Rigs of the 2023 Tour Divide Breakdown: An Analysis of Trends, Tire Sizes, and More

[@RomanoCortesJorge]

An even more useful analysis would be what rigs actually finished and what components failed. It would be great getting reactions from the riders afterwards and hearing their analysis and what they would do differently. Great video.

[@kiwiwithacamera]

Agreed. And also I'd like to know about sleep systems, as in how many have a shelter and at the end what was the split between sleeping on the side of the road vs campsite and motel.

[@SteveFullerBikes]

Hopefully, people will take the time to contribute to The Cordillera as in years past. All of the back issues were a great resource for me when I was preparing to race in 2015. They've compiled a list of bikes and gear over the years, and the stories can give you a good idea of what to expect on route, as well as the demons people dealt with as they traversed the country.

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

@@SteveFullerBikes that is a great resource, thanks for sharing Steve.

[@soppoi123]

@@SteveFullerBikes Do you have a link?

[@AndrewCurrier-df5kq]

Us single speeders haven't had any issues

[@Puneet144]

Thanks for a wonderful video. I am 53 years old from India and have been thinking of doing the Tour Divide but felt too old for it. Your video has inspired me. Next year - I am on

[@jonpoon3896]

John’s (and Mira) bike with the pinion is worth a highlight. The custom frame made to accommodate the dog basket

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

Ask and you shall receive, this was published today: bikepacking.com/bikes/john-and-mira-midtail/

[@bruce.KAY-bike-drifter]

@@BIKEPACKINGcom Ahhh, we know Mira! From Ryan Duzer videos. Lovely dog.

[@BiminiJerry]

Encouraged to see so many people in their 50s and 60s undertaking this event!

[@sk8fyshbyk923]

It is called retirement!

[@jeecee5539]

We can't help it it's so much fun😂❤

[@pedallinraw]

Tour Divide is such a great event,those single speed set ups though 😮

[@KwadSkwad]

Excited to see the laufs!!! My gravel bike of choice. With large tire clearance, and great comfort up front.. I'm excited to see how they finish up!!

[@njcranes]

as a 56yo rider, the age stat was great! very positive. but also negative as it showed weaker numbers in the younger ages. Mostly, I think, that it is a very expensive sport and most 20-somethings don't have that kind of dough!

[@Zyzzyx42]

Or that amount of time away from 'life'.

[@njcranes]

@Zyzzyx42 True that, I had a mortgage, wife and two kids and demanding job in my mid 20s

[@peterhel1077]

@@njcranes I had a demanding cat.

[@Battlehammer333]

time and money are factors for sure but i don't think they are the largest. when i was in my 20s, lots of my mates (in Germany) had the money to ride around their fancy 3000€ carbon race bikes or nice cars and also lots of them had the time to do all sorts of traveling like up to a year abroad. i think it's mostly that this kind of challenge is just pretty extreme to begin with. when I was 18 i did a weeklong bikepacking tour through the UK (just over 1000km and completely safe and on the roads) and everyone of my mates thought i was crazy. Only when you get older and continue pushing your boundaries you'll eventually come to a point where you even consider something like this challenge.

[@sch4565]

Great overview of the rigs and racers thanks Neil!! It would be great to see a breakdown of the “breakdowns”… what gear failed to stand up under the pressure. Also a few interviews of the finishers… “what I’d do different next time”… Always looking to learn from those getting down and dirty in the trenches. Thanks Again!

[@rob3rt891]

Really interesting to hear people are mixing and matching the bag/rack brands to get optimal setups. I'm currently pulling together a setup using Restrap, Apidura and Tailfin.

[@Zyzzyx42]

The stat that is wowing me this year is the Run/Rest ratio now shown on TrackLeaders. Even at this point I think some riders are still well over 80% move time. That's unreal.

[@rogerhart612]

Awesome video. I liked seeing what everyone was riding.

[@jasonjackson7293]

It would be interesting to see the age groups again at the end of the race and see a comparison of the number that started in each age group versus the number that finish in each group. Do the older racers have a greater ability to suffer and persevere?

[@richardpeet6829]

Being a 69 yr old bikepacker (but in the "will not compete" group) I doubt it is perseverance. Old riders know when an ouch can or will be serious if we keep going. We would not still be riding if we didn't know that. Older riders understand the problems of how our body recovers from injury and strength training, as well as the ever thinning of skin thickness. I wish them all good fortune and the wisdom most older riders have of when to say "done".

[@bruce.KAY-bike-drifter]

@@richardpeet6829 When I was in my 30s and 40s I used to ride with my father-in-law who was 19 years older than me. As we aged I continually noticed he had more stamina than me. I began to conclude that stamina is a learned thing. This also applied when we used to run in 10km and half-marathons too. Now I'm 71. My son is 45. I don't have my son's speed and strength. But I can outlast him easily. @jasonjackson7293 was asking about older racers' ability to suffer and persevere. My answer would be: yes, definitely, older racers can suffer and persevere. It is about mental toughness. Stamina is a learned thing.

[@michaellane1316]

Agreed on the older riders mental toughness. ...As the young bull said to the older bull..."Lets run down the hill and dance with one of them cows...." the older bull turns to the younger bull and calmly says..." How about we slowly stroll down that thar hill and dance with em all...."

[@freddixon]

The ages of the riders is inspiring, 65 YO here, I questioned doing the race / ride now I think, yea maybe?? That was a fun video, thank you for sharing.

[@todd92371]

Do it!!!! :)

[@Matt-gy9ir]

I would like a stat on flat pedals. I know if your trying to win they are more efficient. I only rode clip in for 25 years, as soon as looks came out. But I started using mtb flats for commuting and really have liked them too.

[@josh33172]

People around me have dropper posts as all the hype. I'm still holding strong that a good suspension post on big miles is still the way to go, and worth the extra weight in gold! For me, most of my riding is done on a dropbar with 2.1 Mezcals, suspension post, 1X and a rack.....all I need is the miles in the legs lol I was surprised to see two or three Rodeo Labs Flaanimals in the mix, ❤mine!

[@MilchreismitZimt]

Which Suspension Post do you ride?

[@SteveFullerBikes]

Honestly, I would take a suspension post over a dropper post for TD. There are very few sections where things get rowdy enough where one is really needed.

[@josh33172]

@@MilchreismitZimt I have the Cane Creek eeSilk Plus model on my gravel bike (Rodeo Labs Flaanimal 5.0. I have the inexpensive TranzX anti shock QL (JensonUSA) on another bike, but mine is actually by BBB, bought here in the EU from Bike24. Both are fantastic! The TranzX/BBB comes with 3 elastomers for rider weight. The eeSilk Plus elastomers need to be purchased through CaneCreek.

[@josh33172]

@@SteveFullerBikes Yes and the fact that you'll use a suspension post almost 100% of the time on all your rides. Low maintenance, and no extra cabling/gadgets on the bar.

[@RossThompson89]

I think it depends on the style of riding you're doing. A blanket statement of saying that suspension post is all you need and insinuating that you don't need a dropper, seems unfair... Well I'd wholeheartedly disagree as someone who exclusively rides a drop bar MTB on downhill trails. The dropper is extremely helpful for me when I get into technical steep DH sections and I'd never want to ride without one at this point. But if someone is only riding their gravel/drop bar bike on gravel, then a dropper probably isn't necessary.

[@RPiltingsrud]

Super breakdown. Thanks!

[@ianprice3932]

Great break down! Id be curious to know the average cost of this race while riding (gas stations, hotels, bike shop stops, etc). Would love to hear your take on this!

[@johnhornbacher9833]

Hi Ian, talking to a friend of mine today who has done it twice. I asked him that very question. He said around $1000.00 USD for him.

[@yaroslavbozhkov1567]

You are the best!!!!

[@hmcps89]

Loved it!

[@tristanbogaard]

Great video, Neil! You're doing a great job running the channel. Will you do a video like this about SRMR setups this year?

[@bgwalkin]

Great video Bobby

[@hardmtnbiker]

The suspension fork and dropper post combo is what I’m considering for my 29er gravel with 2.2” tires.

[@albrechtniemann8027]

Thanks for this magnificent statistic!

[@timcolton4680]

GREAT VIDEO - I was looking at the the same things you covered in no time - GOOD WORK, THANKS

[@meredithpinony6181]

Great data! Wonder of the flat bars, how many were Jones loop bars?

[@ke0kie]

I love that the tires are still referred to in inch width, when the rest of the components are metric measurements

[@usel1500]

Those age stats blew me away, I would never have thought it would be focused around people over the age of 30, especially considering how many were over the age of 60. Amazing, and eye opening.

[@MartinLichtblau]

Make a video about how riders handle common challenges, e.g. mud tires, strong winds, harsh rain, fighting tiredness, painful body parts, etc. Esp. their custom hacks and reasoning behind.

[@user-lc2mu9jk2b]

It would be interesting to have such a review on the gear the riders have- helmets (mtb/xc, visors?), bandanas, gloves, pants and shirts (long/short), sleeves.

[@erickozokas]

Super cool break down. Lots of interesting and surprising numbers.

[@jeffreyrule8143]

Great breakdown. Thanks as always.

[@rachelshirley8403]

Go the Kiwis!

[@ericramosmd]

Great information and interesting stats. Thx!

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

This video was supported by Teravail Tires - Learn more about the Sparwood and other Teravail offerings here: www.teravail.com/product/teravail-sparwood-tire-394764-1.htm?.com&

[@robertbotta6536]

Awesome as usual. Thanks

[@yougotmossed3592]

Great video. Thanks for the info.

[@zer0kelvin212]

Great video

[@DawaiMulders]

Nice video, 👍🏽 did you find the most lightweight bike plus setup and the most heavy one?

[@lindawright7545]

Great info! … looking forward to what worked and what didn’t … especially the PedalCell

[@notpablo8369]

Can you do a comparison on Salsa Cutthroat and Mason ISO?

[@veriest1]

Scrolling through the lists on the website, it looks like the Rodeo Labs representation is up this year too.

[@bruce.KAY-bike-drifter]

Thanks for another good round-up. Big surprises: no Di2; only 2 Rohloffs and only 1 Pinion; so many Salsas. No surprise at all: the spread of age groups. Were there any over 70s?

[@mennosolarquest]

next year I'll start the GDMBR, not racing, but in a leisurely pace. First time I'll do the Bikepacking part. Because my "old" 26 inch bike wasn't upgradable fr this "task" I bought a new bicycle, to of the line; Titanium, front fork suspension disk brakes, belt drive and Pinion gear. The rest will be all new too from all parts of the world. You must know I did two 6 months tours on a recumbent bicycle with a lot of rough riding. I will retire next year June (66,8 years of age) and start the enjoying retirement with the GDMBR. I like all information of different riders and the Backpacking community a lot. So I know what to expect. I haven't done any mountain bike touring before, but riding the Dalton Highway on a 30 kg bicycle ad about 50 kg of gear does count for something don't you think? Thank you very much for the info in this KZbin film!

[@jeroenruiter863]

Nice summary

[@MartinLichtblau]

Sooo well made! 👏🏽👏🏽

[@sneezy1984]

Fascinating 🤘

[@gregmittelman3600]

Midwest represent!

[@skogpekka]

Tour Divide - for flexing your spending ability.

[@cjohnson3836]

Or that PTO

[@SteveFullerBikes]

Like anything in life, you can spend a lot of money or you can make some smart economical choices.

[@ironman1518.]

Thank you excellent review! Interesting to ME was the large number of NO suspension bikes???

[@juliansimpson-kirsch9629]

very interesting the vittoria mezcal is so popular, in the xc race scene maxxis still runs dominant

[@kiwiAdventure100]

Good to see the Kiwi's participation higher than the Aussies :)

[@notkaty]

That there are more people in their 60s than 20s is interesting. I'd guess the young guns go fast, but the older folks go far.

[@sean7456]

working or school vs retired....

[@SteveFullerBikes]

@@sean7456 Yup. It's definitely a free time and disposable income thing.

[@barrybogart5436]

There was a Randonneur event week in British Columbia about a month ago. 200, 300, rest day, 400, rest day, 600kms. I think the average age was 60+. The oldest was 77. The guy over 80 DNS'd, but he will probably also do Paris-Brest-Paris. A woman who has done P-B-P nine times (held every four years), did the 400 in under 16hrs, and she s in her 60's. P-B-P is 1200kms in under 90 hrs. Not much gravel but lots of cobbles.

[@davidhauton7643]

Any details on single speeds, curious about gear choice?!

[@1234five1]

Your shirt collar game is strong today…..😂

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

And this is not the first time. Note to self, look in a mirror before hitting the red button.

[@AccountN0name]

Can you share this data in a tabulated form? It would be awesome to see some pivot tables, graphs, and visualizations of the data you are sharing verbally!

[@p504504]

So much better than the poopiepacking video, I still haven't recovered from that 😂

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

💩

[@luvinfunvan]

❤ the people stats! Also is plus officially over? 🤔

[@THEBLACKANARCHIST]

26 ain't dead

[@henryg1241]

I'm riding the divide on a 26 in a few weeks!

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

None in this list, but i dont think it's dead, just not very popular according to these folks.

[@nateisright]

Considering the chunk and changing conditions, I’m surprised that there weren’t more Barzo/Mezcal combos.

[@strangemobius]

This is the all conditions dream team setup!

[@jammymark]

I wonder how many used carbon rims Vs Alloy ones?

[@craig6977]

Curious how many setups were aluminum frames versus steel. How does aluminum handle a race/long trail like the Great Divide?

[@moshepinto2199]

9:00 .. we have in the tour also rider from Israel. The amazing Hanoch Redlich

[@HD46409]

I would love to see SRAM AXS support a 2X (44ish/30ish) + a MTB RD (10-52ish or 10-48ish) with lockout of certain gear ratios that wouldn't work with the RD range. It seems like it would be super easy to do but I'm not a SRAM engineer so I'm probably missing something.

[@SimonCurrey]

I am a touring bike fan. I can remove two Ortlieb panniers 40 litres, lock and go to market / cafe in seconds.

[@themississippikidful]

Awsome video . Wow that's alot of research 😂

[@DIY-DaddyO]

More info on the Single Speed crews please...

[@brianmagee5847]

Possibly the reason that SRAM is so popular is that the AXS system makes the drop bar mullet drivetrain and blip shifters on aerobars so easy! Shimano doesn't have an answer for this and has made cross compatability in their systems a big obstacle for users.

[@Alaski]

FYI guys, many would be better off doing the Divide a few weeks after the race start. You don't have to start on race day to get the full divide experience.

[@pgee70utube]

surprising that more folks were not using a pinion drivetrain - 600% gear range, no maintenance, no derailleur to get snagged on and no cleaning or chain lubing, and works in thick mud.

[@tiberiumnp8030]

Damn, I really need to save up some money for that sexy Lauf front fork.

[@barrybogart5436]

The even age distribution is surprising, but a good thing.

[@coreyreeder3549]

I’m predicting that the fastest growing piece of kit next year will be the suspension seat post.

[@antswan]

Why are frame bags so popular? Stats pls and explanation

[@JRd941]

Need some of your pie charts to summarise all of these lovely stats 🤓

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

You can find those on our website: bikepacking.com/bikes/2023-rigs-of-the-tour-divide-breakdown/

[@JRd941]

Fantastic 👍

[@WeileWorld]

Best flat pedals?

[@coreyreeder3549]

Are we seeing a shift towards running suspension forks on this route?

[@meredithpinony6181]

I also wonder if the bias to SRAM drivetrain has anything correlation to Shimano inability in the last couple of years to provide product to others than big box manufacturers…..just a thought…..

[@maxsharkey5622]

I would love to know what % of riders used flat pedals! I'm sure it's not many but I would be curious!

[@dawidone]

Great video but there should be also info about seats as seats are very important part of bike.

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

Not everyone shared theirs, we will try and get more information for next year.

[@mistermoore5784]

Next video HAS to be performed while wearing the glasses on the peg board!

[@veganpotterthevegan]

I can't fathom not having aerobars for this. I'd compare not running aerobars with deciding to do this with a single speed🙃

[@andrestrd]

Looks like i need to buy a Vittoria Mezcal

[@trevoranderson7291]

Who was the Sensah derraileur?

[@BRAINpl]

On the drop bar side we have Cutty as the queen of the prom, but for flat bars the jury for the king seems to be still out. Is there no light bikepacking rig or are there too many candidates?

[@cjohnson3836]

I think its more that there really aren't many drop bar alternatives to a Cutthroat in North America (and I'd probably guess world wide, really). You have Trail Donkey. There might be a couple others but the options are limited for lightweight dropbar mountain bikes. Flatbars? I mean pick any XC bike and go have fun.

[@ke0kie]

What parts failed, how, and why?

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

Funny enough, most bikes that had tires using millimeters measurements did not fare well this year. I may do a video with failures from last year prior to this year, I have a long list from folks last year.

[@RWise-rm8ti]

I want to do it so bad but I am so afraid of the bears. I spent the last twenty years being a hard butt and now a teddy bear has me rethinking my life.

[@alecklassen2737]

Woah! Three people come from four countries?

[@kurt_on_dirt228]

Did he say Fixed Gear?!?!?! 😮

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

I did, yes.

[@ДмитрийМонастырев-х5л]

It went together easily in less than an hour. kzbin.infoUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L Make sure the front fork is forward or the pedals will hit the front tire. Tires are both a little soft so it needs air before I ride it. The rear wheel didn't come with a clamp regular bolts hold it on. The front had the clamp. No scratches out of box. Rims are a little off with a slight wobble. They could have spent more time with the spoke tool fixing the run out. So far out of the box I'm happy with it. I did replace the pedals with a nice aftermarket set. After riding it a bit my A$$ is a bit sore so I ordered another seat. Overall I'm nearly 60 and didn't ride a bike in 30 years. I like my new 29" Schwinn. It will be used for casual rides with my friend.

[@simonlynch4204]

This analysis beeeeegs for graphs with you in voice over. It's really hard to graps and hear all the stats while looking at awesome bikes...

[@pedalingnowhere]

Here you go; everything is graphed here: bikepacking.com/bikes/2023-rigs-of-the-tour-divide-breakdown/

[@nicht.ok_1320]

What Frameback Brand is this at 7:13 ?

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

Custom frame bag made from Xpac X11. They did not say who made it.

[@racer-vl5cj]

Custom frame bag by Ron's bikes. She runs the factory that makes the Fabio's chest.

[@MrISoFr3sh]

Ron's bikes

[@Ignash]

I don't get it why you guys separate those specific EU countries into the list, there is a Lithuanian in the current leaders group.

[@todd92371]

I think the trend next year will be unicycles.

[@Brunobr000]

The low number of people using a full suspension bike on a ultraendurance offroad race surprises me.

[@InherentGlory]

If you look at the route, only 3% of it is single track. Most of the GDMTBR is fire roads. Heck there's more pavement than single track.

[@SteveFullerBikes]

Not really needed, IMO, unless you have hand or other issues you're dealing with

[@bruce.KAY-bike-drifter]

@@SteveFullerBikes Yep Steve, my bikepacking rig has solid forks but with fat tyres. Much simpler for maintenance over long distances away from bike-shop support. Hope you are going well, my friend? Is your back holding up?

[@yougotmossed3592]

This event doesn’t get all the publicity it deserves.

[@rodulfosuspensionworks]

You forgot to mention how many dogs are participating this year…

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

No we didn’t, we did a feature here: bikepacking.com/bikes/john-and-mira-midtail/

[@fpeter01]

Fixed gear mtb? How can you ride it? How can you hike with it? 😲

[@kellywoolverton6072]

1-Dog.

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

check it out: bikepacking.com/bikes/john-and-mira-midtail/

[@Sunspot-19]

Wut? No one speed automatics?

[@ScottTeuber]

Uuuugh...bike porn - I'm spent! Thanks!