So…I’m in the market for a new bike/frame. I have aspirations to one day to the Tour Divide (probably like most of us on here…) and am more of a fan of nice long off road days in the saddle than blazing round trail centres. I’d like this frame to be the one that takes me on future adventures (my last big one was handled admirably by a Lava Dome but she’s been retired now).

I’ve had my eye on a Travers Russ Ti for a while but is it overkill for what will realistically be lots of mile munching on bridleways and country lanes (live in Kent) whilst I merely dream of the big Tour?

Then I saw some fairly burly looking Tripsters…Do you Tripster fans regularly use yours off road or is it actually more of a burly road bike? Would it handle something like the Tour Divide or are chunky tyres essential?

Saw a friend’s Shand Bazookie (29er, 100mm forks, EBB, Paragon dropouts and Rohloff) for the first time time today. Beautifully made, and perfect for the kind of riding you’re on about.
I own a 29+ and it’s great, but can get a bit draggy on really long rides with road sections.

I’d go with the 29er less the plus, nice light build, why limit yourself.

Would it handle something like the Tour Divide

You could ride 95% of the trails the TDR uses on any gravel bike but nothing on 40C tyres would be wise for racing the route at your limits unless you’re made of old leather and steel cable like a 1920s Giro winner. By Colorado you’ll be a beaten-up pulp, if not before.

Higher-volume 29″ tyres still seem to be the best bet. 29+ might be ott but at times the comfort and fast-rolling ability would appeal. A lot. The perfect tyre imo would be a 2.6ish Nano/Saguaro EXO-lite on a 40mm carbon rim.

I’d also not trust ti for the TD but that’s personal and fairly irrational, mostly. By the time I’ve spent enough time on a bike to want to be attached to it for the duration of a ride like that I’d also be thinking of fatigue, who made it and whether all that effort would go to waste after 2000+ miles when a weld goes. Steel or carbon would get my vote.

Surely ti would be better than steel for combating fatigue – I only have my tripster and 725 croix der fer to compare but the tripster wins on that count.

Surely ti would be better than steel for combating fatigue

Ti comfort is simply tube flex so there’s no reason that steel or carbon can’t be as comfy. Frame flex is a tiny part of what would count over that sort of distance, imo.

I’m a big ti bike fan – I’ve owned all the other materials but love the way ti rides – it neutralises vibrations better than steel IMO. I’d choose steel or titanium for TDR on the basis that one rock strike or crash would kill an alloy or carbon frame. I’ve designed and commissioned a number of custom ti frames from road, CX, MTB, 29+ and fatbike for myself and friends- if I was designing a frame from scratch it would be based around a 29×2″ tyre minimum, rigid forks and dirt drop bars – bigger tyres roll faster, reduce vibration and help reduce pinch punctures. Geometry-wise, CX based makes faster road riding more enjoyable.

I think that the shand would be perfect.

Shand have at least two Bahookie’s doing the HT550 at the moment, perfect bike for the sort of thing you’re describing I’d say, hugely versatile.

Ha, it was Ontor’s, and it’s a beaut!

Interesting @dovebiker – why the dirt drops? I have to say I’m dirt drop curious but concerned about the braking…

A Jones Plus would fit the bill.

A standard Jones fits the bill pretty well too ; )

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Gg8ZJo]@tjmax173 and I are in full #tourdivide rehearsal mode on the #WRT
#welshridething this weekend. #bikepacking[/url] by Jim Barrow, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/u1VjXt]First time I’ve used my @kinesisbikes_uk Tripster ATR for #bikepacking, it coped well as it got taken on some gnarly bits of trail! The @apidura bags are great too, switch between bikes easily too.[/url] by Jim Barrow, on Flickr

I’m in the somewhat unusual position of having both and I’m about to do the Tour Divide!

My Tripster I only really ride it off road, I use local roads and country lanes to get to the Downs, but really I just like to ride it away from traffic. A serious accident in my past means I like to keep away from traffic at all costs as I just don’t feel safe on the road.

I’ve been planning doing the TD for a very long time and as I suffer a bit with a bad back I knew that the Tripster would not be a good choice for me, I need a bit more cush. I also have a Kinesis Sync and originally I was planning to do it on that but because of the low standover height you can’t fit a big frame bag in so when I saw the Travers I knew it was the one for the job.

I tried one for size at the big dog and ordered it the following Monday. After speaking to Michael Travers I made a few changes over the standard Russ Ti to make it the unltimate (for me) bikepacking machine.

I had all the cable runs full and external, so that they are easy to change and also so I could run cable discs. I had a front mech mount fitted, I don’t care how cool it is to have a single front ring or how much weight it saves, if I’ve got to pedal a loaded bike up a 14000′ pass in Colorado I want a low gear. Finally I had two sets of anything cage mounts put on the frame to make it carry any combination of stuff I could possibly need.

So as for is it the right tool for the job I’ll let you know in August 😉

Finally I’m raising money for cancer research, Jenn inspired me to do this ride, she originally worked at my LBS when she was training for it and she was really helpful when I finally decided to commit to it, so if anyone would like to donate that would help spur me and my son on along the route….

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jim-tom-tour-divide

You could consider the Open U.P? With one set of 700c wheels for general road/bridleway, and some 650Bs with fatter tyres for more off-road stuff it seems like a pretty versatile bike.

Used to have my Tripster entirely in off-road mode and it handled the SDW pretty good but comfort-wise it would definitely have been better on the Gryphon or Jones. Can’t imagine the TD is much different 😉 Best of luck Hummerlicious, total respect. Always wanted a Travers Rudy 29+…..

I would suggest dirt drops on the basis of getting a reasonably aero position for longer tarmac / gravel stretches and being able to vary position. I have Jones Loop bars on my fatbike but rarely make use of the front extension. I’d be more than happy with cable discs from drop-bar levers. Bigger tyres simply for the reason they’re more resistance to bouncing off rocks when you’re tired, but 29+ maybe too much for lots of climbing unless you’re a powerful rider?

Maybe the travers Russ ti is the best bet but in the 29er to 27.5+ variety so I can alternate between plus size and regular 29er. Suspect something like h bars would be a good compromise to the drops. Love the look of those Open cycles. But obsessed (irrationally) with getting ti or potentially stainless steel. Bike tart…

I’ve only just changed to Jones bars, I think they are awesome, really comfortable, lots of hand positions and good for attaching your bikepacking kit to.

Have you considered either of the Sonder bikes from Alpkit?

Have a word with Brant – I’m Pact could do you something. He made me a 650b/700c Ti frame https://paul4stones.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/the-reiver/
Not sure I’d want to do the TDR on it but never say never 😉