Ride the Divide

[tacticalathletes]

Planning to ride the divide border-to-border this summer.  I have a BOB trailer but after doing much research am wondering if investing in a framebag-handlebar bag and seatpost bag set up would make the miles a bit easier to stamp out?  I'm going as light as possible with stays in motels about half the nights.  Targeting a 37 day goal for route.  Appreciate any advice as the investment in bags is not cheap. 

[Done]

I haven't ridden the GDMBR, but I have tried the three different ways of carrying gear: a trailer, panniers, and a framebag/seatbag ultralight setup. In a nutshell, a BOB trailer will be heavy and slow--but it'll enable you to carry lots of comfort items like a large tent, extra clothes, etc. An ultra-light setup will be faster, but you'll lose a LOT of carrying capacity--which will likely mean investing in expensive compact gear if you don't already have it. Panniers are a reasonable compromise if you're wanting to tour without the weight of a trailer, but don't want to invest in ultra-light gear.

[Flounder]

I vary my travel options to include a B.O.B., panniers or the now more enjoyable, ultra-light bikepacking set up. The B.O.B. trailer can sometimes feel like I'm dragging a water buffalo behind me, and it's by no means loaded to the gills. Even modest loads back there feel heavy....to me, anyway. Panniers are my preference if I need to haul standard touring loads. That said, I've found the lighter I go, the more enjoyable the experience, so even panniers give me pause. I suppose it all depends on the comfort to weight ratio and what drives your priorities.

[tacticalathletes]

Thank you for sharing valuable experience.  I've done road tours with my BOB and had days where it just dissapears.  I started training more regularly with it in the mountains and the steeper grade roads and trails have made me question it's place on the divide.  I am using gear and strategies similar to those who race the divide so gear selection is light and minimalist.  I would prefer to climb 1mph faster than have a few luxuries. 

Any recomendations for where to get good bags this time of year (saw revelate had a few key pieces out-of-stock until spring 2012)?   Porcelain Rocket?  Others?       

[Done]

I am using gear and strategies similar to those who race the divide so gear selection is light and minimalist.  I would prefer to climb 1mph faster than have a few luxuries.

Yeah, dump the trailer then. Those things weight about 15 pounds EMPTY! And then there's the added rolling resistance of an extra wheel...

Any recomendations for where to get good bags this time of year (saw revelate had a few key pieces out-of-stock until spring 2012)?   Porcelain Rocket?  Others?      

There's a pretty complete list of bikepacking bag suppliers on MTBR.com, in the bikepacking forum (http://forums.mtbr.com/bikepacking-bike-expedition/bikepacking-gear-bags-who-makes-em-766873.html).

I just bought some gear from Phantom Pack Systems (http://www.phantompacksystems.com/), and it's awesome. I also have some good stuff from Revelate.

[caseygreene]

I'm not sure what we have in stock right now, but our store carries a full range of Revelate bags:
http://www.adventurecycling.org/store/index.cfm/category/114/bags.cfm

You can check our current stock by calling 800.721.8719 and speaking to Ted or Sarah

Those Porcelain Rocket and Phantom bags look really nice as well.

[sfuller]

Any recomendations for where to get good bags this time of year (saw revelate had a few key pieces out-of-stock until spring 2012)?   Porcelain Rocket?  Others?       

I can vouch for the quality of the PR bags. Right now my kit is actually a mix of PR and Revelate as I managed to pick up a used sling locally. Email Scott and see what his production backlog is like. It varies some, but he's very responsive.

FWIW, I haven't ridden the GD myself, but it sure seems like pushing a bike on sections is hard enough, let alone trying to deal with the extra weight and the complexity of the BOB and it's hitch. Also, if something were to happen to the BOB skewer, you'd have no easy way of towing the trailer.

[Chunt]

I bikepacked for years using a BOB trailer, but only on unpaved rail trails and forest service roads. The new rackless system opens up a lot more terrain and I have no plans of going back. I enjoyed the BOB for almost ten years with no mechanical problems and still have good memories of the trips. The deal breaker was when I weighed my BOB against my new rig. The trailer alone weighed more than my tent, sleeping bag, pad, stove and food COMBINED.

[offroute]

"I'm going as light as possible..." would preclude the trailer IMO. I've never used one, BTW. I have spent a few days on the Divide. I think a light, comfortable pack that's a little larger than you need is a good way to add capacity when you need it. Even when it's temporarily more full with light, bulky items it's not a deal breaker at all. Cheers...

Mike

[tacticalathletes]

Much appreciate the shared wisdom here.  For some reason, even though I was gearing light, I had a blind spot to the BOB trailer. 

FWIW, I just ordered a rackless bag kit from 12Wheels here in our classifieds.  Excellent reviews and quality commmunication on his part so far.  Now I'm curious how much of a game changer running these bag systems will be compared to a rack or trailer particularly during extended climbing or rough descents?

Also, now that I've sacrifised my traditional bottle cage locations for a framebag,  what are folks thoughts on mounting cages on suspension fork? This would be in addition to a bladder in the framebag and/or pack when max capacity is needed.

[sfuller]

General consensus is to put your heavier items in the frame bag and low so the weight is centered better. Most people (myself included) tend to put their clothing and lighter stuffable items in the seat bag since it hangs back over the rear wheel. If packed well, things tend to stay put fairly well.

[annoying crack]

Also, now that I've sacrificed my traditional bottle cage locations for a framebag,  what are folks thoughts on mounting cages on suspension fork? This would be in addition to a bladder in the framebag and/or pack when max capacity is needed.

I (and many others) ran waterbottles on my forks during TDR. I also used a waterbottle under the downtube and never lost a bottle. I ran some precautions though. The waterbottle under the downtube had a valve cover to protect it from nasty spray picked up along the way and was secured with a piece of string. All three bottles were kept inside specialized plastic cages which seem to keep bottles better then rigid alu/tita ones.
The bottles on the forks where placed in a way that I could also use them safely while riding!

[Arctos]

I rode the Divide Ride several years ago before frame/seat packs were available commercially. I rode with two front panniers only and a dry bag stuffer on the rear rack. Total equipment weight was 18 pounds.

 It made for an easier more enjoyable ride than the folks I encountered on overloaded bikes with four panniers and more or with overloaded BOB trailers. They often walked routes that I could ride easily with the reduced weight. I also had no mechanicals which I attribute to the reduced weight.

Although I have recently been attempting to shift to frame/seat pack type system, I still prefer the old two pannier system described above since i really do not like carrying a pack on my back. Maybe I can change with more practice-maybe!

[tacticalathletes]

This confirms it!  More riding, less stuff!

[Payton MacDonald]

Jeremy Cleveland made my bags and they are fabulous.

[sniz]

Jeremy Cleveland made my bags and they are fabulous.

Same here!  Jeremy makes some quality stuff for a very reasonable price.

[Pete castelli]

Are you joining the depart in Roosville on June 15th? Myself and a friend will be there, hoping to get from Roosville to Antelope Wells.