Continenral Divide and your bike

[angelo_caduto86]

Has anyone rode the Great Divide or thought about it?

What type of bike did you use or suggest? Full Suspension?

[unclefuzzy]

Personally I haven't done it yet, but I have put tons of thought into the possibility. From what I've seen a FS would be too much. Most of the ride is on Fireroads/forest roads. I think the split is 70% gravel, 20% pavement and 10% single track(don't quote me though!;) ) My vote would be a hardtail. More specifically, a 29er HT. The miles melt away on those just like on a road bike, yet they retain all the capabilities of a 26" bike on trail. Mike Curiak rode one on the Colorado portion last year to set some sort of record and he loved it. The bike he road was one of Willits 29er's with a Ti 'not so rigid' fork.

Just an opinion, and I think it's good!

Marty

[angelo_caduto86]

how many of the bike shops along the trail (or in general) ave 29 equipment (rims and tubes) when needed.

I was actually thinking Full suspension, of only for the comfort of riding the trails for that long (every day) I think your numbers are what I have read...It would seem F.S. would be nice even on a gravel road (that may have washouts and washboards

[unclefuzzy]

There's plenty of rims available(or should be). They're simply standard 700c road rims(and yes, they can more than handle the abuse, I'm case in point). Tubes(if needed) are something you could stock along the way at Post Offices(general delivery type stuff). Shops should have 700x45c tubes in stock though, and they would more than sork for the big wheels.

If you want to stay away from mechanical troubles, my heart really says to stay away from complex fullies(is four bars, or linkage systems). Granted, the durability thing isn't as much a concern now as it once was, but I'd still give that aspect some good hard thought. I'd go single pivot, or a nice simple soft tail.

What you want is some thing that will pedal efficeintly, transfeering as much of your energy to the wheel as possible. Event eh best FS can't do that.

[angelo_caduto86]

You gotta sell me on 29 inches. They scare me. I am always looking for the shortest distance to my ass on the ground. Not that I fall a lot, but for some reason the 29 inch says two things to me: 1) a bigger frame, up and down. So a long fall to the ground at worse and at worser a higher center of gravity b) a bigger frame front to back and I like a tight cockpit. Is this not true?

two more things. Granted a FS has more moving parts and perhaps more repairs, my theory is that the cush absorbs the impacts from the trails, not just for the rider, but for the bike too. I also think that if you look at a Full Suspension bike (as I was doing on the downhill course at Mt. Snow) they don't look so complex...if they were to have problems.

Part of my problem is I may have bought into the marketing...since I have not rode a FS bike or a 29 incher.

[unclefuzzy]

Hmmm sell you on 29er's eh? The standard answer here is to simply go ride one. Gary Fisher has set up demos around here in the fall, letting anyone who shows up take a bike of thier choice for a spin around the trail. I'd look for one of those in your neck of the woods. Testing a bike from the shop only lets you see the outer glory of teh bike while riding in the parking lot, or at best gravel alley ways, it doesn't let you see any imperfections that will rear up on the trail.

The first thing you'll notice riding teh bike is that it accellerates slower. Not remarkably so, but slower. Once you get it up to speed, the trail miles simply melt away underneath the tires. They REALLY hold thier momentum well. Rubbly trails are smoothed out dramatically by the tires throught e increased angle of apporoach of the bigger tires, effectively smoothing out the ride. They're very stable machines, from the gyroscopic effects of the wheels. Consequently, VERY technical trails(think rocky West VA) are not quite as easy as they would be on a 26 FS. The wheelbase on my custom Hunter 29er is only ½" longer than that of my 26" WTB Phoenix, so the long WB thing really isnlt all that much of a concern. One thing that you'll notice about these bikes also is that rather than sitting 'on' the bike, the seating position feels more like you're sitting 'in' it. As for cockpits being short, I kinda set mine up that way. I'm tall, so my TT is 24" with a 140mm stem. I went this route 'cause I really don't like the Genesis Geometry of the Fishers.

I should make this shorter...If you'd like to know more about 29'ers, go to http://www2.communityzero.com/29er to learn more. I'm a member of that board as well, and there's lots of other folks willing to lend a hand.

ML

[angelo_caduto86]

Talked to a couple who had rode their bikes from Vermont to upstate NY. The had FS Santacruz's. Though they had rode mostly paved road, they said they had been on a couple dirt roads. They thought FS was an asset and eased the stress on their backs from riding.

Went to the suggested web page, but will have to visit again when I have time to register/log in, but thanks

[jimilton80401]

It sounds like a blast and a great way to spend the summer. I ran across a group that was doing this a few summers back. They were on the section down by Salida, CO. I think that they all rode FS Cannondales with BOB trailers. It looked pretty challenging, regardless of type of bike, especially if you're self-supporting.