Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

Telluride to Moab San Juan Huts. Gear advice.

6K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  SkaredShtles 
#1 ·
Going on the telluride to Moab trip Never bike packed before. We don't have to carry a lot. Food is provided at the hut but still need to carry trail and hut clothes, trail food and the normal repair gear for 7 days.

I'll be riding a FS 29" wheel bike. Trying to figure out what I'll need. I've done a lot of race course marking and trail work with semi heavy backpacks but I don't want to carry everything on my back.

Any gear and or technique suggestions?
 
#4 ·
I've been planning on doing the Colorado Trail so I've done some research. The bike packing web site has lots of info - check their Setup tab.
bikepacking.net
Also regarding where you put stuff - on your back or on the bike - and where on the bike you may come across a discussion of unsprung versus sprung weight. Bottom line, I would put the heaviest stuff in a frame bag and a decent load on your back. Light loads on the wheels. Revelate - and others like the local guy Joe (can't remember his mtbr handle - make bags that hang off of your seat and usually is used to carry lighter, bulky things like sleeping bags. etc.
 
#7 ·
Mike Zobbe?!? :rolleyes: Man, don't listen to that dude.

The trip was fantastic. We had great weather albeit a bit on the hot side (105 in Gateway and Moab). The huts very basic, but they worked. The food worked out a lot better than we thought it would - there was just enough fresh staples to compliment the canned and dried goods. There are cookbooks provided which helped a lot.

The route had enough "alternate" singletrack to keep it interesting. Some of the ST was not well used and fairly overgrown; a few places the trail just petered out and we had to walk around a little to find it again. The standard route is easy dirt roads but the scenery was outstanding. The milage was very manageable for a solidly fit person - 30-45 miles a day with 3-4000' of climbing a day on average. You can tell that portions of the route would really suck if it was wet. They offer alternate wet weather routes around the worst soils, but wet weather would add a level or two of mental and physical difficulty

It's my understanding that the Durango - T-ride route is more challenging from a terrain and trail point of view and is at higher elevation. I've been in that area enough to have a basic gist of what is in store - tough but manageable for a group with solid skills and fitness. I would not recommend the T-ride - Moab route, much less the Durango - T-Ride route for beginners.

All and all a grand adventure that I'd highly recommend!

Plant Tree Outdoor furniture Rural area Hill station
Mountainous landforms Hill Highland Mountain range Mountain
Tire Wheel Bicycle wheel House Bicycle frame
Clothing Bicycle wheel Bicycle frame Wheel Plant
Clothing Helmet Bicycles--Equipment and supplies Bicycle Sports equipment
Tree Leisure Sitting Summer Vacation
 
#9 ·
They do but you have to pay extra. I don't drink so I wasn't involved with that but I think it it was $35 or so per person for the trip. I think that allocated out to 3 beers per person per day. No one in our group are big drinkers so I think that was plenty. The brand selection and whether or not it's cold depends on where you are in the maintenance cycle. They restock the coolers with ice and fresh food once a week.
 
#10 ·
I'd also add travel as light as possible. I wouldn't skimp on anything important, we carried a bunch of spare parts that we didn't end up needing - the only mechanical we had was a broken chain that a quick link fixed in 10 minutes but you are out in the middle of nowhere and there is a lot of potential for gear abuse. I carried my big camera - a body and a couple lenses and while I got a lot of great images that I wouldn't have gotten with a point and shoot, it was a lot to lug around for 7 days.

Alsoo have your touring gear well sorted. MTB touring specific only! We didn't have much in the way of bike mechanicals, but some folks had some stuff that was better suited to road touring and we had to McGyver some repairs on that stuff.
 
#13 ·
Friends of a friend did the Durango to Moab trip about 3 weeks ago. ZRM noted if it was wet it is a different ride. Their trip was in the thick of the previous rains and involved several hours of muddy/clay hike a bike in rain & hail. One of the roads was too muddy for the hut re-supply and by luck they already decided to ride to a nearby town for a motel and the supply guy drove by and spotted their bikes parked outside a restaurant. He hauled them up the next day to get back on track. They had fun but it sounded like it was adventure + due to the weather.
 
#17 ·
The only thing I would say is don't put too much weight on your back unless you are REALLY used to it. Some sort of good rear seat bag and maybe MTB specific handlebar bag. I carried a lot, including my big camera and a couple lens's on my back and regretted it.

It's a great trip. Some of the singletrack gets pretty obscure but is very adventurous and the double track is very scenic. Don't expect the huts to be too plush - they have what you need but not more.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top