CTR 2012 Planning

[Yogi the Barry]

Not to start a forest fire, but seems like I remember reading in one of Judd's posts that perhaps a bicycle transmission isn't such a bad thing after all, for rides like the CTR. Even the humble cave man realized the significance of variable leverage...

They are definitely the real deal!  They rode rigid singlespeeds on the CT -that says it all.  ...snip...

[bartspedden]

I view it more as fitness versus goal thing...

If I was fit enough where the lightest weight possible would help me complete the race earlier and my body could handle the pounding a fully rigid will dish out presumably would be the right bike. 

I have a fully rigid single speed commuter. I rode about 3000 miles on it for training last year. But I see no benefit of either a single speed FOR ME in a racing situation.

Maybe the spirit of "they are the real deal" was that they can suffer with the best of them? There is some mystique about how clean and simple a fully rigid single speed is though.

No flame war here - I respect the style of their effort. It in no way diminishes anyone else's effort on a geared fully suspended bike either.

[Yogi the Barry]

Now that there are embers glowing... IMHO, if you're going to do the retro thing, to be cool, trendy or simplistic,  get a high-wheeler...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny-farthing
A high wheel bike is the only logical choice if you're going to be illogical and turn your back on technology - no suspension, no hydraulic brakes, no chains, no freewheel, no carbon, clipless pedals, no high tech miracle alloy or anything else that is a technological march forward in the evolution of the bike. And if you're going to go this holy route, no cheating on the personal gear side... That means, no Lycra, helmet, bro-tilted sport shades, chamois cream, etc. However, wool knickers, silk shirt, bow tie and straw hat can complete your retro garb ...
-Barry [An admitted wuss that has a carbon FS bike with 2 x 9 gearing!]

... There is some mystique about how clean and simple a fully rigid single speed is though... It in no way diminishes anyone else's effort on a geared fully suspended bike either...

[bartspedden]

I think lots of folks will go through a retro phase for things that they are passionate about and dig into the history.  When I was climbing more I went back and re-climbed a bunch of Fritz Wiessner's routes with passive gear and full grain leather boots. I still used new age ropes, etc. but I was learning a little bit more about how my predecessors experienced the routes.  I went on to re-climb many of my harder routes in the same style.  It was fun!  I'm guessing these guys had fun too   

I think I'm a better person for having done some retro climbing...

Nothing wrong with folks doing their own thing!

[Done]

Now that there are embers glowing... IMHO, if you're going to do the retro thing, to be cool, trendy or simplistic,  get a high-wheeler...

Anyone who rides a high-wheeler is nothing more than a techno-geek. I'm going to run the CTR naked this year, eating nothing but berries and dandelion stems that I manage to forage along the route.

Or not.

In my very humble opinion, anyone who figures out how to get their weary bodies, under their own power, from Denver to Durango is "the real deal." Doesn't matter of you ride a $20,000 custom-made super-bike, or a salvaged unicycle. Style is fun to argue over at the pub, but I don't think that a fist full of gears makes much of a difference either way in the scope of the whole adventure!

[joeydurango]

This whole time I thought I rode steel SS because I don't like plastic bikes that cost an arm and a leg... guess I must be missing out on the whole "trendy" thing.  Damn.

[Yogi the Barry]

I'll try really hard to refrain from any additional sharing of my opinion on the SS trend. However, to be fair and expose my hypocritical, self-righteous, confused and retro belly,  I'm a hardcore pinhead [with plastic boots and phat skis] that hasn't been on silly alpine gear since the mid 80s...
Perhaps I should be more inclusive about all this, maybe a tricycle [lots of potential lashing points for gear] or a unicycle [but I never learned how] would work too... 

I think lots of folks will go through a retro phase ...Nothing wrong with folks doing their own thing!...

[mtnbound]

In my very humble opinion, anyone who figures out how to get their weary bodies, under their own power, from Denver to Durango is "the real deal."

Ditto.  Particularly after that REI presentation, I am still trying to wrap my head around this (particularly segments 14-17 and 22-23).  But I am going to change training a bit to add more core training and also weight to the bike and start pushing it uphill. 

[Gimmearaise]

just read all 5 pages, great stuff. a buddy and myself are going to tour the trail this year. Not during the race time but sometime after. question I have is...do you guys run tubeless, or is it just a hassle? thanks again

NEIL

[DenisVTT]

question I have is...do you guys run tubeless, or is it just a hassle? thanks again

It would be a hassle NOT to run tubeless! 

[bartspedden]

+2 for a tubless setup.

I toured the CT with tubes and only had 3 flats in 15 days.  But they all happened in the same day 

Did the race with tubeless without any flats.  I'm running UST hoops with UST tires and 1 cup of Stans.

[Done]

Dylan and I raced it in 2010 with tubes. Not one flat between us. There aren't a lot of prickly thinks on the CT. Tubes will work.

I started in 2011 with tubeless, but had to bail for a different reason. Tubeless will work.

Ride with what you know, and you'll be fine.

[gregclimbs]

Ride with what you know, and you'll be fine.

wise words.

g

[joeydurango]

I've run tubeless and tubes, but for the CTR I ran tubes.  My thinking was that if I ran tubeless, I'd have to carry at least two tubes anyway.  So I carried them in my tires, and brought a patch kit and one spare tube, and it turned out I didn't have any mechanical issues whatsoever anyway.

[mnmtb]

I looked through their presentation too and noticed that one of them was considering a FatBike to tackle the CTR.  I just finished my Mukluk build and have got about 100 miles on it now.  As I was out riding with some friends last weekend (all on 29'er HT) I noticed that even though we are all in early season, my Muk' just rolled over everything so much better.  This got my mind going (very dangerous)

I attempted the CTR in 2010, but had to bail to attend to some family issues.  For that attempt I had a 29 titanium, weight was 23lbs. The bike was absolutely flawless for me and I could not wait to give it a go again.  The only thing I was going to change was up the front rotor to 180 from 160 for cooling on the downhill sections.

Now my Muk as built weighs 31lbs even.  But, I could swap out the bars and stem with existing lighter ones, BB and crank are currently over 3lbs (could save weight there), Carver carbon fork (1lb saved), and drillout the rear rims (fronts are already drilled).  All this would bring th eweight down to close to 28lbs.

In a race where I am worrying about the weight of my toothbrush (or even if I am going to bring a toohbrush), am I crazy for thinking the Muk' might be a great bike to ride the CTR? This thing just rolls over everything.  I think I might be ablt to stay on the bike more over the rocks, roots, eroded trails etc.

Then I shake my head and think do I really want to carry that extra 5-6 lbs of bike???

On a side note, I have lost 15 lbs and even though it is early season, I am running higher gears on the Muk' than I was midseason last year on my Ti 29'er.

anyone tried the CTR on a fatbike.  Is this just stupid or could this just possibly be an advantage??



See you at the start in August.

Zip

[Done]

I've never ridden a fat bike, but they sound like fun.

I'd wonder more about rotational weight than overall bike weight. There's a lot of slowing down, and then speeding back up again (as you already know!)--and I wonder how much those big tires and rims weigh. But the cushy ride might offset the difference by keeping you on your bike more and adding a level of control and safety. Sounds like you need to bring both bikes to Colorado a couple of days earlier for some test rides!

[bartspedden]

Is this just stupid or could this just possibly be an advantage??

beer comes to mind  : "Follow your folly!"

Rock whatever bike you're gonna have the most fun on!

I've done a bunch of math for the physics of this type of thing and have convinced myself sufficiently that rigid = slower on a trail like the CTR, but your mega beefy tires absorb quite a lot of trail chatter.  My brain it's working yet (it's monday), so I'm not going to attempt the math.  Any other physics geeks out there?

[joeydurango]

I sure have been thinking about my Fatback for the CT and/or CTR.  I'm pretty sure I could ride a lot of the walking sections on my Husker Du 4" rubber.  Still would have to walk some, though, no doubt about it.

This summer I'm planning on at least riding Spring Creek Pass to Durango on the Fatback, just to see what it's like.

[Gimmearaise]

has anyone had run-ins with bears, I can't imagine you would hang your food? especially if your racing? thoughts?

[Done]

has anyone had run-ins with bears, I can't imagine you would hang your food? especially if your racing? thoughts?

While there are definitely bears in Colorado, they tend to be pretty scared of people since they are hunted here. Every bear that I've seen (in twenty years of living in Colorado) has been high-tailing away from me.

That said, I don't sleep with my food since there have been a few rare instances of bears going through people to get food. On the CTR, I left all food on my bike, and then parked it 30 to 50 feet or so away from my bivy. The only downside to this is that probably won't hear the mouse who chews through your expensive frame bag looking for a Powerbar.

Hanging your food in a tree wouldn't hurt, especially if it helps you sleep better knowing that it's out of the way. Just remember that the CTR is pretty high, so many times trees are small or non-existent.