A 29" bike would be good either hard tail or FS.Psiclonik said:What kind of bike would you folks recommend for long XC tours like the Great divide or a portion of it? $1200-$2k price range
TIA
Of the three friends of mine who have owned them, I've gotten to see three broken FSRs, two at the seat mast thingee area, one down near the BB shell. I wouldn't ride one of those things farther than I could walk home.steve3 said:Specialized FSR.
you're kidding right? a 575 would be a little heavy wouldn't it?minkhiller said:Yeti 575
If 27lbs is too heavy maybe you should be looking for a shorter travel race bike.Psiclonik said:you're kidding right? a 575 would be a little heavy wouldn't it?
27lbs isn't so bad. Some stuff I have read recommend against F/S rides for long tours like the Great Divide. I really don't know.minkhiller said:If 27lbs is too heavy maybe you should be looking for a shorter travel race bike.
go heavy and reliable.....Psiclonik said:27lbs isn't so bad. Some stuff I have read recommend against F/S rides for long tours like the Great Divide. I really don't know.
All good points but I'm not sure that rack/fender braze-ons aren't that big of a necessity if you opt for the B.O.B. and a set of the Old Man Mountain racks. If you do go that route though definitely go wih the Ibex. I had already cracked my (new prior to the trip) Yak three times by the time we hit Steamboat, CO while riding the divide last summer. It's no fun spending your off-days running around town hunting down welders. I warrantied/upgraded to the Ibex and had no further problems other than the fender falling off (had the same problem with the Yak.). I'd suggest picking up a set of the Old Man Mountain racks as well, even if you don't need the extra space the bike will handle much better if there's some weight up front to keep the front end planted.tube_ee said:What you need: Long chainstays, stable handling, rack and fender braze-ons front and rear, rigid fork, clearance for big tires. 99% of production MTBs fail one or more of these criteria.
The Great Divide Trail is about 80% Forest Service roads, IIRC, with about 10% each singletrack and road sections. So get a bike for that 80%, and accept the compromises for the other 20%.
Points to consider: For fire-road riding, tires of about 700x38, with a heavy-duty touring tread work great. If 26" is your thing, 1.9 inch Conti Town & Country's are the ideal tire for this kind of ride. Good grip on non-radical dirt, smooth roll on pavement, tough as nails. Mounting racks to suspension bikes / forks is expensive, and always something of a compromise. Old Man Mountain racks are about the only solution. If you're going to do this kind of ride on a UTFSB (Universal Taiwanese Full Susupension Bike), get a BoB Ibex trailer and ride on. Food-buying opportunites can be scarce in the high country, so get more bag capacity than you think you'll need. You'll want the extra room for food and water. If you've already got a good mountain bike, you could take the parts off of it, and put them on the Gunnar frame ($800) with a rigid fork (choose one, but expect to pay between $150 - $300). Or go custom, if you've got the time. Curtlo or Tom Teesdale could build a great frameset for this ride, for under 1K. Real off road touring bkes are few and far between, in my experience.
Cheap option, with some looking: Find a dealer with a leftover 2001 Cannondale Adventure. 700C wheels, lots of clearance, magura HS-22 hydraulic rim brakes, rear rack and fenders included, Shimano dynohub lighting, Headshock fork with lockout and rack braze-ons. You might luck into one, becasue, while they were one of the coolest bikes offered by a major manufacturer in the last few years, they didn't fit into any of the big categories of bikes, and consequently were very hard to sell. We sold our last one about 9 months ago. 1600 dollar bike, we blew it out for around 600 bucks. It's the brown bike with the topographic map decal on the down tube. The current Adventure is a very different bike.
Another great bike for this kind of ride would be a 1993 Bridgestone XO-1, but good luck finding one for sale, and when they are available, they aint cheap.
When (and where) are you starting? It's already August, and autumn and winter come early in the high country.
Keep us informed... an end-to-end (or any long tour) of the Great Divide is a dream ride for any serious MTB'r. When riding, stop at libraries and send updates (with pix) to MTBR.com. Carry a pocket tape recorder, easily accessable, to record your thoughts and impressions from the saddle. They won't be as clear later on in your tent.
--Shannon
Hey tube_ee could you tell me anything about the Gunnar Rock Tour? I've heard about the Rock Hound and that they were nice bikes, haven't heard about the rock tour though.tube_ee said:This is probably the hardest kind of riding to build a bike for. Not many people do it, so very few companies build bikes for it. Gunnar Rock Tour, Bruce Gordon Rock n' Road, or a Rivendell Atlantis on the high end. Lower end, a Surly Karate Monkey or Bruce Gordon BLT-X would work well.
What you need: Long chainstays, stable handling, rack and fender braze-ons front and rear, rigid fork, clearance for big tires. 99% of production MTBs fail one or more of these criteria.
The Great Divide Trail is about 80% Forest Service roads, IIRC, with about 10% each singletrack and road sections. So get a bike for that 80%, and accept the compromises for the other 20%.
Points to consider: For fire-road riding, tires of about 700x38, with a heavy-duty touring tread work great. If 26" is your thing, 1.9 inch Conti Town & Country's are the ideal tire for this kind of ride. Good grip on non-radical dirt, smooth roll on pavement, tough as nails. Mounting racks to suspension bikes / forks is expensive, and always something of a compromise. Old Man Mountain racks are about the only solution. If you're going to do this kind of ride on a UTFSB (Universal Taiwanese Full Susupension Bike), get a BoB Ibex trailer and ride on. Food-buying opportunites can be scarce in the high country, so get more bag capacity than you think you'll need. You'll want the extra room for food and water. If you've already got a good mountain bike, you could take the parts off of it, and put them on the Gunnar frame ($800) with a rigid fork (choose one, but expect to pay between $150 - $300). Or go custom, if you've got the time. Curtlo or Tom Teesdale could build a great frameset for this ride, for under 1K. Real off road touring bkes are few and far between, in my experience.
Cheap option, with some looking: Find a dealer with a leftover 2001 Cannondale Adventure. 700C wheels, lots of clearance, magura HS-22 hydraulic rim brakes, rear rack and fenders included, Shimano dynohub lighting, Headshock fork with lockout and rack braze-ons. You might luck into one, becasue, while they were one of the coolest bikes offered by a major manufacturer in the last few years, they didn't fit into any of the big categories of bikes, and consequently were very hard to sell. We sold our last one about 9 months ago. 1600 dollar bike, we blew it out for around 600 bucks. It's the brown bike with the topographic map decal on the down tube. The current Adventure is a very different bike.
Another great bike for this kind of ride would be a 1993 Bridgestone XO-1, but good luck finding one for sale, and when they are available, they aint cheap.
When (and where) are you starting? It's already August, and autumn and winter come early in the high country.
Keep us informed... an end-to-end (or any long tour) of the Great Divide is a dream ride for any serious MTB'r. When riding, stop at libraries and send updates (with pix) to MTBR.com. Carry a pocket tape recorder, easily accessable, to record your thoughts and impressions from the saddle. They won't be as clear later on in your tent.
--Shannon