I've a stache that I love. I finished the colorado trail with it a couple days ago and cannot fault it. The geometry is deffinitely more playful than many of the other bikes, especially the 29+bikes available like the surly ecr/krampus if that is what you are after. The salsa woodsmoke is almost the same as the stache geometry wise. It has a biģger front triangle for a larger frame bag. It could be another contender but I don't  have experience with it. Personally if you can get the right geometry I would go with 29+. Only thing is there seems to be more tyres available for 27.5+ but you only really need 2.

Good luck everyone.
Assuming everything goes to plan I'll be starting my ride (not race/ITT) at Waterton Canyon on day 7. Might be lucky enough to see someone cross the line (and that person might be lucky if I have a beer stashed in my bags).

Pushing yourself to hard will be detrimental. The sleep deprivation and potential nerve damage are particular issues as well as injuries that you push through and get worse. Much of these risks can be managed by preparing (bike setup, training, decent diet and of course self control).

Of course the physical and mental benefits can outweigh the unhealthy aspects. The training leading up to the event will be very healthy. The mental satisfaction of doing something like that is very beneficial. You could argue that an overall slower pace is healthier physically but ultra racing will be better than being inactive.

Really your life is there to enjoy. Make some good memories while you have the time. If ultraracing is your thing go for it. I'm not really of the racing mentality but I will probably do one someday for the group experience and happily finish in the last 30% but for now I am happy to enjoy just being out there.

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To me they are much too low. If it were me riding that setup I'd be constantly on the flats, on the hoods sometimes and never use the drops. It may be ok for short rides but for long days being not too hunched over helps with confort and avoiding hand numbness.

Everyone is different though, some people don't mind being their weight being more over the bars. Just keep in mind on average you will be putting less torque through the pedals on long days meaning you will want higher bars. This is because torque through the pedals lifts your torso away from the bars relieving pressure on your hands.

As for tubes. I'm thinking about 2 plus a dozen of those self sticking patches because they take up so little space.

Stick on patches? I don't use them myself as I don't trust them but I haven't heard anyone who knows what they are doing being happy with them. I'd personally be using traditional patches with vulcanising cement. They provide a permanent repair which is important.

I'll be riding the CT starting ~31st July. I was considering doing it as an ITT but decided to relax on the CT. Good thing too considering how little free time I have for training at the moment.  

With low gears (say 22:32) steep hills can be ridden up without too much difficulty (or too much speed). If it's paved up to 12% shouldn't be too much issue over long stretches with patience even with a heavy load. Steeper for shorter sections are pretty doable. Unpaved surfaces can be difficult as you can lose traction and have to put your foot down so steep inclines can be challenging. Difficult or uneven surfaces can limit your ability to climb. There is a point where pushing is the best way. About 2-3 months into my first bike tour I found that I was better off riding up even the steepest hills (paved) with the heavy loads. These days I'm not as bike fit and pushing can be a welcome change of pace.

Mountains can be great as you have a challenge (the up) and then a reward (the down). Flat ground can get boring over too much time but watching the distance click by quickly is nice as well. Don't fear the mountains, just have patience.     

I saw the title to this thread and assumed the price was going down as there is getting to be more competition. Apparently not. I won't be registering my old Gen II at those prices and will go without or get something else if I feel the need.

I would say that it really depends on what you call food. If you consider carrying food the same thing as carrying calories then you don't save any weight by carrying a stove. Fats and sugars don't need cooking. If you want something that resembles a meal then you can save weight once your trip involves a number of days between services. How many days depends on the weight of your cooking setup. The other thing is that for short trips your body can tolerate a lack of fibre, vitamins etc. that energy dense uncooked food has but for longer trips it isn't good. Of course eating the same stuff day in day out for all meals of the day can be pretty depressing for some people; some people don't mind.

Water for cooking is another consideration. Lightweight cooking food tends to save weight by being dry and you add water in the cooking process. If you are somewhere where it is easy to find water then you may be able to cook near a watersource or only carry water a short distance. If water is hard to come across you may have to be carrying water for cooking and cleaning for half the day or taking it out of your drinking water.

If you are resupplying on the trip or don't have everything available at the start of your trip you may find that cooking is the better bet as you can't get a hold of all the items you want. If you start your trip at an outdoor mecca with time to spare before you start your trip and you are a local or at least speak the local language then getting all the things you want for uncooked or cooked meals in a light package is easy. If you are in the boonies, don't speak the language or similar then being able to cook can really open your options. I did a 3 month trip in the backwaters of Siberia and every shop I went into all the things to buy were on the other side of the counteer and you asked the clerk for it. You had to know the word for what you wanted or be able to identify it from the a bit of distance away and point and ask for it. The regular stocking up for 3-7 days would have been very challenging if I couldn't cook food.

I haven't done the comparison to see where the weight is. If you want to figure it out the best way is to plan a typical days food for not cooking and another for cooking including fuel used. Figure out the difference and compare that to the additional weight needed for the cooking setup (stove, pot, fuel bottle etc) by dividing the additional weight needed for the cooking setup by the difference in food weight consumed daily (assuming the cooked food is lighter). The result should be the number of days that you take the same weight cooking as not cooking. Longer trips you save weight by cooking, shorter you add weight.
 
Personally I prefer to carry cooking stuff. Cooking up a nice meal at the end of the day is something I enjoy despite it taking time out of your day. If you are racing then the time taken cooking may be too long.

Really once you get out there you should be fine. When you are remote ride a bit more conservatively. You don't know the route as well as your local tracks and you aren't as well prepared to deal with injuries if they happen when you are remote. Animals are not out there to get humans no matter how much we collectively deserve it. When you are on the bike the risk of an animal attack is pretty low on the list. Follow the right precautions and food storage procedure for the area you are in and you will be safe at night as well. I find the biggest issue in bear country is when something wakes you up in the middle of the night in the tent the first thing that comes to mind is a bear right outside the tent.

For those scared of rattle snakes - come riding in Australia. I often see Eastern Brown snakes (Scary aggressive and very deadly) and red belly black snakes (Cuddly in comparison but still potentially deadly venom). I hopped over an Eastern Brown Snake a couple weeks ago. Last year I stopped when 2 big males were having a territorial fight in mating season. When I interrupted I was chased by one of them. Ended up having a 20 minute stand off between the snake and myself including the next 10 people who came riding along. The Eastern brown is much more venemous and more aggressive/territorial than Rattle snakes. They're pretty common around Sydney and much of the East coast.

I had a bear in Romania wake me up at night in 2011. I foolishly hadn't expected bears in the area but made some basic precautions. I rode for 20 minutes after cooking before setting up camp off the side of the road. I left the food pannier out of the tent under the bike. I set up when it was dark and didn't notice that someone had dumped rubbish off the side of where I was camping. The bear obviously came for that as he was picking through it for a while. Eventually it came and investigated my tent and bike. He pushed the wall of the tent right over my head while sniffing before dragging my food bag out from under the bike. Luckily he was scared off by a logging truck with the log holding arms bouncing around as it hit the potholes - the only vehicle to pass for about 10 hours. It wasn't a good night sleep but I didn't even lose my food. I've been more cautious since then, particularly in my trip in Siberia where there were bear tracks everywhere for the 3 month trip.

What are the typical road/track surfaces on the route like?

[Answer:]

Not sure exactly what you are mean by going bikepacking as it is a pretty vague term. Also road bike is pretty vague with some being more suited to different things than others.

Bikepacking and bike touring are really the same thing. In some circles bike touring seems to imply riding on the road or with rack and panniers or riding at a more relaxed pace and bikepacking is sometimes seen to be offroad / singletrack race or near race paces with bikepacking bags. Bikepacking bags refers to a frame bag, seat pack mounting to the seat rails and seat post and a handlebar sling/harness. Ultimately they are both used to describe a self supported bicycle trip. If you can't find much info on bikepacking on a road bike look up bike touring if you haven't already.

So by asking if people bikepack on road bikes are you asking if people:

1. Ride an offroad self supported bike trip with a road bike Answer: Probably not a good idea for the typical modern road bike as the tyres are too narrow, the wheels wont hold up well and it won't be comfortable even on a typical gravel road or firetrail. A cyclocross bike or a hybrid bike with capacity for reasonably wide tyres would be ok on dirt roads and some firetrails
or 
2. Ride an on road self supported bike trip with a road bike Answer: People will often ride a self supported trip on a road bike. Some road bikes may be limited in terms of how much gear they can be loaded with limiting you to bikepacking bags.
or
3. Ride a self supported bike trip on a road bike using bikepacking bags Answer: Quite a few people do with no issues. The handlebar harness is limited in width due to the drop bars but otherwise it is becoming pretty popular for light and fast self supported bike rides.

Here are my 2 setups

First one is my Long Haul Trucker. It's set up with 26" x 2.25" Marathon extreme tires and flatbars to handle fire roads and similar with a fair load. I've been able to load it up with ~3 weeks of food and (Australian) winter camping gear and head into the mountains  not having to worry about trying to resupply.  See below in Siberian explorer mode with 4x20L ortlieb panniers which were great for floating the bike across deep puddles. As you can see it is a bit of a tank.


The other is my Trek Stache. I'm just finishing fitting it out with bags. Here it is test loaded with all my gear but no food that I'm planning on taking on the Colorado trail this year.

The dry bag strapped to the bars is an alpkit heavy duty one that has loops on it so it can be tied to things. With some webbing, clips and ladderlocks I've strapped it to the bars. One triglide holds it looped around the bars, another triglide holds it looped around the fork crown. The 2 loose ends have the clips on them to hold the dry bag tight. This works really well but I will get some narrower webbing than the 38mm that I had as it is overkill and doesn't fit through the loop in the alpkit drybag when the clips are attached. The 8L drybag currently holds the  tent excluding poles and sleeping mat with room to spare. I also have a 13L drybag if I decide I want more loaded up the front.

The Seatpack is a Restrap harness with a 13L drybag in it. It currently holds a sleeping bag and all the clothes minus the clothes I'd be wearing on a hot day. I've a down quilt on the way that will bring the weight and bulk down compared to the synythetic bag currently in there for the trial pack.

The Framebag is an alpkit bag. I've put tools, pot, stove, cup, pump, tent poles and some random bits of food items in there. The tent poles and pump are a bit awkward in the frame bag and will make it hard to fit enough food in there due to their awkward shape. I'm thinking of putting together a sleeve that fits under the downtube or packing them with the tent on the handlebars wrapped in the ground sheet instead of inside the drybag.

The top tube bag has space for a camera, smartphone (Visible through clear cover) and an mp3 player or similar.

The pouch on the top of the handlebars will be for snacks and similar.

The Camelback Skyline 10L backpack holds a 3L bladder, Platypus 2L gravity water filter (can be used to carry extra water) and the rainjacket. There is space for personal items, electronics, maps etc. I'll probably move a spare layer in here with the rainjacket so it is quicker to adapt to the weather.  

Ultimately I'll shuffle things around a bit to try and keep the dense stuff in the frame bag. If I need more water or food I can move things out of the frame bag and put the water bladder from the water filter or more food in the frame bag.

I saw some decent discount on Easton ARC plus rims at chain reaction recently. These would be pretty suitable I suspect.

I have to be able to eek out a last XX miles and throw down a slealth bivy wherever I end up. I can't see that happening if my bivy depends on relatively flat ground without rocks, logs, puddles, roots or other stuff that makes sleeping on it impossible. Finding 2 trees 3 to 4 metres apart is usually much easier. Am I missing something?

Sleeping pad, definitely. Closed-cell foam or bust here, trimmed to shoulder-hip length. I like my old, smashed-down ones unless it's cold.

"Am I missing something?" Fixed above .

If you decide on a hammock I would highly suggest a proper underquilt or at least a wide pad. If temp is below 70 you will get cold in hammock after a few minutes.

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I will second that. A hammock seems like a good lightweight option but in all but the warmest of weather you will need something under you to keep you warm and ultimately you will probably end up with a heavier setup than a tent. Some people prefer the hammock for sleeping quality and other features but it is not going to be lighter with all things being equal. 

You don't mention a sleeping mat. Not only do they help with comfort but they insulate you from the ground keeping you warm. Similarly in a hammock you will get cold coming from underneath as the air temperature drops and the wind blows under you. I'm not sure what your experience camping is like but I would be inclined to not skimp on sleep basics until you have a bit of experience and know what you personally can go without.

If your sleeping bag may not be warm enough a bivy will help with warmth but from what I've seen most people who take bivies will have a tarp with them as well. I've never used a bivy as it seems to me like you often end up approaching the weight of a lightweight tent by the time you have your bivy, tarp, stakes, lines and even sometimes poles to set it up. I can see it being worthwhile with multiple people where there is one tarp and everyone has their bivy when it comes time to sleep.

As a few people have said, go for the low gears. How many times do you realistically turn your highest gear and would you be that disappointed to coast or cruise along at a lower speed?
Riding off tarmac tends to have a lower range of appropriate speeds anyway, you don't go as fast on the flat due to rolling resistance/bumps. You don't tend to pedal so much on fast downhills due to bumps and less predictable surfaces. It is harder to pedal the really steep inclines due to grip, inconsistent surfaces and trail features making hike a bike more common. Up until my new bike (Trek Stache 7) I've always ridden a triple but I'm happy with the 420% spread on my 1 x 11. I'll be using a 28t front for the Colorado trail due to the 29+ wheels. Assuming a low cadence of 60RPM and a high cadence of 90RPM that gives me workable speeds of ~ 6 to 36 km/hr (4-22 mph).

Thanks SEC

I'm with you on the preference of alcohol stove over isobutane. Isobutane canisters are a hassle in a number of ways. I've read that it is often prohibited to use alcohol stoves in many of the areas of the colorado trail during the summer due to fire danger (conditions and location dependant). I'll need to do a bit more research close to the date to try and figure out whether alcohol will be much of an issue.

I've bought a silicone lid to my pot which saves most of the weight of fry pan lid making the cooking pot pretty lightweight, probably within 100g of a ti cup/pot which is fine considering you can actually cook on this setup.  I'm thinking I can probably go without the thermos and just use a bottle/sealable cup of some sort. I'm thinking a tupperware container of roughly the right size and clip on lids to keep it sealed so it can be kept somewhere with something in it, I'll see how well it seals before testing it with liquids but it will work well to keep cooking related things in and organised. I canj always use some clothing to insulate the pot or sealed cup for a period of time.

Just an educated opinion of mine. Probably not a problem unless you and the seatpack gear are approaching any weight limits. It could increase wear of some of the components in the same way as if you were heavier or didn't unload your weight from the seat over bumps.

If you are going on a longer trip you might consider replacing it with a cheap aluminium post just for the knowledge that you aren't wearing out an expensive item and a bit of saved weight. Probably not worth it unless you have a spare post around or get one for cheap.