Its burly enough to handle occasional rough stuff, efficient enough for pavement, and perfect for the large chunk of gravel and dirt road in between. Totally worth the weight. Monday November 14, 2022. We feel this tire provides a great combination of traction and rolling speed and has a huge bandwidth in terms of conditions. That and the fact that the route comes back through Whitefish makes Glacier Cyclery the logical US staging headquarters for Great Divide riders. In the market for the best new tires for your mountain bike? It worked great for the GDMBR: super quick to set up, good in the rain, and freestanding so it can be pitched on pavement, rock, or anywhere else. Solo riders especially (and their loved ones) will likely appreciate the peace of mind. In general, the size, shape, and orientation of the center tread play the biggest role in how well a tire slows and stops your forward momentum. We loved the Mazza as a front tire where it excels in the corners with a stout row of well-supported side knobs that grip well in a huge range of conditions. Stuffable backpack: Not technically a bike bag, but this little backpack is a must-have for long bike trips. Mostly worn for sleeping. When backpacking we dont find it worth the weight, but on this bikepacking trip we absolutely did. No sponsored content. He brought our joint tent out with him to Jackson, and I mailed my solo tent home. When conditions get really loose, it is easy to break this tire into a skid, drift through corners , spin out while climbing. Chamois shorts (2 pair): very personal choice, but Louis Garneau Carbon 2 shorts work well for me. Bike computer: CatEye Velo 7, simple and cheap, handy for checking distance covered without using smartphone battery. Im Alissa, your virtual guide, here to help you make your biggest, boldest adventure dreams a reality. I was thinking about doing it on a Surly Long Haul Trucker - the frame can handle a 45C Tire. Cup: Snow Peak titanium mug. I've been writing and sharing stories of my bicycle travel adventures since 2011 through Swallow Bicycle Works which is where you will find a whole slew of fun things to read, look at, and be inspired by pre-2017. I'll be departing on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route this August and I'll be riding a Niner M.C.R. They are bulletproof but heavy. These days there is no bicycle shop, just full-time adventure whether it's living on my bicycle for a month in an exotic place, or doing weekend adventures in the Southwest . Pillow: Sea to Summit 8 Liter Dry Sack stuffed with odds and ends and wrapped with a Buff. While neither of these tires is light, they're both impressive when the going gets radical. Cattle are everywhere on the GDMBR, even where you might not expect them. Seat bag: Revelate Viscacha 14L. Beyond that, this affordable tire is an excellent front tire, or both, for trail and all-mountain riders. In general, the GDMBR is perfect for a standard 3-season backcountry layering setup. That said, it works well and stays attached nicely, and really does help with sun exposure (which youll get a lot of on the Great Divide). The WTB Vigilante also earns an honorable mention in the cornering metric. Front tires are responsible for more of the steering and cornering duties, and they do a fair amount of the braking work as well. A narrow tunnel of light from my handlebar illuminates the white snow. The bike has a Sram Eagle X01 ASX drivetrain, Sram Force brake lever shifters with Sram guide dual piston brakes. Tires with decent-sized knobbies are recommended. Heres my GDMBR gear list related to water: Water filter: Sawyer Squeeze. I suspect this can even be used to patch bike tubes in a pinch, but Ive never tried it. Fire starter: Cotton balls rubbed in Vaseline, andwaterproof matches or lighter. You can likely buy these from bike shops along the way, though you might not get your first pick of brand or type. If you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments below. Stove: Jetboil MicroMo. Related: How to Choose Mountain Bike Tires. I love these shirts for their lightweight comfort and natural stink-resistance (so important for this kind of adventure). Check out the reviews on Dirt Rage and Twenty Nine Inches. Traillinks. TD 2022 updates include: 1. The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) is a 3,083.8 mi (4,962.9 km), off-road bicycle touring route between Jasper, Alberta, Canada and Antelope Wells, New Mexico, USA. Wet, loose, loam, this tire rips into the soil. We tested each tire as much as humanly possible and ranked them based on these metrics. Thanks for taking the time. What kind of bike maintenance is needed on the GDMBR? Load: Fairly typical long-distance bikepacking setup. My style tends toward moderately lightweight (I ran a bikepacking bag setup, no rack) but not too minimalist (I like hot meals, warm layers, and reading at camp). Hello! Braking traction is hugely important in a tire. The Eliminator has a semi-aggressive center rolling for speed, but it still has good braking bite and cornering traction. In some areas you might rarely fill it all, carrying only 1-2 liters at a time. The Great Divide Route is the world's longest off-pavement cycling route. Often, the more durable and supportive a casing is, the heavier the tire becomes. I wear them for warmth and wind protection in addition to rain. Those wide paddle-shaped lugs in the center tread of the DHR II dig in effectively, especially in loose conditions. I replaced it halfway through with the womens version which is slightly warmer and shorter perfect for me. The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. I usually kill a pair (scratched or lost) on every long trip and these are cheap enough that it doesnt matter. Every few days at most basically as often as youll find food youll find a convenience store with the basics like toothpaste or soap. Reroute through Chama, NM skipping closed Carson and Santa Fe forests 4. My hands get cold easily and when I need to ride in cold temps these are essential. Whether you have roasted the original set of rubber or need to purchase the right tires for your local trails, this comparative analysis should help you make a decision. Ian is able to ride year-round from his home in Santa Cruz, California with a wide range of trail options to keep him busy. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon all cover slightly different areas, and all have large dead zones in rural parts of the US. Bikepacking & TouringRides and RoutesTips and SkillsBikes and PartsGear and Reviews, Hiking & BackpackingTrails and TripsGear and ClothingTips and AdviceTrip Planning Workbook, Adventure TravelExplore by RegionCamping and OutdoorsMindful Travel. One of the fastest-rolling tires in the test was the Specialized Ground Control. Bowl: Sea to Summit collapsible mug. Free shipping for many products! I prefer a tent over a tarp or bivy on long trips, because I like to close myself off from the world if Im camped in a public place like a campground or town park. This saddle has worked well for me in the past, but it caused issues on this trip and Ive since retired it. This DH tire has more tread in the transitional zone, softer rubber, and an even more robust casing that makes it unflappable. I recommend this one from Blackburn which I discovered later. I would suggest trying the smaller Sporty version if youre on the fence. This is a very popular filter and it works well. As a general rule, the more aggressive the tread design, the better the tire will perform in loose conditions. While the medium-height tread is efficient and capable for most situations, there are better options for braking traction when the terrain gets super loose. Help sustain this resource by joining the Bikepacking Collective: https://bikepacking.com/join/?utm_source=youtubeOutline: Intro - 0:00Support Bikepacking.com - 0:42Tire CharacteristicsWidth - 1:22Casing - 2:35Tread Pattern - 4:09Reliability - 5:53Tire OptionsWTB Nano - 6:30WTB Ranger - 7:40Maxxis Crossmark - 7:56Maxxis Ikon - 8:57Maxxis Ardent Race - 9:22Teravail Sparwood - 9:45Teravail Rutland - 10:26Vittoria Mezcal - 11:04Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge - 11:53Mentioned Links:29er Wheel Diameter History: (http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/p/beginnings-of-modern-29er-history.html)Tubeless Tire Repair and Install: (https://bikepacking.com/plan/tubeless-tire-repair-guide/)Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge Review: (https://bikepacking.com/gear/rene-herse-fleecer-ridge-review/)Eastern Divide: (https://bikepacking.com/plan/introducing-the-eastern-divide-trail/)Bikepacking Routes Page: (https://bikepacking.com/bikepacking-routes/)Do you enjoy our videos, routes, and articles? I think youll like them, but you can unsubscribe at any time. Continental's new tires can compete with the best in the business. We ended up sharing one and it worked fine. You may prefer another option if you often find yourself riding in loose or wet conditions. We put in lots of time and miles while testing mountain bike tires. Got feedback? Spare batteries as needed for your devices. We suggest getting a tire that matches your terrain and riding style. With a relatively squared-off profile, an aggressive open tread design, and the tacky High Grip rubber, the Vigilante eats up the corners and excels in loose conditions from dust to loam. We put the best mountain bike tires from Maxxis, Specialized, Vittoria, Michelin, WTB, and others to the test. Front tires often feature directional tread patterns to improve rolling resistance, although a front tire does not support as much weight as a rear tire and consequently doesn't suffer as much drag. Celebrating its 20th year, the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route stretches the length of the United States, and was researched and mapped by the Adventure Cycling Association to provide a non-paved cycle touring route for those who are so inclined. Tent(s): Because I rode solo for the first five weeks and then was joined by my husband for the last four weeks, we used two different tents. There are countless options to choose from, and we know that finding the right tires for the conditions, terrain, and your riding style can be a challenge. We researched nearly every tire on the market before buying 28 models for side-by-side testing. Taller knobs with wide spacing can penetrate deeper into loose surfaces, and braking edges that face perpendicular to the direction of travel will most help slow your roll when it's super loose. I tried to rinse and dry one pair while wearing the other, switching each day. Lower profile tread designs like those of the Maxxis Ardent, Vittoria Agarro, and Michelin Force AM2 grip very well on hardpack and slabby rock, though they tend to falter when the surface conditions are super loose. That said, the Maxxis Aggressor, Maxxis Dissector, WTB Trail Boss, and Specialized Eliminator T7 offer decent braking bite given their rolling speed. If I ever get nervous, having it nearby helps me sleep. I especially liked the flexibility of the big 5L dry bags on the front fork, which could expand or contract a lot to hold varying amounts of food or even, in one long dry stretch, water. Top tube bag: Moosetreks Gas Tank. This tire uses Specialized's T7 rubber compound that prioritizes rolling speed and longevity over all-out grip, and the medium height center tread with moderate spacing helps further reduce rolling resistance. I can definitely see advantages especially for those of us with low tire clearance. Let me leave you with two final tips that I believe will be helpful to almost everyone: Pack light-ish. Specialized recently updated their ever-popular Butcher tire with an all-new T9 rubber compound. Click here to login, or start an account if youre not yet a member of the Bikepacking Collective. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission. Minor complaints: I could have used an even lower low gear for all those climbs (running the stock Fargo gearing of 38/24t in front and 10 speed 11-36t in back). It also provides heaps of braking traction, providing some of the best control you could ask for. Only downsides: they wear out quickly and are not especially sun-protective. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. The aggressive tread of the Minion DHF might feel a bit overkill on super buff and hardpack dirt, but that's not the arena this beast was designed to fight in. Interesting, the new Racing Ralph's perform very well. tires fitted to 50mm wide rims. Any thoughts on what would be the earliest you could start? Despite its cornering and braking chops, the tread design still rolls fairly quickly and efficiently. The Vittoria Martello delivers excellent cornering abilities along with killer rolling speed. Bootlegger Bikes is a small, full service bike shop near Smugglers Notch in Jeffersonville, Vermont that serves the Jeffersonville, Cambridge, Fletcher, Fairfax, Johnson, Underhill, Jericho, and surrounding areas. Trails were often loose, blown out, and rocky. Tail light: Red blinky tail light for visibility on high-traffic roads. The Bikepacking Journal is our biannual printed publication. Youll probably have service in towns, but dont count on it out in the national forests. Superb, extremely comprehensive, very useful. We also particularly like the 2-knob, alternating paddle tread running down the center of the WTB Vigilante. Our selection of test tires is split between the two wheel sizes, and in many cases, our testers have experience riding them in both sizes. I carried my meals inside an Ursack inside a 5L dry sack on my front fork. That said, this tire is meant to be pointed down the hill, and it rewards the rider with outrageous levels of grip. I use the Blackburn Central 50 which is sadly discontinued, but Planet Bike Superflash is good too. We like to be in control and we assume you do too. Ways to expand your water capacity: buy disposable bottles; carry collapsible bottles or bladders, fill up the dirty bag from your water filter, and carry a small stuffable backpack to hold it all. When conditions are firm, some of our fastest rolling tires perform exceptionally well. In our latest video, Neil sheds some light on the essential considerations that will help you make an educated decision. Essential Bike Repair Skills You Can Learn at Home. Held electronics, toiletries, first aid, other miscellaneous items. We now have several models in the 2.5" and 2.6" widths that are becoming much more common in the current mountain bike tire market. In general, a rear tire has more of a focus on pedaling and braking traction, and tread designs often reflect that. Much better than the squeeze pouch that comes with the Sawyer filter! These tires put a fight to get seated, but once mounted we never had further issues. He also touches on eight different tires that fit the bill, including his favorite one in this class.Do you enjoy our videos, routes, and articles? Your needs will vary based on where and how you ride. If you're not yet aware, the famous Tour Divide bikepacking race covers almost the same route as the GDMBR, but most racers aim to finish in under a month (or for the fastest folks, half that time!). Pat Donahue also contributed to this review. 4. number44 (Jul 15, 2019 at 8:26) Shiny and chrome! Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. I highly recommend these for the Great Divide and bikepacking in general. These are mostly country roads that traverse Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management land. Running shorts: small and lightweight, for sleeping on warm nights or wearing on rest days. It was tirelessly mapped over a 4 year span, and published in 1998 by Adventure Cycling Association, North America's premiere bicycle travel organization. Copyright 2023 Exploring Wild, All Rights Reserved. The Assegai is the best cornering tire we've ever tested. We usually rode together and often filled up with potable water from campgrounds or stores, so we werent stopping to filter as often as we do on backpacking trips. We also found it to be a touch heavy when compared to similarly aggressive tires of the same size. And of course, if youre unlucky, anything can happen My husband somehow snapped his inner chainring in Montana and finished the ride on a haphazard 110 conversion! Lighter-weight tires often have less protective and resilient sidewalls, while those that weigh more can usually withstand a bit more abuse. We can't speak for the science behind it, but we found the Mazza's cornering knobs to have above-average durability. The Vittoria Agarro and Michelin Force AM2 have a similar tread design to the Ardent and are great options for those looking to minimize rolling resistance. I think a racing type tire with low profile knobs would be fine, but most of those have sort of scary thin sidewalls for loaded touring. used because summer days were so long and pace was leisurely, so never needed to ride in the dark. A few areas, in particular parts of New Mexico and Wyomings Great Basin, are much drier. Each issue features a collection of inspiring writing and beautiful photography. Helmet brim: Da Brim Classic. It is available in numerous casings, including DH, EXO, and EXO+. Even the legendary Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which often crests above 10,000ft in its 2,700 miles, fits this category.Our selection of routes spans the whole spectrum, from short two-dayers in the desert, to properly long technical mountain routes, and woodsy adventures in . We struggled to get the trail casing of the Kryptotal Fr and its counterpart (the Kryptotal Re) to seat, as a result, we might not recommend it to those who have more of a convenience-reigns, Laissez-faire approach to bike maintenance. As tires continue to trend wider, so too are the tires in our test. I love it (see my review here) but its pricey. I expect this one to last at least another 7 years. The Salsa Fargo Apex 1 is a burly steel frame gravel bike. The 10 Best Bike Saddles of 2023 (So Far) We rode the 2.4" Trail casing, endurance compound tire and it was truly an inspiration on the front wheel; holding like a rail through corners, and delivering superb braking performance in a range of conditions. I didn't want to give up on them, but simultaneus pinch flats were the final straw. Chlorine dioxide: I carried a small number of Potable Aqua tablets as a temporary backup in case my filter failed. Youll want a system that keeps you cozy enough in a bad mountain storm. Haha yes, in many ways time (and motivation) are the most important things on the list! Satellite Messenger: Garmin InReach Mini, for communication and emergencies in areas without phone service. For more options, see Water filters for Bikepacking and Touring. I just find these more trouble than theyre worth. Riding northbound you could have someone at home mail it out to you (with proper insurance and certifications). The Trail casing we tested offers a good blend of support and suppleness, and Vittoria's 4C Graphene rubber was surprisingly resilient with an above-average tread life. You will want the cusion of a larger tyre. Despite its square profile, it rolls easily into corners and hooks up and grips in all conditions thanks to the tall row of burly side knobs. Cloth face maskfor town, this being 2021 and all. Benson is a competitive gravel and mountain bike racer, highly experienced tester/reviewer, and published author. Power bank: 10,000 mAh Ainope, lightweight and quick-charging. The Schwalbe Marathon XR's look good in terms of durability, protection and rolling resistance, but at only 2.00" wide them seem a little narrow. Here we get to the meat of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route packing list: clothing! No cherry-picked units sent by manufacturers. There are affiliate links in this post. Yeah I'm thinking about doing it too. Braking traction is a crucial element of any mountain bike tire and one that varies dramatically between the different models and tread designs. Extra bottles: I carried two 1L Platypus SoftBottles for extra capacity. Ive gone through a few and find the Cerium to be a good balance of packability and warmth. The tread consists of lots of moderate-height lugs in the center and intermediate zone, with a fairly substantial row of shoulder knobs. The Maxxis Ardent is another fast and efficient tire that will appeal most to the XC crowd. The Michelin Wild AM2 and Force AM2 feature Gum-X rubber compounds and the Gravity Shield casing. I love riding solo but a month is enough, and Ive been wanting to share a long ride with him for years. This little guy makes it so much more pleasant. In hindsight I wish we had each carried our own Ursack. Bandanafor wiping out dishes and other miscellaneous needs. Some miscellaneous items that dont fit in other categories: First aid kit, lightweight and customized. Let us know in the conversation below if you have a tire that youd recommend for a long mixed terrain route like the GDMBR. I discuss my repair kit in more detail here: Tools and Spares List for Bikepacking. This includes tires, and a resurgence in semi-slick tire designs has occurred in recent years. While we were truly impressed by the performance of the Ground Control Grid T7, it is important to keep in mind that these tires do have limitations. The rigid fork would theoretically have some braze ons which would give you more places to bolt stuff, either more water or fork bags or something along those lines. Thanks for the detail. Related: How to Keep Electronics Charged While Bikepacking. The feel of this tire may take a little getting used to for some, but once you experience the sensation of it locking into a turn, you'll have a hard time going back to anything else. That said, selection is limited until you reach a larger town with a full grocery or drug store.
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