Fun seeing the difference in gear between the top 10 to 20 racers compared to older touring cyclists that ride the GDMBR and finish after two months. Racers: throw sleeping bag on ground, take nap, eat protein bar, ride all night. Old cyclist: find a beer, set up tent, blow up pad, sleeping bag, pillow, stove, dinner, chocolate, cookies, second beer, bed at sunset, wake at 7am, inventory of aches and pains, ask, "why am I doing this?", get on bike, keep slowly riding south. Happy trails all!
Great video, Josh! Believe it or not, in a field of very high-end bikes, super competitive Sacha Dowell is riding a Giant Toughroad aluminum gravel bike. This bike retailed for just $1365.00 in 2019, when I bought mine. The frame is Giant's best aluminum series... triple butted super light 6011. This, along with long chain stays (450) and carbon weight bearing parts, make it quite supple. Like me, she's upgraded everything except the QR dropouts. Yes... I said QR dropouts! She's proof that fancy bikes alone do not have heart and determination. Again, Great coverage!
Ezra’s setup is pretty wild. He is running 2x GRX with mullet of Ultegra, GRX, SLX and XT parts. His fork is also kinda low travel. I think he is the only guy in top group with 2x setup and mechanical shifting.
I rode from Jasper to Pinedale last year on the GDMBR. Had to stop at Pinedale due to sickness. Rode a Scott Scale, 29er with 100mm front suspension, redshift suspension seat post, and with bar ends and aero-bars. A great bike and a very comfortable set up. When I go back next year to try it again I'll be riding the same bike. No mechanicals or flat tires the entire way. I couldn't imagine riding it on a bike without front suspension. But at the end of the day it is all about the engine.
Ive ridden 1/3 of the GD, all on a Trek Roscoe 8. Some of it on 27.5 x 2.8 maxxis Rekons, then on 29 x 2.4 Bontrager XR3 tires. 30T front, 11 x 50ish on the rear (don't even know the large cog tooth count). Key thing for me is nothing hanging on my back. Cuts into your arms / shoulders after a couple of days. 120 oz of water all on the bike , especially across the Red Desert in Wyoming. Flat bars with bar ends. I'm fascinated with the choices riders make. A lot of useful ideas to try.
Another great video Josh! I may be biased because I simply love Lael Wilcox but my personal favourite is the Specialized Epic Hardtail: absolutely beautiful rig. 😍 I'm surprised none of the favourites use Cutthroats as they are so abundant on the Divide. Lastly, great touch of yours to also include Mike Hall's rig. 😉👍
I found this video after watching a couple of Joe Nation's videos about his bike and gear. What surprised me the most is how many are running AXS. I wouldn't have thought having to deal with batteries on a ride like this would be desired. While I run GX AXS on a couple of my bikes (w/ Shimano 12 spd cassettes and chains), I haven't pushed the battery life yet. The use of dynamo hubs also surprised me a bit. Joe went over his set up a bit, but I didn't realize how much of what he ran would be so common among other racers.
sponsored riders will ride with the parts they are supplied/paid to ride with. Manufacturers will want to push wireless because they make more money from it.
My conclusion is the best bike for the world's longest Gravel Race is a Mountain Bike. useing your own preference for bars & suspension. I suspect that's also true of a great many other "Gravel" races.
Another very informative video! I 'm intrigued to see how many different bike set ups people were using. I always have a dilema , do I use a MTB, or a Gravel bike? Also the geometry is important, as for a smaller rider most newer mtbs have minimal space for a frame bag. I notice your frame is a short wheelbase and quite upright geo (Nice!) Not so keen on saddle packs, but noticed most riders used them. Think I remember one of your videos where you didn't recommend them.
Nearly every bike in this video is a mtb. What are you actually adding to the conversation? Just because they modified it to run curvy bars didn't change that.
@@cjohnson3836 Interestingly though that the long range travelers like Johan Georgiev ("I want to see the world") and Ruslan Verin both rode from Alaska to Argentine (including GDMBR) on gravel-like bikes, with fixed forks, not MTBs. Surly Ogre and Koga Worldtraveller.
The Continental Divide traverses the most beautiful wilderness in America. Don't trash it. This isn't for Rally Racing. Its home to wildlife and any human is a visitor there. Treat it with respect.
i hope ulrichs rear tire holds up as his options for replacement are not good between Salida and silver city. in my experience the conti race kings roll faster but are less durable than the mezcals.
Not sure about SRAM AXS for these events. Been some reliability issues and, if you watch Lael’s bike video, it’s amazing the amount of extra crap she was carrying - spare batteries, cables, charging doc and a brick of a power bank.
Cell phone, gps, lights all require more power than AXS. If running 1x and how quickly they do the race, you could get by with 1 spare batter and probably only have to charge the other one once.
@@Red-ju4mi Its been said multiple times across this video series, even in this very video. How do you still not get the point? 1) On a 12 speed drive train, electronic shifting is far more accurate than mechanical. There's almost zero real reason to run a mechanical 12 speed for this reason alone. If you want mechanical, stick to 11 spd or less. 2) Both SRAM and Shimano electronic allow 2x setups while still programming the shifting such that you can use the left lever to operate a dropper post. 3) The point mentioned in this video; when your hands have absorbed multiple days and multiple hundreds of offroad miles on the bike, the lever resistance on a mechanical shifter actually does get hard to shift against, esp if you suffer from hand numbness. Throw in the cold weather. Throw in the rain. Throw in the mullet setups that increase the shift resistance as you stretch the derailleurs beyond their design; mechanical shifting becomes really abhorrent. And no, the answer isn't friction shifting and cable disk brakes.
Having not used Link glide I can’t really comment, I suspect they last a lot longer but there is a lot more friction in the chain as they are designed for ebike use. Personally I take a spare chain and swap it after 1200miles
Serious Question! I have two bikes: 2022 Kona Rove DL gravel bike and a 2022 Giant Trance X 2 (29") full suspension mountain bike. Can you ride the great divide on a full suspension mountain bike? Can you ride it on a gravel with a 650b 2" tire?
Quick question - what would be the weight of your set up, roughly ? I watched a video Jay did where he said he wasnt that fussed about weight of his bike and didnt actually know what it is, he just preferred having a bike set up that ' worked ' for him whereas other riders put a lot of thought into minimising weight.
Getting under 20Kg "dry" (no food or water) for bike + gear is usually considered reasonable. But some of the guys at the front will be more like 15-17Kg. Think ~9Kg bike + ~7Kg gear. I was 19Kg running a Lauf fork, and with some optional extras like the bear spray, a small lock, and a proper sleeping kit (bivy, sleeping bag, mat). You can also find people who pack the kitchen sink who are running some heavy steel beast plus way too much gear, and they're closer to 30Kg, and you don't want to be them on any of the mountain passes. And the other choice being made here by most is to run bikepacking bags rather than panniers for the better aerodynamics (among other benefits). Just as important to consider as the weight.
He doesn't seem to fuss about whether this thing is 10g lighter than that thing. But while all his stuff is what the prefers for function, his gear is still also very light. He's not out there with a 6lbs Coleman tent.
Is there a lot more rough offroading in tour divide than you would find on a bikepacking/touring trip in Europe? I'm thinking about what kind of bike I should get to tour around Europe, Mostly around Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and maybe scandinavian countries after that...
There’s a lot of off road however the vast majority is relatively smooth. However it’s a long route so there will be rough sections. Generally speaking a hard trail mtb would be the best all round option, but you’d be able to ride it on a gravel bike or even a touring bike if you take your time on the tougher sections s
Don't follow the Tour Divide as much as some here, but I've never seen anyone riding a Moots YBB micro suspension soft tail and often wondered about it as a choice for the Divide. Be curious as to what people think/say about it as an option.
I have used the Endurance casing previously for the Divide, but equally you could go for the Endurance+ for further peace of mind or if you know you have a habit of puncturing tyres regulary.
@@cjohnson3836 Sorry, didn’t mean to strike a nerve. It’s just hilarious to watch “curvy bar” cyclists debate what a good bike for the mountain would be, then through trial and error create a MTB with drop bars. Seems pretentious to me.
@@rlake349 1) You haven't struck anything, including an actual point. The only one with panties all twisted seems to be you and Luis. Stop projecting. 2) There was literally zero discussion in this entire video about what type of frame would be better. They are all MTBs. Did you eat lead paint as a kid? The video talked a great deal about tire choice, water set up, whether to include aero bars, bars in general, a brief mention of suspension, and drive train. Literally fucking nothing about the type of frame. 3) You don't know what pretentious means. 4) I do know what arrogantly ignorant reads like, and you're it.
