TDR 2012

[phil_rad]

Starter list is shaping up nicely 

[mcmurv]

    Well, I am out of the TD for this summer.  My work boss just cancelled my vacation time.  What a week! 

[phil_rad]

That sucks!

[BobM]

  Well, I am out of the TD for this summer.  My work boss just cancelled my vacation time.  What a week! 

You have my condolences - that really sucks!  Train hard for 2013 (or an ITT later in 2012).

[mcmurv]

yea, it is weird after spending so many years focused on this.  I feel like I have lost a friend. 

[jryter]

Just quit and get a new job... I did that and my life has been so much better.

And I have finally decided to reveal my TD secret weapon and Miracle cure! Check it out

http://livethinline.blogspot.com/2012/03/jarrals-miracle-cure-tour-divide-secret.html

[krefs]

I still can't get the idea of doing it on a tandem semi-recumbent out of my head, but would need a co-rider to do that. Curious have any of the Fat Bikes (pugsley type) done well in the event yet. I wonder if being able to ride through snow and sand would help them v.s weight penalty? Is there a tandem record? To many ideas not enough races.

Man, a fat bike would be a HUGE waste of energy on this route. It's essentially a road race with some rough stuff, a touch of singletrack, and a few miles of snow thrown in here and there. There's no point in pushing an extra few pounds of weight and a lot of extra resistance, much less risking some major knee damage with such a wide BB. There's about 1000' of sand on the course, and the snow typically accounts for a few hours of the race. Sure you could probably save a bit of time in those short snow sections, but you'd lose far more elsewhere.

[rooster14]

has or why hasnt anyone done it on a cyclocross bike?

[phil_rad]

You'd probably spend most of your time fixing flats.

[DocTrike]

@rooster14 Cyclocross bike I keep thinking the same thing, but I would not use CX specific tires I would go with something we more puncture protection.

@krefs wow that was an old comment done massive amounts of research and updates since than.

@rooster14 several people have toured the route on cyclocross bikes but not raced it although there have been some fixies and SS bikes racing.

[THE LONG RANGER]

Dave Nice has attempted it on a CX Bike,

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=290.0

flats, flats, flats.

[THE LONG RANGER]

Also something to keep well in the front of your mind for this years TD: Fire.
If you're thinking of doing a record on the "standard" course, I'm willing to bet there will be a fire closure. Closures. The reroutes may be all over the place after Salida.

It's been pretty dry in CO and the weather is currently incredible. My crystal ball says it's gonna be a hot, dry year. We're already experiencing a control fire, that's gotten out of hand outside of Denver. Some people are saying, "yeah, well it's snows the most later in the year", but man, that's hard to really believe, when you see the mountains, feel the temps. I may try riding up the Mt. Evans Road soon. It may be open enough to do so.

[THE LONG RANGER]

Some comments worth reading,

When Dave was here he told that none of his 18, I think, flats were from pinching.  Apparently the 32mm Cross Wolf is just wimpy, as Matt suggested.  I think he bought them for Trans Iowa and for some reason decided to leave them on for TD.

The Fire Cross 45mm is at the opposite end of the spectrum for an adventure cross tire.  Personally I would have chosen something in between the two but Dave is a big guy and I would assume the rough high speed downhills are especially hard on tires with a fixie since he can't unweight the bike and float over stuff.

The Fisticuff is a pretty cool looking frame.  Obviously it has big tire clearance, I think even the Crosscheck has some issues fitting the Firecross.  The Fisticuff also has nice paint (powder?) and the welds look great.  If I didn't know it already I wouldn't have guessed that it is a bargain priced frame.

It's unfortunate that Dave's experience with the skinny tires is only going to worsen the reputation of riding a cross bike on the Divide Route.   Many people seem to think it's nuts to do it on skinny tires, I'm not one of them.  

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,290.msg2839.html#msg2839

Also, I'll amend the CrossCheck comment - Fire Cross fit just fine in them (you got like 1mm of clearance on each side of the seat stays!), although they roll so damn slow, I wouldn't recommend them for anything,


Mount Evans by alex_skazat, on Flickr

[DocTrike]

@TheArtist thx for the corrections!

I have tried the largest tire that will fit in my frame and 700c aero rim, the Clement PDX cyclocross tire (622x33MM) I can't climb anything steep, wet, and slick no weight on rear wheel. I would love to hear more about possible cyclocross tires under 34mm in the 700c size.

[ridingman1]

has or why hasnt anyone done it on a cyclocross bike?

I considered the same thing thinking the savings on rotating wheel weight would be beneficial, but figured I would try it on a 29r the first time and am glad I did. In hindsight from my experience in 2011, if you get the right tire/wheel combo, you aren't too far off from cyclocross ride quality. Another benefit of 29r's is the disk brakes are not on cyclocross bikes (until recently) and I would not want to deal with rim brakes. There is a class of bikes called monster cross that are basically 29r's with dropped bars, similar to a Salsa Fargo, that are used regularly.

[krefs]

You'd probably spend most of your time fixing flats.

Deanna essentially raced the length of the TD route on a fixed-gear cross bike in 2009, and like Fixie Dave, she experienced a LOT of flats along the way. If you're going to go with skinny CX tires, tubeless with would probably be the way to go. And use as many wraps of cork tape around your bars as possible to minimized hand damage!

[phil_rad]

I think the topic of bike choice is highly personal, like seat, grip, pedal, etc, etc..... So in the end it really doesn't matter, whatever makes you happy and gets you down the trail.

So far the divide has been done two wheels and even on unicycles so why not on three. :-) Whatever mode of pedal transport you choose, it'll be an awesome adventure!

[DocTrike]

Looking forward to the race, it will be great to get back on the trail just me and the trike where all I need to think about is turning the cranks. Trying to get some training in but recovering from an achilles tendon injury so I am just not to motivate to ride right now.

I am thinking we will go with 26" Conti race kings, I am a little worried about going tubeless though since I don't have any experience with them yet.

[phil_rad]

Found a way to increase my water capicity by 3 liters without weighing my bike down with a zillion water bottles and not having to carry a backpack the whole way; http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/86

I think it's been mentioned here. I'm a little slow sometimes ;-)

[DocTrike]

@phil_rad great find I don't think it is waterproof so that means a liner  now we are at unbottle weight.

I was considering filling my frame with water since I hate hydration packs and I mostly use bottles anyway.