2015 TD

[Marshal]

Okay, thanks for the info!

That would be an interesting top ten to view....
(actually,  just read it on your blog...  i had read this last year,  really well written and entertaining! but I had forgotten)


I remember being somewhat frustrated, but I like walking, and I was warm,  so I was "happy".....

I appreciated many of your blog comments,  I am trying hard this year to NOT under-estimate the mental challenges of the ride.

Hope things are going well for everyone as we close in on the start date.

And for those of you starting soon on an ITT,  I truly hope it's a great experience and everything goes as you plan/hope.

Tom

humm, lets see--the TDR is done on mtn bikes-- and this section of route is one of the few that actually is best done on a mtn bike.  Really its not a big deal, 'if' you ride a mtn bike on any local single track this will be a walk (ya I know..) in the forest......

[Marshal]

Tires tires tires…..Nanos are just plain wrong for the TDR, anyone who uses them will naturally have side wall failure on gravel roads, yup it says so right here on the WTB web site….

This is the #1 tire choice for Tour Divide, the longest mountain bike race in the world stretching from Canada to Mexico along the Rockies.  It features an elevated centerline that rolls effortlessly on hard surfaces, numerous micro knob working edges providing lateral traction and predictability, and a voluminous casing designed to go the distance.  It is no wonder why the Nano is ultra endurance mega athlete Jay Petervary's favorite tire.

I will be rocking nanos, just like 2010, as they just roll so incredibly fast compared to any other tire I have tried………

but darn and big gulp and knock on wood……….wont I feel like an idiot when the sidewall goes as it surely will…..

guess I might carry something like this as my 1 luxury item… http://www.maxxis.com/catalog/tire-274-121-maxxlite

[flyboy]

Flinch and Han, thank you for listing those AW pick up options. I was originally having my family pick me up but the plans have changed and I now have to try to get myself to LAX. That will save me a lot of research.

On tyres, I have been running a 2.2 Maxxis Ikon EXO on the back and a 2.2 Specialized Fast Track Control on the front. They seem to roll well and have plenty of grip in our conditions but it might be best to go with what previous racers have used?

[simon cross]

Conti Race Kings - used 'em in 2013, other than one flat (metal water bar gouge) no issues. Run tubeless. Low rolling resistance. Two new ones are on the bike for 2015. I used to run Nano, and they were OK, but like Conti better.

I know a couple people who run these and they stick with them. I believe Mike Hall ran these as well, and in fact used one tire for two TD races.

Cheers

Hi, Agree with Flinch with regard to Conti Race King. My partner road TD AW to Pinedale then onward to Banff (on non TD way) (no punctures - added some sealant along the way) then we took the same tires and toured for several months in India. I have then taken the same tires and continued to train on them since December. In that time the Tire still looks good and we have only had one or two punctures. Yep, we certainly rate them. 

cheers simon

[Marmey]

+1 for maxxis crossmarks. Replaced the rear at orange peel and the front at absolute last year. No punctures

Another +1 for Maxxis Crossmarks. No punctures.

2 others I rode with had the same tyres with the same result, zero punctures. The heavier rider did replace the rear at Steamboat Springs due to wear, more precaution than necessity.

   

[Rorr]

Used nanos in 2013, didn't even make it to whitefish before I ripped a side wall. Think I'll go with crossmarks EXO this time around.

[sfuller]

I'm going to be running Race Kings tubeless. They've worn well and been fairly fast on the limestone and sand roads around here in Iowa. I ran a set of Panaracer Driver Pro's when I rode parts of the Montana section of the GDMBR in July. They wore out way too quick for me to think about running them. I do think the newer Nanos have different sidewall characteristics than the older models. I have close friends that have bad both good and bad luck with them.

[SlowRide]

I rode IKON 2.2 EXO's last year. Excellent all-around tire. I'd do it again on either IKON 2.2 EXO's or Crossmark EXO's.

Here's another recent thread with some input on the subject.

[jcluddite]

Marshall,

I had the same feeling about Nano's. I'll be running this on the rear, 29"x 2.35 , just over 700 grams and set up for tubless.
http://www.maxxis.com/catalog/tire-278-121-ikon

2.35 Racing Ralph on the front. my bike has a steel fork, so slightly bigger tire.

if

Tires tires tires…..Nanos are just plain wrong for the TDR, anyone who uses them will naturally have side wall failure on gravel roads, yup it says so right here on the WTB web site….

This is the #1 tire choice for Tour Divide, the longest mountain bike race in the world stretching from Canada to Mexico along the Rockies.  It features an elevated centerline that rolls effortlessly on hard surfaces, numerous micro knob working edges providing lateral traction and predictability, and a voluminous casing designed to go the distance.  It is no wonder why the Nano is ultra endurance mega athlete Jay Petervary's favorite tire.

I will be rocking nanos, just like 2010, as they just roll so incredibly fast compared to any other tire I have tried………

but darn and big gulp and knock on wood……….wont I feel like an idiot when the sidewall goes as it surely will…..

guess I might carry something like this as my 1 luxury item… http://www.maxxis.com/catalog/tire-274-121-maxxlite

you bored with the front range there is PLENTY of muddy FS roads to ride here in the San Juans. Snow on them at 9500.

jc

[SlowRide]

Racing Ralphs are about a 400 mile tire before the knobs burn off... the compound the tread is made with is extremely soft. Great tacky XC race tire but I would personally rethink your front tire choice for TD, there are many, many complaints about sidewalls going bad on them, too. You might give the MTBR review thread for them a look. My trail bike came with one on the rear and I cooked it in 2 weeks. 2.2 is definitely plenty of tire for TD... stepping up to a 2.35 IKON from the 2.2 is probably overkill but if that's what you like, roll it. IKON's are great no matter what the width.

[phil_rad]

Another tire to consider is the Vittoria (Geax) Saguaro, they roll great and wear like iron, I've put 6000 km on pair and I swear that they were still good for another 2000 km.

Marshal is right, the Nano's probably have more TDR/GDR wins than any other tire.

[Rorr]

Anyone who has won the TDR is a total badass and could probably have won on any number of tires!

[JoePavlik]

Tires tires tires…..Nanos are just plain wrong for the TDR, anyone who uses them will naturally have side wall failure on gravel roads, yup it says so right here on the WTB web site….

This is the #1 tire choice for Tour Divide, the longest mountain bike race in the world stretching from Canada to Mexico along the Rockies.  It features an elevated centerline that rolls effortlessly on hard surfaces, numerous micro knob working edges providing lateral traction and predictability, and a voluminous casing designed to go the distance.  It is no wonder why the Nano is ultra endurance mega athlete Jay Petervary's favorite tire.

I will be rocking nanos, just like 2010, as they just roll so incredibly fast compared to any other tire I have tried………

but darn and big gulp and knock on wood……….wont I feel like an idiot when the sidewall goes as it surely will…..

guess I might carry something like this as my 1 luxury item… http://www.maxxis.com/catalog/tire-274-121-maxxlite

I am running specialized fast track grid tires. Been doing a lot of overnighters and general trail riding and they are really fast with a good side wall protection.

[Marshal]

more tires tires tires....

I run Specialized all the time, Fast Track’s, Ground Control’s, Renegades etc 

I like them overall and especially how they mount up just right, not to tight not to loose and also how they quickly seal with stans

In fact I just did the Stagecoach 400 and my TDR shake down on a renegade/fast track combo

Of course the only tires I have had sidewall cuts on were also Specialized--AZT750 and a casual trail ride.  Point being you tend to cut the side walls of the tires you run the most-- more miles= more sidewall cuts

For the CRT, AZT Stagecoach etc I picked what I thought made the most sense for the dominant trail conditions.  And for any route with a lot of techy single track roll speed is almost meaningless as a key feature. 

But for the TDR roll speed is a much ‘bigger’ factor, in fact imo it’s the biggest factor --if you are going for a PR-- so I have chosen the tire I think rolls the best. 

End the end tires are always a compromise between their particular strengths and weaknesses, just like every other gear choice.

Good luck and here’s wishing everyone has zero tire issues!!!!!!!!!

[ewoklake]

Has anyone found a battery that the tout terrain plug can charge? I naively bought THIS ONE and it doesn't seem to charge, even while rolling well over 10mph.

[threepin]

Took an evening ride up the upper whitefish road to see how far it was clear. most years there is continuous snow before reaching upper whitefish lake at the end of may. Tonight i got to about 2 miles shy of red meadow pass. Amazing, a full month before the race and the snow is probably about normal for race time. The route may be snow free by the grand depart.  Road was dry, firm and fast up to the snow. Lots of trillium and a couple of black bears rounded out  the evening. Cheers

[Inkerpok]

That's great to hear about whitefish, I have this in my mind as one of those planned snow hikes. This will be my first TD, can anybody list which passes/peaks are the usual snow hikes for SOBO grand depart racers? I'm just hoping to know before I head out for a long night thinking "oh that pass is only _000 ft" and find myself in a sketchy situation.

[sfuller]

Took an evening ride up the upper whitefish road to see how far it was clear. most years there is continuous snow before reaching upper whitefish lake at the end of may. Tonight i got to about 2 miles shy of red meadow pass. Amazing, a full month before the race and the snow is probably about normal for race time. The route may be snow free by the grand depart.  Road was dry, firm and fast up to the snow. Lots of trillium and a couple of black bears rounded out  the evening. Cheers

This seems to be in line with how I was interpreting the NOAA snow charts the other day. It appears that there's about 4' - 5' of snow on Richmond Peak yet, but there's still a month for it to melt down. Hoping for no late season snow storms.

[mathieu]

Regarding tire choice: I once went through the maps and added all paved sections on the main route longer than 5 miles. I came to a surprising total of 673 miles, i.e. close to 25% of the total route. This is much more than most 'official' sources, e.g. Wikipedia, have it.

[Marshal]

Regarding tire choice: I once went through the maps and added all paved sections on the main route longer than 5 miles. I came to a surprising total of 673 miles, i.e. close to 25% of the total route. This is much more than most 'official' sources, e.g. Wikipedia, have it.

And once you add all the graded, relatively smooth gravel roads you can see why even a fast rolling ‘touring’ tire might make more sense than a classic mtb tire.  Some have gone down that path but……On the other hand tire volume/cushion is right up there with speed as a key tire characteristic.  Many will be fully rigid and each year some will suffer from hand/nerve damage.  So even with the relatively ‘smooth’ route, the long daily hours make tire volume, fit/position and glove/grip padding all important considerations.  When I add it all up I always come back to the WTB Nano--center line for fast roll and good size for volume. Now if they only had a better sidewall durability reputation...........