Joey-- thanks for the advice.  It will definitely influence how I set my bike up.  The 4 tooth jump is fine for a bolt on wheel and track ends with rim brakes, since you retension the chain every time and the placement of the brake pads on the rim can be a little variable; this is probably why I've never noticed the difference.  Now that you've mentioned this, it seems like a singlespeed with disk brakes should be just that:  one combination.

On another note, I've now done 3 rides using a 22 X 19 combo.  They've all been on mountainous terrain with few flat spots, some paved, some dirt roads, mostly singletrack, totaling around 50 miles.  With a frame bag containing 3 liters of water and layers, it has been a real treat.  Impractical for flat sections, for sure, and I walked the steepest pitches, but it felt great to spin up most grades.  The search goes on.

Not a SS crankset.  I use a triple, where the standard 22 tooth just sits there in case something happens to the other chainring(s).  I have also used a fixed-position rear derailleur and treated my Karate Monkey as a 3 speed:  22 X 22, 32 X 22, and 44 X 22 (manually moving the chain, no shifters [commuting]); never used this configuration for mtbing, though. 

chrisx:

You could probably use a triple crankset in a 1 X 9 setup with a short enough chain.  However, I would worry about those lower gears-- lots of torque on very few teeth.  Might as well have 2 chainrings.  Check out action tec, they make a 39 tooth cog!  Not sure how difficult it would be to use, but a 32 X 39 is pretty close to a 22 X 32.

pro-out:

It's fun trying to take the simplicity out of singlespeed!  Spinning out is just one of those things... you can optimize a gear combo for the terrain you like to ride, but sometimes you have to ride some road, too.  For me, I'm just too dumb to shift, hence one gear at a time...  Hammerschmidt might be a good solution, though I don't know much about it.

Thanks.  A 22 X 17 gives the same gearing as a 32 X 25.  I'm going to try that out on a few rides before I drop the $$$.

I've been using 32 X 22 gearing for a while now.  Works really well for a 26 inch wheel; a little harder for a 29er.  Just seems like I need more, especially with a packed bike, so I'm thinking of switching systems from freewheel to freehub.  Action tec makes titanium cogs that fit onto freehub bodies, so I'm looking at a 25 and 21 tooth, paired with a 32 and 36 tooth chainring.  They say it will work well as long as I use a steel freehub body like one King offers or an XT.

Just wanted to know if there was anyone who has tried this method of titanium (or other metal) cogs on a steel freehub body for a singlespeed (no derailleur) option. My main concern is chewing up the splines after miles and miles of hard pedaling.

If you don't want to throw lots of money at the issue, you might consider purchasing a higher rise stem for the Voodoo for a better "all day" fit.  I did this with my Stumpjumper a while back and it worked well.

Of course, it sounds like you would want to change tires as well, which is considerable more effort than swapping stems, leading to a second set of wheels, cassette, chain, rotors, etc... more money!

Have fun with your n + 1 quest.

I used a fenix ld10 on my helmet and it worked well on the middle-brightness setting, combined with an MTE 300 lumen light on the bar.  The ld10 got pretty close to 4 hours burn time on 1 AA battery.  I would consider using one on the bar and one on the helmet for future rides.

Congrats to all out there that finished/attempted/detoured!  Now go enjoy the rest of the summer.

Gabe

They start not far beyond Stony pass.  Not to worry though, the trail is easy enough to follow, especially with GPS.  For the most part the trail is well defined and good riding, at least if you've got any power at 13k'.  There are short sections with little trail to no trail but those huge cairns can be seen for miles. 

I just rode 22/23 with LW as a 2 dayer (loop via cinnamon), it's in perfect shape, flowers absolutely unbelievable right now.  If you are lucky enuf to hit it in daylight and good weather you'll carry a smile all the way to Denver.

We were passed on Cinnamon by Brian Smith and friends who did the same loop as a ~ 11 hour day ride.  Freaks!  I still can't breath over 10k' LOL.

FYI - there is very little *good* water on seg 22. In the traditional direction, the first good water source is about a mile past Coney summit.  There is a small creek before you leave the trees, but it currently has about 1000 sheep grazing on it.  The sheepherder was coming down as we were going up and he told us in a thick accent "sheep, no problem!" several times.  There's no shortage of water on 23.  I look forward to reports of the fun factor of climbing stony pass, that is one steep road! 

It was interesting to me that "low" elevation ended up at 9000-11000 feet and that I had little power in these sections.  I was okay to hike, but it took 14 hours to cross those sections in S to N direction.  Definitely fill up at that stream before summit to Spring Creek Pass.  Lots more water in section 23 than 22.  The climb up Stoney Pass might be a never-do-again for me.  Racers, enjoy that downhill!

Yea.  Made it to Mt. Princeton trail on the pavement above the springs and there was a storm looming.  it was 2 pm and I had like 20 miles to BV and needed to get my mail drop.  Took the pavement in... that was the end of my "race".

SPOT ran out of batteries somewhere along Fooses.  Changed batteries in BV and it would never give me a green light again.  Same thing happened to my 1st unit... not sure if it was user error or not.

Kept riding through Twin Lakes and then called it quits in Leadville yesterday.  Same thing as last year:  I'd just had enough.  The mental toughness is the hardest thing.  When I spoke to Joe he said he was pretty destroyed at the end there.  Good on you for finishing!!  You are an animal.

Definitely some beautiful country out there.  Good luck to all you racers starting off tomorrow.

Mmmm, breakfast.  My recommendation is Carvers - they have delicious breakfast, but they don't open until 6:30am.  I'd wait for that, though, as it is really good.  The Durango Diner and Oscar's are both open at 6am, more of a greasy spoon/diner scene, but still good if grease is okay.  And then there's Bread, which is very good for pastries and such but not really a full breakfast, and it's a 10 minute ride from downtown.  Where are you turning in your truck?  The Uhaul place is literally next door to Bread.  The other three breakfast places I mentioned are right downtown.

If you guys would like some company for breakfast and a spin to the trailhead, say the word - I'd stumble out of bed for some food and an early morning pavement spin.

We're gonna go for the Durango Diner, 6 am. 

Dropping budget truck off at Ted's, 999 College Dr. I remember Carver's for dinner.  Yes, good.  I will consult my friends about Durango Diner or Oscar's.  We want to make the earliest start possible.  I've got directions to the traihead, 6.7 miles from the center of town.  Should take 30-35 minutes?

Thanks for the info!

Gabe

There are  3 of us doing ITTs starting Friday morning (7/22).  We are turning in our rental truck, finding breakfast (any suggestions for a place open early in town?) and riding to the trailhead.  Hoping for a 7 am start.

Yea, the 12 lbs was a little high, and the final pack out is closer to 9 lbs.  This includes some heavy stuff like fresh/dried fruit (consumed quickly), Mike n' Ikes (only 100 cal/oz), and cashews (160 cal/oz).  Finally, those awesome recovery protein powders are coming in at 150 cal/oz. and I'm carrying 7 days worth of those.

I think I'm carrying too much food, but the variety makes up for it.  Recently found combos:  1..Mountain High Strawberry Granola poured over a Pop Tart (1200 calorie breakfast)-- thanks to Joe B. for that one, as well as precooked bacon-- much easier to get down than jerky.  2.  Those bread stick cheese things-- thanks to Mark C. for that one that don't need refrigeration, combined with salami bits on a bagel.  And 3. A NUUN Kola with vanilla Hammer Gel chaser-- it's like a vanilla Coke!

Before I forget, what will the 1 800 call in number be for MTBCast? 

I had to replace my SPOT and have a new unit number (shared page is still the same).  Should I fill the form out again with the new information or can I PM the number to trackleaders?

I'm working on some ideas for covering my ankles too   

Last year I wore Gore tex tennis shoes and used OR low cut gaiters.  Worked well.  This year I have clipless shoes and intend to bring those gaiters again... 8 oz/pair, but worth it for me.

Going in reverse this year, I have been working on the calories needed out of Silverton to Buena Vista.  I have a number of 16,000 and it weighs around 12 pounds.  I had a great no-backpack strategy going until I tried to find a way to carry all that food!  It fit on the bike, but whoa heavy (60 pounds with 100 oz water).  I guess a small backpack will have to do...

Leaving in 8 days!!  Looking forward to seeing racers out there towards the end of my journey, if not at Indian Creek campground Sunday night.

btw my friend rode up Fooses and down Monarch Crest last weekend.  He said there was a little snow and mud, but wasn't a problem.

Thanks for the photos.  Georgia Pass and Searle Pass right now are reporting as snowed in... good to see a little less snow down south.

I guess one could also do bike swaps at post offices along the way, which would also meet the literal description of only using mail drops. Nothing like a freshly serviced and clean bike optimized for each section.

That's a good idea!

Hey y'all.  There are 3 of us leaving Denver on July 20 after work to ride the CT west to east.  Rental cars are pretty much out, but we've secured a uhaul to get us down there.

Thought I'd throw it out there to anyone wanting/able to make a road trip and help out 3 guys and their bikes.  We'll pay the same as the uhaul ($200) plus gas to take us down there in your vehicle.

Melt snow, melt!

Yesterday I was contacted by a fan of the Tour Divide Race who has offered up a Cordillera sales matching challenge to the entire Bikepacking community!

For every Cordillera Volume 2 sold from now until the day that Justin Simoni reaches Antelope Wells (or quits) the donor will make an equal donation to Linnaea Blumenthal's college fund. He's matching the full $15 purchase price for each book sold!

This is incredible! Now, thanks to this generous match over $21 from each and every Cordillera Volume 2 sold will go directly into Linnaea Blumenthal's college 529 savings plan.

There is no maximum donation. The donor is prepared to lay out some serious cash to help Linnaea but he's challenging all of us pull a little harder too. So please everyone, even if you have purchased a copy of the Cordillera please buy another copy or two. They make great gifts and have been getting terrific reviews so I know your friends and family will want their own copy.

If you don't know about the Cordillera Volume 2 check out this thread: http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,2096.0.html

Purchase your copy here: https://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-cordillera/15659154

Thanks everyone and please help spread the word via Facebook, blogs, club emails, etc. 

Go Kurt, JB, Caroline, Norb, JP, and everyone else. I'll not be getting any yard work done today.

Eric -editor

Just got my copies.  Justin Simoni is still going!

In actual use, if I put more than a couple pounds in it (for instance, a full 95 oz bladder) it hits me right in the kidney like the end of a football and causes enough pain to make we want to quit whatever it is I'm doing.  I gave the wingnut away...

Second that.  This summer for overnighters I put layers, toiletries, and a little food in my 2.5... no water, and that was fine.  For day rides the 50 oz. bladder and a jacket.  For the above reasons, I actually think the assault is the best pack they make.  You can run 2 50 oz. bladders and a hose to both sides, gatorade in one and water in another...

On the giving away, I would sell my adventure pack for a reasonable price, but maybe not give it away.  On the other hand, the 2.5 was given to me because it had a busted zipper.