So interested on how the UK adopts it's first event promoted as a gravel race.

What kind of split will we see between cyclo cross bikes and mountain bikes from those on the forum.
I'm personally still undecided on comfort over speed, 200 miles of body pounding will be telling.

Ragley TD-1 Monster (burly) crosser for me, just have to decide on tyre volume.

The poll is set up so you can change your vote at any time

Good idea. In a blur of wine and whisky last night, I forgot to add the box to the entry form

I'm still undecided. I'm going to stick gears on the Kite next week hopefully, and then can make a proper judgement on how suited it is for me/ the route.

I don't have much choice as I only have mountain bikes. The choice for me is to go ridgid or not... which I probably will.

What category does Fargo with 700 x 42 tyres and Jones + tri bars fit in?

Brothersmith wrote:What category does Fargo with 700 x 42 tyres and Jones + tri bars fit in?

Monster Cross :D

Part of the attraction of this event for me is pondering the fastest/most reliable permutations. Given a pretty good knowledge of the route, I think the 100 is a no brainer for a CX bike but having signed up for the 200, there are more questions than answers at the moment. If you're expecting all smooth forest tracks then you're in for a surprise, there are significant sections of rocky trail around Nant Yr Arian and Nant Y Moch res and a 2-3 mile singletrack into Llangurig. My leaning at the moment is towards my fully rigid Van Nicholas 29er with Alfine and carrying minimal gear in the frame bag, seat pack in case a bothy stop is required. This will clearly be slower on the smooth stuff but more robust on the rough stuff. All this is assuming I don't get to blag the use of a Planet X gravel racer that I'm not supposed to talk about

Jones + tri bars fit in?

Just how many possible hand positions does one man need?

Rigid 1x10 geared 29er with 2.2 tyres, as per Bear Bones 200 2012 and 95 road miles earlier this month.

Chew wrote:

Brothersmith wrote:What category does Fargo with 700 x 42 tyres and Jones + tri bars fit in?

Monster Cross :D

I would have said that too Chew but category specifies drops

s8tannorm wrote:

Jones + tri bars fit in?

Just how many possible hand positions does one man need?

I bet after a 100mile of gravel it still won't be enough

Trust crosser for me :D

dirty disco here!

Cube cross for me!! Need a 12-30 cassette me thinks

I should probably ride my straggler but am more than likely to ride the MTb I intend to ride on the ht550. I'm making a few changes to it soon so it'll be a good test

Genesis Fortitude Race...

:)

I'm putting my salsa vaya in as a gravel racer.

It got a lot more race when i chopped the headtube down by an inch!

Scott Scale 960 hopefully with some light new wheels by April....

Raleigh Shopper (with basket)

Raleigh Shopper (with basket)

Would that be a standard one ... sorry pic shows Raleigh 20, not Raleigh 20 shopper (no basket you see).



Or a trick bikepacking specific one?

Those'd be handy for the Spars next week...

I'll be on the geared 29er for the gravel trashing with front bounce... RR rubber or might try these Ikons to see what they are like. I'll be experimenting with tubeless to before hand (NOT on the day mind!)

Fargo with whichever tyres have least tread on by then. Could be Twin-Rails, could be Small Block 8s.

I have a pair of Cross-Tyres but not convinced that I'd rather have less drag than more squish. :?

Because it's all I've got to bring to the fight I'll be on a SS Singular Gryphon with H-bar loop bars. Not sure about tires yet, about to experiment with some 42c Conti cross rides on a tubeless set up, but may go with something wider. Not really knowing the route, a bigger dilemma is which gear ratio to run.

I take my hat off to anyone doing the 200 singlespeed.

The Kite is ready to launch tomorrow with gears - first non-SS ride in a looong time. 1x8 with thumbies, so even though it's gears, I'm keeping it "real" 8-)

Ian wrote:I take my hat off to anyone doing the 200 singlespeed.

The Kite is ready to launch tomorrow with gears - first non-SS ride in a looong time. 1x8 with thumbies, so even though it's gears, I'm keeping it "real" 8-)

You'll keep forgetting about those gears - I used to do that after just a couple of months riding singlespeed then getting back on gears

As I joined the forum because of the Wildcat 100 I'll weigh in on this.

I know it's a 'gravel' race but it is Welsh forest tracks so it's not going to be mega smooth right? I'm going with 26" mtb with big but fast tyres, Ralphs probably.

Really looking forward to this! Only done a tiny bit of bike packing so I'm really excited about doing some practices beforehand.

I know it's a 'gravel' race but it is Welsh forest tracks so it's not going to be mega smooth right?

If the weather's kind for the week prior and there's not been too much forest activity, most of the 100 should be pretty well surfaced ... parts of the 200 won't be

It's very interesting to hear peoples different takes on 'the ideal bike'. I don't think an ideal exists but I do think any suspension or tyres larger than 2" will be a burden ... in the words of FLV: Pack light - Ride fast - Don't stop