I just posted this on the THTB Facebook page.......

Hey folks, we need a little input about adding a new/old category.  We are working on the participant categories for the 2014 Summer Mountain Bike Series and are once again considering adding the singlespeed category.  We tried the SS category a couple years ago but it fizzled out 4 or 5 races into the series.  We had a solid turnout of SS racers at the Winter Series and we've gotten a couple request for SS category.  If we add the category, we will have to make changes to other categories and possibly eliminate a category. We are limited on start times for some of the facilities.   

If we added the SS category, would you come mix it up at the Summer Series?  If so, are you a past participant or hitting the series for the first time? 

The SS race will be the same distance as the sport races, typically 10 to 12 miles.   

Thanks so much for your input. 

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Woods Rider wrote on 03/01/14 at 3:46pm:

How is that different than any other class?

You are correct, sport and expert stay pretty consistent where others will thin out.   The beginner men varies from year to year.  Some years, it stays very consistent will others years it will thin out a bit. We tried the SS several years ago.  It started out with eight to ten the first couple of races and within four or so races in the series, we were getting two or three people there.  Not much of a category.  But that was a couple years ago.   

Masters Men is not a huge category but we have consistent 7 to 10 throughout the whole season.      

I think part of the issue with the SS is a open category and you have can a very wide range of fitness levels in the category.

This past weekend in Sumter, SC where the Maxxis Series kicked off, there were 13 registered SS racers which represented the third highest pre-registrants next to 16 in Cat2 40+ and 19 in Cat3 40+.  I know that the Maxxis series draws more regional participants, but based soley on interest level, the numbers are pretty compelling.

I'd be interested in seeing a SS class for the Wed night series, but you (Neal) have the data that reflects declining participation in that category and maybe others.

Are there any other SS racers in the CLT area that would be willing to race Wed night summer series?  I saw plenty SSers racing in age group categories at WSTXC.

Just posted this on Facebook

Categories for the 2014 Summer Series.

After spending a lot time crunching numbers and looking at participant data, we have several conclusions:

First, we are going to replace the Super Sport category with a Single Speed category for the 2014 season. Single Speeders better man up....or women up, either way. Since we are NOT sanctioning the event with USAC, you can now race Expert and not have to have an annual USAC license.

Second is the drastic decline in our Beginner and Junior categories since 2011. I knew it was down but when I started looking at the numbers, it was scarier than I thought. In the past three seasons, our unique participants who have participated in one or more races during the series has dropped 30% to 40% each year. All other categories have remained pretty close to the same each year. Unique participants counts: Juniors 2011- 50, 2012 - 31, 2013 - 17. Beginner Men - 2011-145, 2012-125, 2013-68. These numbers are also consistent with the CYCL league that kicks off next Sunday.

These numbers are really scary. WE (bike shops, mountain bikers and myself included) have to do a better job of promoting the sport we all enjoy. I realize its not all about racing but the competitive spirit helps to fuel the excitement of the sport.

I don't think that will be the case.  A lot of those guys raced Super Sport because they didn't have an annual USAC license and could not race Expert.  I think you'll see more of those guys racing expert or mixing it up with the single speeders.

Yellowduck wrote on 03/07/14 at 6:09pm:



Ummmm... I know you have a SS bike.  Come race with us!