Which bike for Tour Divide race

[baddy13]

hi everyone - not a total newbie - I do solo - self supported challenges to raise money for Love Hope Strength Foundation.  I did Route 66 2 years ago - 100 miles a day and am off to New Zealand Feb 1st for a North to South Challenge.

However - inevitably once a trip is planned, my mind goes to the next one and am thinking about the Tour Divide for 2018.  My question - as my solos so far have been on road mainly - What sort of bike (wheel size, tyres, gear ratios etc) would be good for an off road challenge of TD length. In a fairly reasonable price range?

Thanks
Lydia
www.facebook.com/OneChallengeAtATime

[bakerjw]

That is a very open ended question. Luckily there are a ton of resources out there to help make a very informed decision.
In the end, you will have to make some choices.

Wheel size? 26", 27.5", 29"
Frame material? aluminum, carbon, titanium?
Hard tail or full suspension
Single speed? 1x or 2x front derailleur? Integral geared hub like a Rohloff?
Bike manufacturer?

I'd say that pretty much every combination has been tried with some working better than others. When I first heard about the TDMBR I assumed that it was all single track trails. there are some single track sections but a lot of it is gravel roads.
So far, the most helpful videos for me have been Iohan's on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa_28YltsuY
And the tour dive grand departure from this last year. You can see a lot of the bikes that people used and how they were configured.

[Lentamentalisk]

You'll see a wide range of of advice from people, especially depending on how fast they ran through it. The racers finish it in just 2-3 weeks. Others taking a more leisurely pace finish it in many times that. As such, the amount of gear you have to bring varies widely, and  the mount of food you need between towns varies depending on how many days it will take you.

But what it seems like everyone agrees on is you need big fat tires, super beefy bike, loads of mud clearance, waterproof (and mud proof and snow proof and sleet proof) bags, and a great attitude.

[baddy13]

I guess I would have a crack at racing it - I only can get total of 4 weeks off work and including travel to start and from finish from UK I would be looking at a max total 4 weeks.

Thanks for the areas to consider and the video link
was looking at 29er hardtails such as the CUBE - seemed nice but not sure of a good gearing ratio.

Re kit - I already have Apidura packs for NZ and less than 8Kg of kit so if works well in NZ would stick to similar lines (with additions for colder wetter weather lol)

Thanks for your help

[bakerjw]

Cube bikes look good. It is amazing the number of bike companies that are out there.

As Lentamentalisk mentioned. It takes a great attitude. I think a lot of people can do the physical part, but it''s the emotional strain that gets to them.

[Couloirman]

The new Mone El Continente looks pretty rad: http://www.monebikes.com/el-continente/qk5vrygmxp27jao7vdct0hkpvt3ghj

[Lincfish20]

Salsa Fargo is a pretty popular rig.....currently on my wish list

[sfuller]

At this year's race, I saw every frame material, tire size, and drivetrain option available, including electronic shifting. Biggest take aways are to get plenty of miles on your rig before the big dance and be comfortable with repair or piecing things together in case of an incident. What works one year won't always work the next. Heading southbound on the Grand Depart, I only had two days of what I would call rainy weather (this was for a just barely sub 25 day finish), so a derailleur based 2x10 driveline worked perfectly fine for me and my riding style. People that came through the Gila just a few days after me suffered through some soul sucking rain and mud. I ran a rigid titanium frame with a titanium seatpost and carbon fork and had very few points where I felt that suspension would have been a "nice to have" and none where it was a "must have. YMMV.

[baddy13]

Thanks for replies - have continued research and new bikes seem to be coming out all the time.

29er seems like a must and hardtail would be my preference. Rohloff hubs seem pretty cool and fixie is most definately OUT! Still looking at CUBE but Giant have a few nice models.  Seems it's not hugely important what bike you ride - just that you ride it until the wheels fall off - hopefully in Antelope Wells. 
Research continues and am now looking at 2017 rather than 18.

New Zealand in 30 days so I guess I had better concentrate on that for a while LOL

[bakerjw]

Right now I am running an air fork on the front on my main cross country bike. The way that I see it, if I am out on unfamiliar terrain and tired, the fork might absorb enough of an oops moment to make the difference between maintaining control and hitting the ground. I'm all about putting the odds in my favor.

As a side note to not derail the thread. I bought my visually impaired wife a Giant Liv with a low end front fork. When I do hill climbs at some local trails, she rides her bike around a somewhat well maintained gravel road around the lake. At spots there are manhole covers that stick up anywhere from 3 to 5 inches. One evening, she hit one and the fork absorbed enough of the impact that she stayed on the bike and kept going.

[baddy13]

Front shocks seem like a good idea then. Thats a hell ofan impact to absorb!! 😀

[harryonaspot]

I have a small 2014 to Fargofor sale cheap. Needs drivetrains parts. Less than 200 miles on it. If interested try
Hdmsmz@gmail.com
Thanks
Harry

[sdr]

Didn't race but did complete the route this year on a Salsa Fargo, with a Reba front shock, without a single problem. Met many other Fargo riders, including four Brits in Eureka MT that were all riding Fargos.