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Gravel bike?
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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

3/24/19 9:51 PM

What tire size come in that X-Chk? And what will fit. I find myself thinking no less than 35, maybe 40-2 if you are near 200 lb?

I know the fastest guys for that are probably on 28-30mm, skinny and sickly fit....


Did you ask the guy how many X-Chks sell for each Domane? Ratio 4/1 or 6/1 I wonder...

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

3/25/19 3:12 AM

Tires

It comes with 700x40, max is 45.

People ride D2R2 on everything from 25s to fat bikes. I’ve always used 33 cross tires, which work fine.

I have no idea what amounts of bikes they sell.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

3/25/19 8:54 AM

I was just attempting to make the point regarding the demise of the Domane's roost as the top seller for Trek.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

3/25/19 7:04 PM

"People ride D2R2 on everything from 25s to fat bikes."

That's been the case at every gravel ride we've done. People are there to have a good time on whatever bike they feel like riding. Last year at the Muddy Onion, there was a guy riding an E-Fatbike towing a trailer with a Golden Retriever wearing "Doggles" (goggles for dogs). One of the biggest attraction of these rides is that everyone is there to have a good time, whether that means tearing up the course in the lead pack or just acting goofy on a bike for a few hours.

Linda and I ride 'cross bikes equipped with lower gearing and 40mm tires, primarily for the extra cushion they provide on rough surfaces. Once things settle in after the start of a ride, we usually end up repeatedly passing and being passed by the same riders, typically because they climb faster and we descend faster. ;-)


Last edited by Brian Nystrom on 3/26/19 4:22 PM; edited 1 time in total

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April
Joined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6593
Location: Westchester/NYC

3/25/19 7:26 PM

Muddy Onion

Perhaps they’ve changed.

I rode it the 2nd year they ran it. My expectation was to take it leisurely and finish any time between 4-5, the “official” end time for the event. The ride organizer’s expectation was for the pacts of riders to come in around 2-3, had some food/drink and hangout a bit, start taking the whole thing down to clear out of there by 5!

They “offered” to “fast forward”, i.e. by van, riders in the back to “rejoin” the pact. Except the “offer” was a command!

I refused and made a fuss at the finish. Interestingly, many of the people helping out at the rest and finish area were in the same frame of mind as mine.

I’ve not been back since. Not even paid attention to the subsequent years. Not because I hels a grudge. Just the timing of early spring conflicts with my skiing season since.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

3/26/19 12:51 PM

riding whatever

>>People are there to have a good time on whatever bike they feel like riding.<<

One year at D2R2 a guy rode away from me on a hill riding a fat bike. I thought, "I'm getting dusted by a guy on a tractor." I saw him at the finish and he rode the whole 180k in a what to me is a very fast time. Pretty good rider. He used 9 psi.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

3/26/19 3:46 PM

"I'm getting dusted by a guy on a tractor."

LOL

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

3/26/19 4:30 PM

April,
We've never had anything but a good time at the Muddy Onion, but we apparently didn't ride it the year that you did. It started in the morning each time and we were done by early afternoon. We had plenty of time to have lunch and a beer, and hang out. The shop closed for a short time and was purchased by some former employees who are now running it and the event. We'll see how the event goes this year, but it was great last year despite the shop not being in operation at the time.

Dan,
You can't have any pride when you ride these events at our age. ;-)

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

3/26/19 5:36 PM

Ditto pride/age...

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April
Joined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6593
Location: Westchester/NYC

3/26/19 9:02 PM

Brian, I would have started earlier had I knew they EXPECT all riders to finish by 2!

I don't ride in the winter. NOT AT ALL! So mid-April is really early season for me. I was not at all in shape that time of year. But I have a lot of low gears. So I can ride REALLY slow and still keep moving. It just takes me a lot longer than usual. I finished about 4'ish. But that was by pushing a lot harder than I had intended. That's why I didn't go back the next year, nor the year after that.

Then, I started skiing into late April and into May. No more Muddy Onion on the radar any more.

A lot of gravel rides are early season. Somehow the "mud" was glorified as part of the appeal. As a former mountain biker, I have a little trouble embracing that notion. To me, mud = trail damage + bike damage = no riding! That's why I've only stick with D2R2 which is in the latter part of the season. I would have love any Oct/Nov gravel rides. But for some reason, that's not the typical season for gravel rides.

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henoch
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 1690

3/27/19 12:35 PM

Big difference between riding single track on the mud which takes lots of hard working dedicated trail volunteers to make and fix vs riding on public dirt roads that also have cars and trucks riding on them.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

3/27/19 2:00 PM

The Muddy Onion hasn't lived up to it's name at all in the editions we've ridden. For the most part, it's been dry with a few little damp patches and some soft sections. I put fenders on our bikes last year just in case and it turned out to be a waste of time.

I just hope I haven't jinxed us for this year!

April, I didn't realize that you hadn't started with the main group, so perhaps we did ride it the same year. We haven't set any speed records either, as it's early in the season for us, too. Hopefully, we'll be in better shape than we were last year when we ended up doing just the short course. We'll be with a couple of friends who've never ridden it before, so it should be interesting.

We'll be doing the short route at Battenkill with a bunch of friends this year, too.

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

3/27/19 2:16 PM

Salsa just introduced another bike for road/gravel, the Warroad. They have an entire fleet of similar bikes now that I think are similar.

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April
Joined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6593
Location: Westchester/NYC

3/27/19 2:16 PM

I understand the trail damage doesn't really apply on dirt roads.

But the excessive wear and tear on bike components still do. Actually more so on cross bikes than on mtn bikes, I think.

On mountain bikes, I come to accept having to replace items at relatively short intervals. Just riding on dirt 100% would do it. But on a cross bike, it's spending a large percentage time on road of some sort, paved or unpaved. There's relatively little extra wear and tear compare to a road bike. While dirt road has a bit more stress on the bike, it's nowhere close to what mud will do. As such, I'm quite reluctant to ride my cross bike on muddy environment, at least not on purpose.

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April
Joined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6593
Location: Westchester/NYC

3/27/19 2:22 PM

Brian, I don't think we rode in the same year.

I saw Dan at the start. But had I been told they intend to "close" the course at some early hour, or expect all riders to hang with the main group (or at least not stretch out an hour behind), I probably would have started earlier than the main group, which apparently some riders did. (I saw people leaving BEFORE the official start, as I was just milling about and chatting with others). I may even CONSIDERED starting significantly earlier just to have extra time to admire the scenery etc.

It was more a matter of different expectation that wasn't obvious. Granted, I've only done the D2R2, where riders spread out for hours in their finish time. So I didn't think of a completely different approach.

[EDIT]
BTW, the earlier version of D2R2 had cutoff times at every checkpoints, clearly spelled out as part of the event description. They later removed those when it's evident most riders were not actually racing but just doing leisurely rides.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

3/27/19 3:54 PM

Moi?

April, If “Dan” refers to me, I’ve never ridden the Muddy Onion. I did see you at the Central Vermont Cycling Tour one year, which appears to be a similar but different event, also around Montpelier. I don’t remember any controversy there, enjoyed the event. I should do more like that.

Another one I’ve enjoyed is Raid Rockingham. Rode that with Rick Hardy one year, but he’s too busy being a crit monster. :)

As to cutoff times, I’ve ridden in a few events that had them, Death Ride, Mt Washington, D2R2. But they were both clearly articulated and not enforced.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

3/27/19 4:22 PM

We rode the Raid Rockingham for the first time last year and really enjoyed it. IIRC, we're already registered for this year's event. My favorite water bottle is the one they gave out last year.

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April
Joined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6593
Location: Westchester/NYC

3/27/19 9:42 PM

Ha!

So it’s another dirt road ride in the same city! Well, I stand corrected. Never realized there’re 2 rides in the same spot. Anyway, wrong event then.

But I haven’t done any “event” for some years now. D2R2 was the last one I attended. That was more like 3-4 years ago. (and for the last few years, the only “event“ I had done) Don’t ask me why. I just don’t get excited about these organized rides any more.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

3/28/19 5:17 AM

For us, the attraction is a combination of beautiful scenery, interesting roads, the party atmosphere, getting together with old friends and making new ones. In other words, it's just fun!

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April
Joined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6593
Location: Westchester/NYC

3/28/19 1:47 PM

These days, with RidewitGPS and MapMyRide, those routes are publicly available for use at any time. I often end up doing the routes at date/time convenient for ourselves rather than the once a year on a fixed date. (part of my 'problem' being people who want to ride it with are not always available on those particular dates, but sometimes available on different dates)

I used to enjoy the "party atmosphere". Somehow I've gone off that.

Also, for the longest time, I did D2R2 because that's the only date there will be support on a route that's in the middle of nowhere. But my skiing had me going to the area often enough now I know where I can find services. So I've been mixing up bits and pieces of the route on my own and riding them at random time of the year instead of doing the official D2R2.

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rickhardy
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 1492
Location: Needham outside of Boston - the hub of the universe

3/29/19 1:50 PM

Raid Rockingham

Don't forget the roadside belly dancers :)

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

3/29/19 2:00 PM

"only date there will be support on a route that's in the middle of nowhere."

There are some route in east OR that are appealing maximus. But zero cell service, and rattlesnakes to boot.

Thus a very good point re: supported.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

3/29/19 2:24 PM

Oasis

When I rode the D2R2 180, we were saved by a cooler of drinks and snacks the organizers left out at a strategic location late in the ride (I think a previously relied on store in the vicinity had closed). When I say saved, I mean it...:)

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April
Joined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6593
Location: Westchester/NYC

3/30/19 9:54 AM

Samy on my first D2R2. But the organizer didn’t leave anything on the road side. And we were dying of heat and dehydration...

A lone house on the side of the road, the guy dragged his garden hose all the way to the edge of the dirt path so we could refill our bottles. Many also turn the hose on themselves to cool down.

They learned the lessons that year. They started leaving water by the road in between rest areas.

Historically, D2R2 started out as a Brevet. So riders were more resourceful and better prepared. The organizer had to adopt to the needs of more casual riders as more and more came to do the ride unprepared (myself included on my first year). Many years now, I cringed when I run into riders with no repair kit, no map etc.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

3/30/19 2:44 PM

First step

Went to the shop today and spec’d a Checkpoint with SRAM 1x11, they’ll price it out and get back.

I guess another possibility is a Cannondale Super X, which seems more af a cross bike but has one model with a wide range 1x11.

Looking forward to disks, 1x, and wide, tubeless tires.

Been out on the road a few times, endurance and strength are not great, but my legs feel better on the bike the any time since I busted my leg. So if I can keep riding consistently I think I’ll do some version of D2R2.

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