Tour Divide 2010

[BobM]

Stephen Huddle is running an internally geared hub, I assume Rohloff, this year.

Bob

[bjamin]

Wonder if Eric's heading to Dillon for a new chain and deraileur. Hope he stays in and gets it rolling. Lots of miles to race yet.

[juliewnc]

It is really too bad about the bad weather and mud along the Medicine Lodge - Big Sheep Creek Backcountry Byway. The run down that canyon is one of the most beautiful stretches on the Great Divide Route in my opinion. I'm sure it is hard to appreciate that in the rain and mud.

Julie

[naked indian]

Wonder if Eric's heading to Dillon for a new chain and deraileur. Hope he stays in and gets it rolling. Lots of miles to race yet.

They just posted a new call in from Erik not that long ago on the main page for the Tour.

[cbillman]

Not sure if this has been posted before ... but I was googling around and found a link that some of you might find interesting.

It's an interactive google map with photos from a motorcycle tour: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100392622704147085322.0004747e3335b1e452e36&ll=40.84706,-101.425781&spn=25.671162,47.636719&z=5

You can zoom in and click for photos of specific areas. Kind of cool for us flatlanders to see the terrain between Helena and Basin, for instance.

[kucebags]

Jon Billman is running
a 32 X 18 his original choice. 
White Industry Crank and rear sprocket with a Sram Single Speed chain

It was a last minute build as at 11am Thursday morning it was pieces.
One frame box, one wheel box and a big Ol suit case of parts.

Should make for a good story.  He is riding great go get em' Jon!

[cbillman]

Jon Billman is running
a 32 X 18 his original choice. 
White Industry Crank and rear sprocket with a Sram Single Speed chain

It was a last minute build as at 11am Thursday morning it was pieces.
One frame box, one wheel box and a big Ol suit case of parts.

Should make for a good story.  He is riding great go get em' Jon!

Great info, kucebags. Thanks! He was sweating it out waiting on the Siren frame to arrive last week. Had to actually take a later flight to Canada last Wednesday because of it. I take it you helped with the build in Banff?

Now that his SPOT is up and running, it looks like he's near the rear of a line of about 11 riders between Butte and Helena. Anyone got a report on trail quality/weather conditions there now?

[faethsupporter]

Go Pete!!!!  We're rooting for you!!!

[Goldilocks]

A comment about Rohloff hubs.  My spouse and I through toured the GDMBR in '07 using a Rohloff based drivetrain and were extremely happy with the experience.  The hubs worked flawlessly and have continued to do so on many additional long off-road tours.  We were extremely fortunate with weather on our tour and only encountered one afternoon of major mud down in New Mexico south of Pie Town near the Bar-O Ranch.  If you have never experienced a totally mudded-out bike, all I can say is that you can't believe how quickly everything becomes completely locked-up and immobile.  Once we hit wet road, within a few dozen yards the bikes picked up so much mud the wheels would not turn and the bikes were too heavy to lift; they could only be dragged. With our Rohloffs, we were never in danger of any mechanical failures; scrape things as clean as you can with sticks, push the bikes alongside the road until you can ride again and go on.  A proper Rohloff set-up up with Paragon dropouts will never break, your chain line is always straight which really reduces chain wear, and although they may be slightly less efficient than a clean derailleur, whose derailleur is ever clean?

[Chauncey Matthews]

Not sure what size SS setup my bro started out running (maybe one of you gear-heads can tell by the photo) ... but I know it wasn't his ideal choice, as his bike/frame came together at the last minute.

He had planned to switch it out at the Glacier Cyclery in Whitefish, though.

Yo,
I'm pretty sure he said he ended up running the 20 in the back instead of the 18 because the 18 didn't have the wide spline interface. Prob a good thing he did that though!

[Chauncey Matthews]

Why aren't there more Rohloffs? Same reasons you don't see them much anywhere else- they are super expensive, heavy, and they feel terrible until they break in.
Once broken in, however, they are pretty good.
 I saw three of them in the race, all ridden by guys from the US and they were running great!

[JML]

Erik almost always runs a Rohloff however he chose a traditional drive train because it is lighter snd more efficient.  I am sure he is missing his Rohloff as he sits in Lima waiting for parts.

[DoctorRad]

I for one am going to be very interested to see how durable the new 11-speed Shimano Alfine hub is... might well be a usable cheaper option to a Rohloff.

[teamfaeth]

Kent Peterson has the best attitude!!

[Fettis]

Loving Kent's humour. He found an awesome store at Seeley Lake and the highlight was some cans of SPAM! At the store in Horca that was one of the few calorific foods I could find. I ate it for supper with stale bread at Brazos Ridge and had recovered well in the morning. Alan being a strict vegetarian was less than impressed "that sh1t'll kill ya"! I bought more at Cuba and Grants.

Agree with Kurt re Blaine's call-ins. He must be the calmest divide racer ever, totally unflappable and great company. He'll press on unfazed by the conditions.

SS gearing: Don't know how Chris kept that big gear turning without blowing his knees apart. Impressive.

[MrsPivvay]

I ran a 32x17 on a 29er. It is a giant gear for myself. I tried a 16t in training (rode White rim in a day with it at a group pace with extra weight on the bike) but could not convince myself to go that big. Going too big really sucks a lot more than too small.

According the the conversation I had with Jon Billman on Thursday before the race he's running a 32x18 and has his cog issues sorted assuming he left whitefish which he did so he should be fine. Kent is also on a 32x18. They are both on 29ers this year. Kent ran 32x17 in 2005 on a 26er. Jenn ran a 32x18 on a 29er in 2008 for the female SS record.

Anyone else even considering asking about gearing for the Divide on a SS I recommend a 32x18 (29er) or easier. The climbs are long, sometimes steep, occasionally loose and you're pack ing a multiday load of gear and food and sometimes water. The problem is the just keep coming and coming and coming until Cuba, NM. I'd love to see someone go fast with a 16t someday, they'd have to be a monster. When I ride it again I'm planning to use the 17t.

Deanna had to walk an unholy amount of climbs with her gearing I'm sure. It was definitely slower. I cleaned most climbs but did walk now and then. The 17t sure was fast up the climbs when I could turn it over though.

Long SS blah blah blah ing done...

Matt should hopefully be able to move well from here. Full of food and ready for faster riding, he'll feel like he's flying as the course dries out and the tires stop sinking so deep. The (horrendously bumpy) rail trail should be okay when it's wet and there is some pavement mixed in there too afterwards. Dinner at flagg ranch is on a tight schedule though I think so hopefully he'll grab a quick bite just a little over the border to power a long push at night. I feel terrible for Erik. I hope he gets his bike fixed ASAP and can hang in there mentally long enough to leave Lima. I dropped there in 2008 and in 2009 I mailed home some maps and a canadian bill with a note to my wife on my way out of town and it sure felt good to leave.

[kucebags]

The Skistop  managed to source a 18tooth wide White Industry rear sprocket at the 11th hour.
Jon is riding the set-up he originally set out to ride.

Any updates on Eric's broken bike his spot hasn't moved?

[bruce.b]

   Something that I hope is clear is that you can't change your gearing for any reason once the race starts or you didn't complete it on a SS. It's a huge can of worms if a change in gearing is allowed for any reason during the race; otherwise it would be too easy to take advantage of this to get an edge over the competition.
   bruce.b

[Jeff Tomassetti]

OK, some qualified SS person has to fill me in on the SS  classing and mystique.....Are they slower overall? Is it is kind of like of like recumbent vs. upright? What about 26" bikes vs. 29"? 

[Jeff Tomassetti]

   Something that I hope is clear is that you can't change your gearing for any reason once the race starts or you didn't complete it on a SS. It's a huge can of worms if a change in gearing is allowed for any reason during the race; otherwise it would be too easy to take advantage of this to get an edge over the competition.
   bruce.b

Hmmm, What if you carry the gear with you and change it yourself? Or have a rear wheel with a gear on each side you can rotate. It seems odd there are different bike groups. Shouldn't the idea to be selection of the best bike/gear for you and see which setup/person wins?