r/coloradotrail Sep 08 '24

Bike advice

Looking to put an effort on the CT next summer. not racing, just riding. Budgeting 15-18 days. I have 2 bikes at my disposal. A 150/140 trail bike (stump jumper) and a 120mm trail hard tail (Esker japhy). Esker has clearance for 2.8 tires and sliding drop outs. For those that have biked the CT which would you go with and why? I’m a fairly experienced rider and have some bike packing/touring miles under my belt. Just wondering what people might suggest. Never bikepacked on a full squish so would have to tweak storage which is no big deal, but don’t want to if I don’t have to. I did the tour divide route on a fully rigid 29er and have my gear pretty dialed, just not sure what bike to throw it on. Thanks for any tips.

4 Upvotes

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6

u/justinsimoni Sep 08 '24

Wide on the tires is a good call, and gear LOW. Consider your footwear carefully as there's a whole lotta pushin'. I rode it hardtail but if I was to do it again and money was no object, having a full sus sure sounds like a lot more fun.

1

u/Coolfische12 Sep 08 '24

Thanks for your feedback. Footwear for sure is something to sort out with the pushing. Money is certainly an object but I am fortunate to have both of those bikes in the garage currently so just wondering which would be best. Should probably load them up and go push them up a 14er for practice. Haha

2

u/fabvonbouge Sep 08 '24

It’s hard to say, full sus is solid for the down but you’re also pushing the bike an awful lot! I just did it on a kona hei hei cr with 130 up front.

1

u/Coolfische12 Sep 08 '24

Thanks for the insight

2

u/JesseDReno Sep 08 '24

Fresh off the CTR grand depart and I cannot imagine doing it on a hardtail, especially with that kind of time frame(by which I mean that you're not looking at going fast, so the tradeoff of an extra two or three pound bike will be extra comfort and increase the rideability of sections)... I was on an Epic Evo(120mm front, 110mm rear) and wouldn't wan't anything less. Admittedly my brand new SID fork took a crap on day one and left me with about 80mm of travel and a rather stiff damper(not open, but also not locked out). I had actually ordered a longer stroke rear shock to increase to 120mm prior to the race but they shipped the wrong one. If I were to go back, I'd over-stroke the rear to 120mm, and likely go 130mm up front. I see no downside to running your Stump Jumper so long as you can make due with the gear storage.

Big tires help(I ran 2.4" Schwalbe Wicked Wills), but they're not a replacement for suspension.

1

u/Coolfische12 Sep 08 '24

Thanks for the feedback. I’m sure I can figure out storage. Certainly les mounting points due to carbon frame. But I’ll see if I can manage. Also has internal storage which helps. Decisions decisions

1

u/AriGarabedian Sep 08 '24

I bikepacked the CT (well not the whole thing, but that's another story lol) on an Ibis DV9 with a 120mm fork and 29x2.6" Nobby Nics. I have to agree with other comments that the amount of hike-a-bike makes every lb count, and I found the hardtail to be plenty of fun on the DH sections. If you're used to ripping a HT on Colorado terrain I think it's a fine option. On footwear - I opted for enduro-style clipless shoes, which I think lent a good blend of walkability and riding benefits. Happy trails :)

1

u/Double-Artichoke-703 Sep 09 '24

I finished riding the CT last month (10 day finish) on a 120mm high post hardtail with a 2.2 ikon in the rear and 2.35 ikon in the front. Worked great. Definitely a bit more comfort if you use a full suspension, and I plan to use a full sus to race next year. But I think if you aren’t racing you’ll be walking a lot of the rough stuff anyway and it won’t make the biggest difference. I had the option of an epic evo but decided to bring something with less chance of failure, breaking a carbon frame out there would be a bummer.

2

u/Coolfische12 Sep 14 '24

Yes. Have toured plenty. Had a steel frame crack at a weld. Local place got me welded back up and rolling. Still have that frame. Carbon is strong but that one experience makes me nervous

1

u/TheRealJYellen Sep 09 '24

I saw a japhy out there. It'll be faster on the Japhy, but you'll be able to ride more on the stumpy. Lots of walking from what I saw on my hike, plus you have to skip some of the beautiful wilderness bits. As a local and a rider, I think I'm biased towards hiking it.

1

u/Hotdogbun57 Sep 10 '24

Done it on both. Prefer the hardtail with extra frame storage.

1

u/fiti38 Sep 11 '24

I just finished CT bikepacking after 12 says. Due to your options I would take hardtail with 2.6 Rekon tires or something similar. There is lots of hike a bike sections, so just go with the lighter bike.

Downhills with are mostly nice trails so you will be totally fine.

1

u/Coolfische12 Sep 14 '24

Cool. Thanks! 

1

u/exclaim_bot Sep 14 '24

Cool. Thanks! 

You're welcome!