What bike/setup for the strathpuffer?

I generally ride a fairly light yeti 575, however I imagine the strath’ will pretty much destroy this (opinions?) So what would people recommend would be good for this? I was thinking hardtail xc bike, possibly rigid fork bad idea? Is it best to go as light and cheap as possible?

1 gear – steel ring and cog

rigid fork

sealed bearings

if solo – mudguards are your friend – that grit really chaffs after a few wet hours.

pressured garden sprayer to clean it between laps.

saw a brand new blur go out the door on thursday and return on tuesday after the puffer – destroyed every bearing and the drivetrain.

keep it simple

Singlespeed fatbike.

Or whatever those 14 year olds that whupped everyone the last couple of years are riding.

singlespeed fat bike is about the worst bike 😉

useful for the first lap maybe IF it hasnt been cleared out.

thin tires are much more useful – spikes if you can.

I think this wheelset;

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/ZXNOFATTY/fatty_non_fatty_wheelset_bundle

on a rigid fatbike would give amazing tyre clearance for something thinnish in the tyre dept?

And a brake pad dispenser 😉

aye good brakes are worth weight in gold.

find my hopes pads to last much longer than the shimanos – but theres appears to be more clearance between pad adn disk of the hopes.

mud clearance isnt an issue ime the muds gritty slop rather than mayhem gloop.

trail_rat – Member
singlespeed fat bike is about the worst bike …

Probably true for racing whippets like yourself.

For clumsy oafs like me, it makes a huge difference in the final hours of a solo. The ability to steamroll over the nasty bits when you’re exhausted is a great skill compensator – especially when like me there wasn’t much skill there to start with. 🙂

Less whippet these days brian. Still plenty race fight in me though 🙂

I’ll be riding the soul, got a set of revs that have some nasty scratches on the stanchions in the bike shed that’ll be going on, save the good forks. I’ve ordered ice spikers, and will also be sticking a wee tensioner on, so I can ride SS. I’ll be doing a very easy gear too, something like 32:22, as I have no ambition to go fast, but want to ride the full 24.

Training starts tomorrow.

Single speed 29er. Shimano brakes. Sintered pads. Lots of tyres options. Studded are ideal in some conditions.

Clothing is just as important. If not more so. I got frost-nip just to prove it.

Edit: thinking more tyres: 1 pr studded, one pr mud, one pr ‘trail’. If it’s ever dry and cold perhaps something slicker-there’s a lot of fire road.

Don’t take anything you are precious about. It really is a bike killer.