Koga Beach Racer 1
We showed you the prototype version of Koga’s BeachRacer way back in January – we’re so far ahead of the game, us – and got the chance to check out the finished article at Eurobike recently (okay, it was nearly four weeks ago; we’ve been busy).
If you’re not familiar with the concept of beach racing, it’s exactly what the name suggests – racing across sand. It’s popular over the winter in The Netherlands, which is where Koga are based and it's popular (well, the idea at least) with Vecchiojo who picked it out as one of his Eurobike Faves and who coincidentally lives quite near a beach - even it it's a pebbly one.
Of course, riding on the sand is very different from riding on the road and you need the right tool for the job. Koga actually started out with a cyclocross bike and blended it with a 29er mountain bike.
The frame is made for 7005 aluminium alloy tubes while the Koga Pinza fork is full carbon. The geometry is designed to be very sporty with a steep seat angle, while the brake and shift cables run on top of the top tube. The idea there, as with a cyclocross bike, is that it’s easy to carry the BeachRacer on your shoulder where running is faster than cycling.
The BeachRacer gets a short head tube and a drop handlebar that flares outwards dramatically so you can get into a low and aerodynamic riding position with plenty of control. It has Tektro Spyre disc brakes, a Truvativ single-ring chainset – you’re not going to be tackling long, hard hills – and an EThirteen chain guide.
The rear mech is Shimano Ultegra (you don’t need a front mech, obviously) and the BeachRacer is fitted with a Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.1 tyre at the front and a Supermoto 2.35 beach tyre at the rear. The complete bike weighs 10.3 kg (22.7lb) according to Koga, and it’s priced at £1,299.
Koga emphasise that although the BeachRacer is designed specifically for the sand, you can also use it for riding fast both on and off road. You might want to change the tyres to suit the surface, though.
For more info, go to Koga’s website.
Mat has worked for loads of bike magazines over the past 20 years, and been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. He's been road.cc technical editor for seven years, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a past winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer.
9 comments
Bike launches are all about stiffness and compliance. What does these beach bike say about it's, err, good vibrations?
More seriously (almost), what handlebars are those? Previous versions of this bike you featured used Midges.
the bastard love child of a cross bike & 29er? sounds perfect to me!
is it me or has cycling now truly exploded? Bikes for just about everything and, crucially, a lot of them are useable for so many other purposes.
This looks superb to me. Just brilliant. Would love to have it as an N+1
As an aside, I also wonder whether the era of the 1 x 10 "useful bike" is just round the corner.
stating the obvious perhaps, but doesn't sand + salt + derailleur gears + disc brakes = very short life?
I'd have though it would be better having a carbon frame (less reactive with salt); a hub gear (or no gears at all); and rim brakes that are easy to clean afterwards?
Admit it - you just liked it because of the name of the front tyre!
Looks great fun. Beach racing looks more do-able in the UK than Gravel racing.
Shame I live 70 miles from a beach !
Just get a fatbike
Fixed
The Genesis Caribou does rather tickle my fancy
yes I feel there is a fat bike shaped space in my cellar that need filling. the wife need never know!