Here’s my gear list for the The Colorado Trail Race.
Bike build:
The Reeb Sam’s Pants is the ultimate all-rounder. The idea behind this bike was to build a versatile machine for riding my home trails and dirt roads around the Colorado Front Range and for future self-powered adventures. While riding the CTR on a fully rigid bicycle isn’t an easy task, the Sam’s performed exceptionally well as I had zero mechanical failures (save worn brake pads).
Frame: Reeb Sam’s Pants (hand built by master welder Chris Sulfrian)
Fork: Whisky Carbon N9
Wheels: ZTR Crest 29er Rims // Maxxis Crossmark 29×2.1 tires
Afterburner cranks and stem // Crank Brothers egg beater pedals
Rear hub: Rohloff Speedhub with Gates Carbon Belt Drive
Front hub: Son Dynamo Hub
Bars: Salsa Woodchipper 44cm (which I’m changing to the Cowchipper in 46cm)
Brakes: TRP Spyre disk brakes
Saddle: Brooks B17
Bike Maintenance:
1x carbon belt drive
2x spare tubes
4oz stans and tire patch kit
spokes, bike multitool, leatherman, tire lever, lighter, spare brake pad, pump, zip ties.
Other extras:
i-phone + Goal Zero charger
Mini sawyer water filter + 1L platypus
2 headlamps ; Armytek Wizard and Petzl Tikka RXP
Med kit: duct tape + Buff
Suunto Core watch
Colorado Trail Data Book
Combination lock (never used)
Tooth brush and paste
2x26oz bike bottles (Tailwind and water)
Clothing/Sleep System:
Dale’s Pale Ale Evel Knievel bike jersey
Vecchio’s bib shorts
Pearl Izumi leg and arm warmers
Arc’teryx Motus long sleeve shirt (kept dry for emergencies)
Arc’teryx Cerium LT down jacket
Arc’teryx Norvan Gore-Tex jacket + rain pants
Summer bike gloves + Rei Novara TransMitt over glove
Shoes: Giro Terraduro
Drymax bike socks x 2
Buff x2 ; one original Buff and one merino wool.
Bivy: SOL Escape Bivvy + Western Mountaineering Highlite down sleeping bag
Bike bags:
Oveja Negra half-frame bag (used for some maintenance kit, clothes, extra food)
Oveja Negra seat bag (bivy sack and sleeping bag)
Revelate Designs gas tank and mountain feedbag (food) and jerrycan (tools)
Food:
My food mainly consisted of Tailwind, sandwiches, burritos, nut butter, candy bars, ice tea and the occasional hot meal.
Partners
Great write ups Joe, quite the adventure. How do you feel about not bringing a sleeping pad now? I’ve found a good nights sleep can offset the weight saved by not bringing it. Or, any other reflections on things you’d do differently? Thanks!
Thanks, Mike. A pad would have been of no use for me on this trip. It wasn’t cold enough to need the extra insulation from the ground and every spot was comfortable enough for the couple hours of rest I got. I always slept really well (mainly because I was completely exhausted every time I lay down) with the exception of the second night, but that was due to the bugs (ironically it was the softest camp of the whole trip).
An obvious change I would make for this particular race would be to ride a bike with suspension. As I mentioned, despite performing extremely well, the bike wasn’t built with the CT in mind. Suspension would allow me to ride the downhills much faster and greatly reduce the pounding on my body. The first 300 miles were pretty athletic on a full rigid rig.
A small change I’d make would be to not use the seat bag and instead roll my sleeping bag in my bivy sack and strap it to my handle bars. The seat bag worked great, but I’d eliminate weight and the need of having to stuff the bivy and the sleeping bag in the back (minor hassle).
Otherwise, I wouldn’t bring the lock and I’d only bring one spare tube instead of two.
Hi Joe, if you were to do the race again, would you ride a hardtail or a full suspension bike? Thanks!
Hey Ben – I think a full suspension bike would be great for the CT though I do really like my hardtail Reeb. I would not do it on a rigid bike again (although maybe on + size tires, but not for racing.)