Silk Road Mountain Race Mason RAW Bike check

[@alexprice5691]

Well done Josh and also a very helpful video.

[@alanhanley9515]

We dont like this stuff....We love this stuff!

[@davidedwards4676]

Massive welldone Josh on 7th place in the SRMR love your videos. Cheers Dave

[@roncarr7179]

Love your videos, thanks Josh

[@mycoolcar]

Thanks for the run down, looking forward to seeing the kit video.

[@markjthomson]

Very cool. Congratulations on your 7th place. Looking forward to hearing more about your ride.

[@welshbikepackingadventures]

Ohhh bro, this is my ultimate dream gear. Well done on your recent adventure, best wishes from Wales

[@jeztv9014]

Great video & well done :)

[@Foxtrottangoabc]

Well done with the race Josh , thought you did really good , and on the dotwatcher I thought u were improving as the race went on

[@naromsky]

Thanks, sensei.

[@timgearing5121]

Awesome race result, Josh. I’m intrigued about how you re-supply, what reception you get from the local people , etc. Hopefully a future video will answer these questions?

[@joshibbett]

Resupply is fairly limited on the Silk Road so most riders end up resupplying in the same locations. Generally speaking most of the local shop owners are pretty pleased to have a constant stream of hungry cyclists passing by their shops. I'd imagine their sales are very much boosted for the duration of the event which hopefully is a good thing for the locals economies in these remote villages.

[@Ludwig2342.]

Absolutely no idea how did you ride and passed the Enilchek way!

[@andrewprocter-pl8th]

Top work Josh, brilliant result. How did you cope with water? I only noticed 2 bottles. There where some sections that where quite dry, I thought I was going to run out at points and I had 3+ litres.

[@northanorth5048]

Amazed at how white your bags still are.

[@joshibbett]

They look white from a distance!!

[@northanorth5048]

@@joshibbett sunbleached 😁

[@shalakabooyaka1480]

Dude, top 10 is a proper effort. Finishing these mega races has to feel so good on your psyche when you get to shed the trail filth and just decompress after.

[@garethowen2816]

Useful video Josh and well done on 7th place. What saddle do you use? I tend to suffer from sit bone sores on long consecutive days on the bike. Looking for new ideas.

[@alexprice5691]

Josh do you absolutely need a hub dynamo for the SRMR? That whole setup is expensive, how about a few powerbanks instead, charging them at towns along the way?

[@joshibbett]

You certainly could do it without a Dynamo, you’d just have to take quite a few power banks and be very organised with charging as there are very few towns en route and you might not neccicerily pass through them at a convenient time of day to stop and get everything fully charged

[@meobridger4096]

Awesome stuff Josh. Well done. Do you have any advice for knee pain on long rides? I attempted a bike packing race recently but had to pull out as my knees started hurting too much. To prevent this from happing in my next race, do you think it a case of just getting more time on the bike to prepare, or do you think specific strength training is the way to solve this?

[@joshibbett]

In my experience the route cause of knee pain is never the knee itself but more often muscle imbalances or weakness in the hips and legs. I do regular yoga throughout the year and focus on strength and conditioning during the winter and have pretty much eliminated knee issues on these long event. Before doing yoga and strength work I used to suffer tight and sometimes painful knees towards the end of ultras but it seems to have been cured now. Also regular stretching during the event can help

[@meobridger4096]

@@joshibbett Thank you very much for taking the time to reply! This is so useful info to know - I will try out those things! All the best

[@cbulloch]

Not sure I caught mention, what bracket are you using to hold the front roll bag off the frame/bars?

[@joshibbett]

It’s part of the tailfin bar bag… which is top secret!! ( sort of)

[@pmckeown38]

Josh the opening your chest comment sounds to me like marketing bleerb. When you look at the sprinters on the track with their tiny bars with HR probably near 200bpm weaving through tiny gaps. The wide bars making breathing easier for endurance events does not make sense but aero does especially for you faster guys.

[@joshibbett]

You don’t get much aero benefit riding at 4mph up a massive mountain in Kyrgyzstan at 3500m altitude! But be my guest to ride srmr on narrow track bars! 😎

[@joshibbett]

Plus a track sprint is an anerobic effort

[@lydiagould3090]

Congratulations on your 7th place finish! Your bike is very similar to my steel Cotic solaris,except a longer wheelbase, and single 12spd front ring. I have looked for the Tailfin frame bag but I'm not sure if it would be too big for my Cotic wich is a small-medium size frame. Also your rear bag set up looks really stable. Is the support system compatible with any non carbon mtb frame? The one i use is ok but the bag is quite big and sometimes rubs against the rear wheel going fast on bumpy tracks. Partly because my seatpost is quite low (I'm 5ft 2). Your system looks better.

[@joshibbett]

Hi Lydia. Yes the Mason raw will be similar to your cotic, although a slightly different geometry. The Tailfin frame bags are not released just yet, however when they are I belive there will be a large range of sizes so something should fit your bike. I think they are available later this year. The rear packs will fit any bike, they mount on an aftermarket wheel axle and then secure around the seatpost.

[@lydiagould3090]

Thanks Josh, i look forward to getting one later in the year!@@joshibbett

[@gadsgsadgsadg4668]

I noted that you changed your clip-on TT-bars from Prime Noosa to quite similar looking Deda Metal Blast. Care to elaborate why? Congrats on the top 10 finish!

[@joshibbett]

I actually used these deda blasts before the prime ones. They sit a little higher and the round extensions mean I’m able to Mount my GoPro and sometimes light directly to them which frees up space on the bars. I tend to use the prime ones if I have less luggage and want to save a tiny bit of weight

[@gadsgsadgsadg4668]

Makes sense, thanks for replying. Noosa's specs indicate that they'd be actually heavier than Deda Metal Blasts (266g vs. 280g). I just ordered Metal Blasts inspired by the cool bike setup video (pass this comment to Deda and get a sponsorship hehe). I agree that round tubes make them more versatile with electronics.@@joshibbett

[@gadsgsadgsadg4668]

Just a quick follow-up to my own message. In case someone is considering buying, my Deda Metal Blastt came in 294 g (266 g claimed), which may actually be a bit heavier than Prime Noosas.

[@Hiddendivergance]

When I carry a bottle under the down tube, I’ll seal it off from muck with a small plastic bag and a rubber band.

[@carols912]

@joshibbett, frame size L ?

[@joshibbett]

It’s XL

[@oldanslo]

What bike bag do you use for flying the bike?

[@joshibbett]

I use the EVOC bag, I've had mine for almost 10 years and its still going strong

[@tmayberry7559]

So why didn't you just use the water bottle holder to hold your tools. You proved what the gravel cyclist has been calling this water bottle holder for a long time. CSC ( cow shit catcher 😂) Congratulations on your 7th place finish Btw what was your average speed (mph) over 8 days

[@joshibbett]

I’m not keen on hanging all my tools on the Down tube, I don’t 100% trust that they wouldnt fly off and get lost with out me realising. I’d prefer to lose a water bottle than my tools, although having said that I have t lost a bottle so far

[@tmayberry7559]

@@joshibbett with CSC that I referred to earlier losing a water bottle there would be no lose to me 😁 I must say you've made these videos enjoyable.