The bike show is coming to town and I have authorization from the better half to get a new bike this year. I am hoping to do some endurance races in Ontario, but the big one I have been training for is in British Columbia/Alberta, the trans rockies challenge. What would be the bike and set up I should be looking at. (max 5000.00 but hoping to spend less). Thanks.

The bike show is coming to town and I have authorization from the better half to get a new bike this year. I am hoping to do some endurance races in Ontario, but the big one I have been training for is in British Columbia/Alberta, the trans rockies challenge. What would be the bike and set up I should be looking at. (max 5000.00 but hoping to spend less). Thanks.

I'm also in Ontario (Ottawa) and will also be at the TR with my partner, FritZman (who posts here).

I currently race Expert XC (Vet) on a Ti singlespeed for all O-Cups, Q-Cups, C-Cups, 24 Hrs of Summer Solstice Solo and the World Master's Championship. But, the TR is the one race in which I won't be riding my singlespeed.

For the TR, I will either be racing a Grey (http://www.greybicycle.com) Ti hardtail or Ti softtail. The racer in me is leaning towards the HT (lighter, more efficient, etc.), but, I'm very interested in the ST. However, having never ridden a ST and with only 30mm of travel via a Stratos XC Pro rear shock, I'm not sure the ST will do all that much....could be wrong. Weight difference is 250g (~0.5lbs).

FritZman rides a Cannondale Scalpel and loves it. But, it too is on the minimal side of suspension.

If I was to buy a dually, I would likely get a Titus Racer-X or a Turner Burner.

I'd suggest posting your question in the TransRockies Forum (http://www.transrockies.com/forum/)

See ya in August, or before at some of the O-Cups.

Firstly, congrats on taking the plunge by entering the TRC. You're in for a treat, a masochistic cyclists nirvana. If you've never ridden in the Rockies you'll be scheming to move to Calgary by September.
As for what bike to choose, I can say that most of my friends ride 3"-4" FS bikes. Only 10% ride a hardtail by choice and they seem to walk like old cowboys. The top 3 brands here are Santa Cruz (Superlight, Blur), Specialized (FSR, Epic), and Rocky Mountain (Element).
For what it's worth, my ride is a Rocky Mountain Element TO w/Fox F80RLT fork. My wife, and TRC partner, is on a GF Sugar with the same fork. Low gear is a 22-34. Tires are Hutchinson Python's. We've done lots of endurance races and 24's with no complaints. If I were buying a new bike I'd consider only two, the Element Scandium and the Titus Racer-X. Both are proven designs, not flavour of the year. Both can be had on Ebay for good prices if you are into that ($1600US for an Element currently listed).
A Rocky might gain you some leverage with the TRC repair crew from The Bike Shop (Calgary's Rocky dealer). Then again, so will slipping them a $10 each day.

See 'ya,
Dave

The real issue isn't which bike but which parts... I did the tr last year and watched a lot of people break things on their bikes- my bro and I didn't even get a single flat.

My 2 cents is if you are debating, it has to be a fs, you will be beat up buying and trying to get your body used to a new hardtail bike in time for the race- if you had a year or two, then it is another story. Get something that is labeled marathon fs, not race. More plush, more durable. I rode it on a ellsworth truth, my bro a moots smoothie. We both had fox talas forx and I had a romic coil because I had blown up my fox rear shock four times that year and didn't want to take a chance. Brendan had a fox ava and never had single problem. We both ran tubeless tires with slime, not for thorns but for just in case. I would now use Stan's sealant. We ran 2.1 tires, I think I had irc seracs and he had conti explorers- maybe a little too beefy but like I said, we never spent one second fixing anything on the trail.

The thing you have to consider is that you are doing 7 EPIC rides in a row where if you screw up or it breaks, you have to deal with it. If you are Mcguyver, if you have impeccable karma, no worries. If not, it better be easy to fix and you should know how to do it. I ran avid mech brakes so that there wouldn't be any fluid leaks, but I changed the cables twice that week- heavier yes but less trouble maybe. When you get to the end, there is all the support you could dream of and nothing but a looooong van ride (or helicopter) in the middle- during the second stage, we came upon a forest fire. We pushed on when we found out it was an 8 hour bus ride to the finish- when the bus arrived. One bus arrived at the finish at 1 am...

Two things I know for sure- do NOT use a sid and do use tubeless (either ust or stan's). It is very rocky up there and if it rains, it will eat parts esp delicate things like sids. We had great luck with fox talas- durable and adjustable for the long climbs/descents. We also witnessed a guy who had no shocks at all (because they blew) ride a 7 mile descent so you can overcome bad judgment- they do this great video at the end of each day so the winners can see the losers and vice versa out on the trail. It brings a nice sense of comraderie to the whole thing- we got to be friends with the 2nd place team and they were watching our position battle for 10th just as we were watching them try to catch the evil austrians (who were great guys).

The thing about this race is that it is for everyone- yeah there will be people who will kick your ass and finish hours ahead of you each day (there was an 8 hour difference btw 1 and 10 by the end- something like 30 hours btw 1 and last), but there are also plenty of people there treating it as a tour and just going for the riding. So be honest with yourself- if you ride hard and bash things, get a burly bike. If you flow like water down the hill, get a hard tail. Spend the money to get the more durable part. And do not get a sid. No sid. No race, world cup, team, nothing. Not even if it is free and comes with a new car (well maybe, but sell the sid and buy a fox).

DO NOT ride a single speed- a quote from the single speed queen, Christina Begy, is that it would take her 6 weeks to do the tr on a ss because of the road bike aspect of it.

As you can tell, I dig talking about this, so if you want more, fee free to email me or do like they said above, use the messgae boards on the tr website. Paul Nesbitt(?) is the man about the tr- he has done it all and written about it later and is a hell of a rider.

Have a great time.

Would have to agree with Saladin In , I have not done this race but i have friends who have. I have lived and ridden in Canmore for years and have also done the 24 hrs.several times , GO DEPENDABLE. I do a lot of distance rides, skip the tec race stuff go light but not race light. Race bikes with long travel forks make for great all day bikes as the are light and the long tavel fork slackens the head angle. I would also stay away from disc.brakes. I ride a blur, it's a great bike and is perfict for this area and race , if you made some changes. Other bikes that would be great , 5 spot, or a stumjumper xc. The 5 spot already has a 69 degree head angle so you could get away with a 100 ml fork like the fox float 100 RLC the other 2 would be better with a 5 inch fork. good luck fraser

P.S. if any one is 52 and wants to enter this race give me as shout as they now have a 100 plus category, I am 48 and still kicking.

If you don't see anybody doing it on a single speed this year I think I would be up to it in 06. I could send you a resume, personal references, and some drug-screened blood samples.

If you don't see anybody doing it on a single speed this year I think I would be up to it in 06. I could send you a resume, personal references, and some drug-screened blood samples.

I won't be doing the '05 TR. Not that I wouldn't love to, but I've got family to think about. Maybe '06.

I,ve got to find something huge to look forward to. I would love to do it on a single. Think about, two guys, two ti's, two cogs, two rings, and 10 billion feet of climbing.

I,ve got to find something huge to look forward to. I would love to do it on a single. Think about, two guys, two ti's, two cogs, two rings, and 10 billion feet of climbing.

I can tell you I'm tempted. I did TR 2004 with MikeB.

I've since started SS'ing after TR and having a riot. I can't help but wonder what TR would be like on a SS. 29" would no doubt make it that much easier because there's very little tight stuff.

I've already figured out what gearing I'd use, 32:16 or 17 (26" setup). Anything higher than that and you can pretty much jog uphill just as fast. With that, I'd have a good 40% of my training being heavy tempo hiking.

I'd also try and put as much equipement and water on the bike rather than a camel back. Less weight on your body will be less energy your legs will have to pick up.

BTW, your LaRuta write-ups are well written and entertaining to read. Good job!

I have authorization from the better half to get a new bike this year. I am hoping to do some endurance races in Ontario, but the big one I have been training for is in British Columbia/Alberta, the trans rockies challenge. What would be the bike and set up I should be looking at. (max 5000.00 but hoping to spend less). Thanks.

I have been researching bikes for this race (the Trans-Rockies) since the last one in 2003. I just purchased a demo bike from Turner after Interbike and Fat Tire Fest in Moab - the new Flux - 4" of travel front and rear; a 4-bar with Horst Linkage. I have a few friends who have ridden the T-R and the T-A in Europe and after listening to them (and doing more research) I settled on the Turner.

It came with FSA stuff all over (wheels, hubs, seatpost, seat (to be changed!), stem, bars, cranks, rings along with XT fr. d and SRAM X9 rr. d, SRAM X-9 triggers and Magura Marta hydraulic brakes (seem to have outstanding modulation - better than my Hayes hydros.) Fork is a Rock Shock Reba Race and rear shock is a Fox RP3 pro pedal. Just set them up two days ago, but only have 15 minutes on the bike as it snowed yesterday - will have to wait until spring to iron out the bugs! Total weight, with the old Time ATAC pedals (on the bike shop scale, with water bottle holder) was 26.5 lbs. It only has 2.0 tires & tubes front and rear, and I will get different tires more suited for the race (and 2.1 to boot!) Not sure if I will go for tubes or tubeless - some interesting discussions about this... (please feel free to add your .02 worth!)

I have a '99 SC Heckler that has basically been rebuilt since I bought it new - the only things that remain original are the frame, the Chris King headset (damn, they are dependable!) and the rear Fox Vanilla C coil-over (which might get upgraded this spring!) Everything else is new - wheelset, Fox Talas fork (LOVE the adjustability for feel and travel - it seems to make it way easier to climb after screwing the travel down to 3" - in fact, I might switch this fork over to my Turner!) I raced the Heckler at the 24 hours in Canmore and it felt a little heavy, but to be fair, I didn't have any mechanical issues. The Heckler weighs in around 29lbs with 2.1 tires & tubes - an XT build. It will be my backup bike for the T-R.

I was originally looking closely at a SC Blur and an Ellsworth Truth, but after reading their respective forums on this site, I stayed away because of numerous potential problems. I rode a Blur in Moab in early November and really liked it (lighter than my Heckler and I liked the "feel" of the VPP compared to my single pivot) - I really scooted up Amasa Back - but as I said, the forums convinced me otherwise. The Intense Spyder and 5.5 (both VPP designs) were also under consideration. VPP seems to be maintenance-intensive, especially in wet conditions. The Turner has zerk fittings which greatly simplify maintenance. I contemplated a Turner 5-Spot too, but owning a Heckler and a 5-Spot seemed redundant - although if / when I sell my Heckler, I will look to replace it with a 5-Spot. I wnated a lighter race bike for shorter events and to try T-R

I would never consider a single speed for this event and unless you are a pro rider looking to win, a hardtail is out of the question. A soft tail might be a possibility if you are shooting for a top 10 finish, but again, speaking to people like the 80% "average joes and jills" who do this, a full-suspension bike helps to take the sting out! Watching the Trans-Rockies 1 hour special on Global yesterday reinforced how difficult this event is on people's bodies - lots of shots of people applying "bag balm" or hemmorraid creme to their nether regions! Yikes!

Several people have commented to me that one should have several (1 per day) pairs of high-end cycling shorts as there is no time to do laundry and wearing the same pair of sweaty / filthy shorts is a sure recipe for saddle sores. Expensive, but good advice! I am wearing some expensive (top-of-the-line, $180 / pair) Pearl Izumi's and they are money! I rode a couple of centuries in them this year (the one I did without was PAINFUL - I couldn't get back on the bike for a couple of days!), along with several epic all-day mountain bike rides (6+ hours) and "Jim and the Twins" did fine! No numbness; no walking funny later. The big thing was I could do these long rides BACK-TO-BACK - a necessity for the T-R!

Good luck on your purchase!

Dean

I have been researching bikes for this race (the Trans-Rockies) since the last one in 2003. I just purchased a demo bike from Turner after Interbike and Fat Tire Fest in Moab - the new Flux - 4" of travel front and rear; a 4-bar with Horst Linkage. I have a few friends who have ridden the T-R and the T-A in Europe and after listening to them (and doing more research) I settled on the Turner.

The Turner Flux would be a great bike for TR. 4" front/rear, durable, mid-weight, etc. good choice. I went with something similar in my Titus RX-100 and it worked great for the '04 TR. Although I haven't done TA, from those I've spoken to that have done both, TR is far more technical.


It came with FSA stuff all over (wheels, hubs, seatpost, seat (to be changed!), stem, bars, cranks, rings along with XT fr. d and SRAM X9 rr. d, SRAM X-9 triggers and Magura Marta hydraulic brakes (seem to have outstanding modulation - better than my Hayes hydros.) Fork is a Rock Shock Reba Race and rear shock is a Fox RP3 pro pedal.

Similar to the frame, the part spec seems ideal for TR. I'm using a lot of FSA and SRAM on my RX-100, plus Magura Marta SL discs, Fox F100X fork, etc. all of which proved very reliable during the race.


I was originally looking closely at a SC Blur and an Ellsworth Truth, but after reading their respective forums on this site, I stayed away because of numerous potential problems.

Yep, I considered these as well. But, there was really no way I'd touch the Ells after reading the BS that Tony likes to put his customers through. I was pretty close to going with the Intense Spider, but after reading some of the reviews, I shyd away and went with the tried-n-true RX. Another racer there and poster here (Nick Broscovich) had a Spider and he was flying on it!


I would never consider a single speed for this event and unless you are a pro rider looking to win, a hardtail is out of the question.

Bah! I've been racing SS for 4-yrs. In fact, the TR was my first race in 4-yrs on a geared bike. Having done it, yes, SS would be extremely difficult. Not impossible.

HT vs Soft tail vs FS-XC. Each has it's own merits and pros/cons. I've raced for many years on Ti HTs...granted, never anything quite like TR. There is lots of gravel access road climbing that definitely be faster on a HT. But, then there are the descents which would be faster on a FS-XC. My partner (Fritz) used a C-Dale Scalpel, and despite having some frame issues, his bike worked pretty well and was a good compromise between HT and FS-XC.


Watching the Trans-Rockies 1 hour special on Global yesterday reinforced how difficult this event is on people's bodies - lots of shots of people applying "bag balm" or hemmorraid creme to their nether regions! Yikes!

Ya, I watched it, too! Yes, when you are in the saddle for 5+ hours per day and then rinse and repeat for 7-days, funk can happen in the saddle region. The best thing is preventative measures. Every morning, I'd lube-up with some anti-bacterial ointment to keep the sores away. Once you get 'em, they can be a pain (literally) to get rid of...especially, when the shower facilities lack a little and you are pounding your ass for 7-days straight. Everyone has their own funk remedies, be it, Assos chamois cream or hemroid cream. If it works, use it! Otherwise, you are going to be in a world of hurt.


Several people have commented to me that one should have several (1 per day) pairs of high-end cycling shorts as there is no time to do laundry and wearing the same pair of sweaty / filthy shorts is a sure recipe for saddle sores. [QUOTE]

Yes! I brought a pair of shorts per day...that's 7! The only day we could actually use a laundry machine was after Day 5 when we arrived in Bragg Creek. $10 got you bag of laundry done by the locals at the laundry mat. We were fortunate enough to stay with some locals in Bragg Creek, who not only gave us a warm bed to sleep in, but food, hot shower and we got all of our laundry done. You can imagine the smell of wet-n-muddy clothes after 5-days of sitting in a bag...yuck!


[QUOTE=Hockeygod]Expensive, but good advice!

Definitely!!! When you think about the total cost of the race, it's a small price to pay for comfort. Once you get the saddle sores, I doubt you'll be able to get rid of them at the race. Then, you'll end-up like Marcus and Guy and will have to lube up with medication every couple of hours, just to keep riding. Not fun! I'm not sure which was worse, being the luber or the lubee. ;) Either way, I'm glad it wasn't Fritz and I!

1 Speed Mike,

Thanks for your follow-up. I didn't want to take over this thread (looking at the date of the original post, I imagine he has already purchased a bike!) but I truly appreciate your comments. A couple other people have also provided some good insights on this thread re: preparation for the T-R or any other long distance race.

I might start a new thread on T-R prep (after I do a search to see if one already exists), but if any of you have some veteran tips to share, please do so as knowledge is power!

On another note: I have never ridden a single speed; therefore accept my previous comments about doing a race of this magnitude with a grain of salt. To my uneducated opinion, I don't think I would want to do it - plus it would probably take a fair bit of additional time, especially on the flats and downhills (if a hardtail.) I have given some thought to buying a Ti hardtail or Ti softail as I own a Litespeed Ti roadbike and after extensively test riding aluminum, steel and carbon fibre, my God, does Ti make a huge difference! Thus, my desire for a Ti hard / soft tail for those short racedays / less rough rides. Any advice as to brand and advice of hard vs soft tail? Of course, it will be Ti construction...!

Thanks in advance; keep sharing your knowledge!

Dean

1 Speed Mike,

Thanks for your follow-up. I didn't want to take over this thread (looking at the date of the original post, I imagine he has already purchased a bike!) but I truly appreciate your comments. A couple other people have also provided some good insights on this thread re: preparation for the T-R or any other long distance race.

I might start a new thread on T-R prep (after I do a search to see if one already exists), but if any of you have some veteran tips to share, please do so as knowledge is power!

If you haven't done so already, you can take a look at the TR forums (http://www.transrockies.com/forum/)...although it is slow now, there's still some activity and you can search through the Forums for info.


On another note: I have never ridden a single speed; therefore accept my previous comments about doing a race of this magnitude with a grain of salt. To my uneducated opinion, I don't think I would want to do it - plus it would probably take a fair bit of additional time, especially on the flats and downhills (if a hardtail.)

Well, having SS for 4-yrs and having done the TR, it would be difficult. My partner would need to be on a SS too, otherwise, our speeds would differ way too much. I had thought about doing the '04 TR on a SS, but since I'd never done it before, I didn't want to gamble too much. Knowing now what I know, it's possible....tough, but possible.

I have given some thought to buying a Ti hardtail or Ti softail as I own a Litespeed Ti roadbike and after extensively test riding aluminum, steel and carbon fibre, my God, does Ti make a huge difference! Thus, my desire for a Ti hard / soft tail for those short racedays / less rough rides. Any advice as to brand and advice of hard vs soft tail? Of course, it will be Ti construction...!

Thanks in advance; keep sharing your knowledge!

Dean

I'd go with your Turner. After 7-days, your butt will thank you.

...Ya, I watched it, too! Yes, when you are in the saddle for 5+ hours per day and then rinse and repeat for 7-days, funk can happen in the saddle region. The best thing is preventative measures. Every morning, I'd lube-up with some anti-bacterial ointment to keep the sores away. Once you get 'em, they can be a pain (literally) to get rid of...especially, when the shower facilities lack a little and you are pounding your ass for 7-days straight.

Personally I didn't use any lube or ointment during the entire event. Frankly, I've never used the stuff nor am I very interested in trying. I've never had a rash/blistering issue - or whatever you guys claim that happens down there (don't care for the details thanks). :)

Maybe it's the saddle? I use a WTB Rocket Lazer V Ti saddle with great success. I like the rear kick-up to rest against my lower pelvic bones instead of soft tissue.

Dean, good plan with your training. Recovery for consecutive days is the priority. It doesn't matter how fast you can get the first couple days completed if one bonks on day 4. Mike and I clearly got stronger as the event proceeded.