**) 06-06-2009, 12:08 PM

Well.. My Wife has my Saturday being with her and her friends from work. So.. I will not be able to make my climb until next weekend. That would be better anyway as more snow should melt by then. As for compensation for altitude... I have done nothing to the carb, and it runs great !! But again.. I only made it to 11,000 feet or so. From What I can tell, the Titan is such a lean burner that it runs fine at higher altitudes. My main problem is lack of air for power and gearing. I was able to hunt down a free wheel with a 34T for my large rear sprocket. I went to test it on my new bike up a large hill here near Deer Creek Canyon, about 6000 feet or so.. And.. Well.. I got a flat on the way there. So no pre test of the new gearing. But it is the best gearing for climbing so far. I have 11T 8mm on the gear box, 72T 8mm on my crank to a 22T 1/2 to the rear wheel that has a 34T 1/2. So.. I have the smallest to the largest, to smallest to largest again. I am running a 26 inch rear wheel with a 2.25 tire. The 2.25 on a 26 hurts me. I am sure a 20 inch rear tire would do it if any tire or wheel setup would.. But. The only bikes I know that run 20 rears are my recumbent's. I would not attempt to run one of those off road or even semi off road. I may step down to a 1.95 26 inch since I have a flat and need to fix it anyway. A smaller rear tire will help some for sure. I may try this climb middle of the week. Once I decide which way to go, I will fix up another bike with the same gearing so my son can ride with me. Safety in numbers.. Wish me luck. Enjoy the ride....

Echotraveler · #9 (**permalink**) 06-09-2009, 08:22 PM

i imagine dax talking to his wifes friends and drinking punch, and he only thinks of riding that bike up that hill. His wifes gonna know because his look is lost on the horizon and his eyes filled with a spark. "Dax! Honey, do you really wann climb that mountain?"....go...so dax runs and runs for 45 minutes until he gets home and then CLIMBS THOSE 14,000!

Good rythms dax

Large Filipino · #10 (**permalink**) 06-09-2009, 10:59 PM

AWESOME!!

That's it.

I'm gonna try climbing my huge hill on my buggy bike with this low gearing I'm getting on this cvt.

Way to go!!