Question from the unconsciously incompetent preparing for RASA:
I am planning on doing RASA on my Salsa Cutthroat- This a gravel bike with very relaxed geometry which makes it extremely comfortable to ride for long periods- Far more so than any full sus MTB Ive ever ridden.Basically its the bike I LOVE for long distance off road adventures. I am pretty comfortable riding it on some of the chunkier terrain here in the Pacific North West.. Im aware that I will be "underbiked" for sections of the ride, but figure that there will be large sections Ill be perfectly biked for and so in the world of compromises, this seems to be a reasonable trade off in my mind. The other major advantage in my mind is that its lighter with less stuff to go wrong than a full sus bike.
I had originally planned to put all me gear on the bike, but following RASA this year has made me re evaluate that plan and so Ill be using a back pack of some sort to aid with the hike a bike sections.
Obviously a rigid bike is an unconventional choice, and whilst RASA has been done on rigid bikes, am I completely out to lunch here?
Id value any insights from the consciously competent:)
Basically, this is the bike that I love for lengthy off-road excursions. I like ninja from Kawasaki. Okay, Choosing an ideal bike is similar to picking an debate topics for adults: taste is king! Think about what inspires your passion, whether it's the rush of speed or the picturesque path. Like in debates, the key is to find the right fit and have fun during the conversation or ride.
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Thanks to all who helped me make my decisions with respect to my bike. In the end, I was very happy with my choice of bike and had very few problems with it apart from a broken seat post! I am still amazed at how well the bikes hold up to this event.
My Bike choice was a Salsa Cuththroat with a 100mm Rockshox fork. I used 32 chain ring and 11-46 gearing. 2.35in Vittoria Barza tyres. Metal brake pads and 160mm discs.
Having done the event now I think whatever choice one makes will entail compromises:
My bike was light and had a large triangle which allowed for a frame bag which I found very useful. This was great for portages of which there are a lot. The drop bars gave lots of options for hand positions, but I still ended up with carpal tunnel syndrome. I didnt have a back shock, which meant less stuff to go wrong, a lighter bike, but meant bombing downhills on rough roads was a challenge. It was arguably also less comfortable on the washboard.
I think, bottom line, for this event, to do it comfortably, one needs wide tyres (>2.3), Front fork and metal brake pads (mine lasted the whole event and Im 95kgs plus backpack), tubeless tires. Everything else is a compromise that will be an advantage in some areas and a disadvantage in others. I would not consider doing it with a rigid fork (Thanks to the forum for talking me out of that), or tires less than 2.2. I would probably have a 30 or even 28 front chain ring next time.
My gravel bike set-up, fast & smooth enough. Might have try it out on the FC one day.
Hi Craig, I wouldn't consider my bike as a true gravel bike, but more as a hardtail bike with gravel bars. You'll be fine riding with all your gear on your bike, but I would still suggest looking at a small(10L backpack, running pack) to store water and maybe to soften the load when you do carry your bike on your back.
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here's the bike rigs. the best bike is going to be one with many tradeoffs. A rigid is possible but I would find it too uncomfortable for that length of time on the bike on consecutive days. tyre choice is critical here too, something to handle the rocky stuff but then fast enough once it gets flat. MUD is possible and chunky mtb tyres required for the rocks will hold you back here.
I used drop bars and they were perfect. No issue on the technical sections. Great for different hand positions and fantastic when getting over a 2 meter fence.
Typo 100mm suspension fork 😜
Your Salsa will be perfect. You need to consider putting a front shock on though. I rode a Curve Titanium hard tail with a front shock. Two feed bags and a tool bag we’re on the bike, the rest in a backpack. I used a 20L Deuter, but 25 would be better. The majority of roads (probably 80%) are non-technical dirt tracks, farm roads, and districts roads.You do need to be comfortable riding technical tracks as there are a few sections that will test you. Short enough to walk though if you have to. Other than that your bike choice is good.
Craig. I think most riders do choose a full sus mountain bike for RASA. I personally find a hard tail flat bar with a rigid fork suitable (but do swap out to a 200mm suspension fork on occasion). A suspension fork may make things a bit more comfortable, and help with the rougher trails, but is another piece of equipment that can fail (I do see that Salsa say it can accept up to 100mm travel forks). So my main concern would be the curly bars. I personally wouldn’t choose drop bars or put on aero bars either, but some riders do (I don’t think there is enough smooth gravel to justify aero bars and they get in the way during portages in dense bush, I don’t see any advantage to curly bars as I’m happy with limited hand positions on flats, and feel more in control on technical trails which are common particularly early on). The rigid bike certainly makes things lighter (you will loose count of the number of gates or fences you’ll scale) and this will help with the HAB sections. As long as you can put some nice wide tyres (I see it will accept 2.4 inch 29 inch tyres, I would not go with less than 2.3 personally) you’ll be ok (choose decent tread and sidewalls like a Maxxis Recon with EXO). But rember this is more rugged than the tour divide (which is what this bike was designed for). But if you’re competent on a drop bar bike on technical trails and aren’t concerned with the rigid fork and fatigue ….why not? Roger.