2014 CTR Discussion

[Racingguy04]

Anyone ever done packless on the CTR?  I was thinking I could probably get away with it for most except for the stretch from Buena Vista to Silverton.  Maybe get a small REI Flash 18 pack and keep it stuffed away until needed? 

Just thinking out loud here.  I'm not a super minimalist in the fact that I use a pad/quilt/bivy/tarp.  I don't bring extra change of clothes other than some long johns to sleep in and a puffy jacket.  I'll have to pack all up and see what I can do. 

Like without a back pack? or no bags at all? I'm planning on riding without a back pack this year, but I'll have my handlebar bag, seat bag, and half frame bag.

[sherpaxc]

Sorry.  No backpack.  I'll have the full complement of bags otherwise.

[Done]

New option for bailing in the CTR. Get to a trailhead or paved road and call AAA!!

Cool!

[joeydurango]

Next time I do the CTR - this year or otherwise - it will be packless.

[wbcmaelstrom]

I have the full Revelate Designs get up. I want to be packless, but we will see how things go when I pack. I have a small camelback that I might just use for a water bladder that's not too heavy and comfortable. I also have a big Osprey hydro backpack that I will try NOT to use, but just might have to. I should be able to get most of my stuff in the revelate bags, but I'm still not sure on how much room the food will take up.

[Yogi the Barry]

Pack or packless? My redefined 2-cents, after finishing the AZT 300 on a hardtail with a 100mm travel fork, with previous bikepacking experience riding a plush 140mm travel [front and rear] Ibis Mojo-SL...
FS bikes can be loaded up with more gear to allow better success riding with less weight in a pack or packless. If the terrain you ride is smooth, then putting all the weight on bike works fine. Just ask any road bike tourer. Pretty rare to see a roadie tourist wearing more than a small fanny pack.
Hardtails ride so much nicer with a few pounds thrown into a pack. Riding a hardtail over rough terrain with a lot of weight on the bike makes for an ill handling bike. The rear of the bike takes a beating with a heavily loaded bike. For the HAB/CAB sections, I can only imagine how much harder it would be to push/carry a bike that had 100% of the gear loaded onto it.
For the AZT 300, I wore a pack that carried 12# [max] of gear. That weight included a full 100 oz bladder and ~2000 calories of food. The breakdown of the pack load - food and water was about 8# and other gear was about 4#. I carried 13# of gear on the bike, which included no water and ~1000 cal of food.
Total load carried was about 25# - 16# of gear and 9# of food/water. Weight on the bike went up another 2-8#, during a couple of stretches when I needed to carry extra water [1-4L].
For the CTR, my non-food gear load will probably go up about 1# on the back and 2# on the bike. The spreadsheet and scales will tell the truth.
No matter how you decide to carry gear, the cruel irony is the slower you ride, the more gear one seems to need.
To summarize: I think one extreme or the other, all gear in a pack or all on the bike, is exactly that... an extreme. Like most things in life, a balanced compromise is what usually works best. But YMMV so do whatever turns your crank the best...

Edit: Expected bloat on the CTR will be food, for those BV to Silverton and onto Dango stretches. Given that a pound of food is about 2500-3000 cal, at my slow pace, gonna need to load up an additional 6# of food in BV and Silverton. At least the water load never goes over 100 ounces...

[dream4est]

http://www.mineralmountainoutfitters.com/dnn/AboutUs.aspx


I wanted all CTR racers to know about a very little known commercial spot on the La Garita detour. This ranch has trailers for rent ($60 bucks in 2012 for a nice clean 2 bedroom trailer) and they will sell u lunch. It is located about 12 miles short of Hwy 149 on the detour, or about 5 miles past Cathedral. A big sign on the south side of the road is hard to miss. Look for trailers and a setback home.

I just emailed them to see how things are going. They remembered me and said please stop by and see us again.
I am going to reply to them and tell them all CTR racers are going to know now about them now. Their outfitter business isnt what it used to be as a new permit rule for guiding in that area slowed their business in the last few years. Maybe we can rent a few rooms and buy a few $20 sack lunches to help them out as they help us out.

[Mini Bear]

I know this is a newbie question, but larger in front than in back?  I would think you would want more surface area in the back for better traction.

I am a huge fan of bumping up the tire size in the back. The only reason to downsize is a small weight and rolling resistance advantage. But, I find that the extra volume (i.e. suspension/comfort) more than pays for its weight. I'm currently running Ardent 2.4's front and rear on my hardtail 29er and couldn't be happier. I'm about 150 and run 20psi in the front and 15-18psi in the rear. The extra volume and the ability to run super low pressures give me insane traction, like full suspension style traction, and way more comfort. Anyway, my two cents.

[Woodland]

...I'm about 150 and run 20psi in the front and 15-18psi in the rear.

15-20psi! Wow. I have never taken the proper psi very seriously as I pump mine up to 35psi and go. Am I missing something?

[Mini Bear]

I work in the cycling industry and talk to people all day about the various choices out there in the cycling world, mostly on equipment and their personal equipment. The number one thing that I try and get people to do is explore the limits of their equipment. How could you possibly find out what works the best if you if you don't know how far you can take things? Hell, pump your tires up to 65 psi and see what happens! Then go the other direction; with your reliable tubeless setup that is. The same goes for suspension. Play with the rebound, mess with the platform, preload, etc. Don't just go out with what the shop said you should run. Try for yourself!
For tires a great cue can be taken from the CX world. Anyone who has pushed the limits on cross tubulars knows that grip just keeps going up the lower the psi goes. The only limit is the tire folding over. That's your lower limit. And for some tires with heavy sidewalls, Maxxis EXO comes to mind, the lower limit ends up being your tolerance for hitting the rim. Those sidewalls will handle some serious side load before folding. My setup may be a little extreme for most; I figure on hitting the rim at least a couple times a ride and that I'll have to rebuild my rear wheel at least once a season. But the performance gain for me is worth it. The grip on the backend of my hardtail is on par with most full suspensions. And I'm a hell of a lot more comfortable at the end of the ride as well. I guess the whole point being: try some different shit out! Maybe you'll hate it. Maybe you'll find something amazing. Just for the love of god, don't blindly listen to everything people say.

[Woodland]

Don't just go out with what the shop said you should run. Try for yourself!
 Just for the love of god, don't blindly listen to everything people say.

Do I look like a lemming?

I'm not in the mood for a lecture.

[Iowagriz]

35psi is probably good if you are running tubes.  For tubeless, start below 30psi and depending on weight of bike/gear/person experiment lower.  Larger volume tires even below 20psi.

I didn't take his comment as a lecture back to you, only that a large section of people tend to "set it and forget it".  Never experimenting with anything on their bikes or other equipment.  You never know until you push something to failure.

[Yogi the Barry]

Re: Lower tire pressure
I cut my rear twice during the AZT 300 a few weeks ago [29er hardtail with 100mm fork]. Both cuts were about 1/4 inch long and thru the tread. One cut also went under a knob. I had to stop and quickly apply super glue and electrical tape to keep the tire from totally flatting. Knowing/hoping that the sealant would eventually do its thing with lower pressure and time, I would limp along and ride with much lower tire pressure than I normally run. Normally I run about 28 in the rear and 25 in the front. I was probably riding with 18-22 in the rear for about half the day, until I'd pump it up a few psi. Two other times later in the ride, one of the cuts would reopen with heavy downhill braking. Once again, the tire would spritz my left calf with Stan's and the tire pressure would drop down and then reseal. I'd just ride with more rear end awareness and hope it stayed sealed. When I finished the AZT 300, I checked my front tire pressure [which I never touched after the start] and it had crept down to 22 psi. The rear was at 18. The rear was a bit too low for [rim] peace of mind, but the whole experience has lowered my normal tire pressure settings. The new hardtail 'normal' I'm going to try is about 23-25 front and rear. BTW, I'm ~165#. My selection of a 2.25 Snakeskin Racing Ralph, for the AZTR as a rear tire, was a poor [durability] choice, but I do prefer wide and high volume rear tires on hardtails.

I am a huge fan of bumping up the tire size in the back. The only reason to downsize is a small weight and rolling resistance advantage. But, I find that the extra volume (i.e. suspension/comfort) more than pays for its weight. I'm currently running Ardent 2.4's front and rear on my hardtail 29er and couldn't be happier. I'm about 150 and run 20psi in the front and 15-18psi in the rear. The extra volume and the ability to run super low pressures give me insane traction, like full suspension style traction, and way more comfort. Anyway, my two cents.

[drchristiansen]

I didn't take his comment as a lecture back to you, only that a large section of people tend to "set it and forget it".  Never experimenting with anything on their bikes or other equipment.  You never know until you push something to failure.

I concur.  I'm new to my full suspension bike and when I first got it, thought man, this is a harsh ride.  After thinking some more about it I started playing with pressure settings of the shock, air in the system, etc, I realized that the shop had messed up some of the settings, pretty badly.  I have played with the tire pressure as well.  65 psi is way harsh and 25 pretty cushy. 

Still need to play around with new tires and wheels.  Thanks for all the comments about what you run

[Mini Bear]

Sorry there Woodland; definitely did not mean to imply anything negative or lecture you. I guess it was more of a diatribe about what I see on a daily basis working in the cycling industry. It was just prompted by your post. Bikes can do so much and it's fun to find out where those limits are. I apologize for any offense.

[Done]

15-20psi! Wow. I have never taken the proper psi very seriously as I pump mine up to 35psi and go. Am I missing something?

I did the same for years as well. After hearing everyone talk about lowering their tire pressure, I decided to give it a try. I don't go super-low, but I'm no longer a "set it and forget it" guy. Lower pressures make descending lots more fun. Also good for sandy conditions. I'm not sure about hardpack and pavement though--seems like more pressure would lead to lower resistance (but I've seen studies that show, up to a point, lower pressure isn't actually that bad). I usually run 20-30 PSI these days, depending on trail conditions and tire volume.

[sherpaxc]

Toby, do you have a GPX track of the Colorado Trail from Waterton to Durango (up 285)?  I've purchased the databook, map book, and am a contributer to the foundation as well.   

[Done]

Sure do. PM me with your email, and I'll send it over.

[Woodland]

Sorry there Woodland;.

No prob, got a little touchy there. Needless to say I'll do some experimenting when I pick up some 2.4 Ardent's here soon.

[drchristiansen]

I'm guessing the answer is no, but just wanted to check.