Plenty of people have proved you can do it fully rigid: --Someone did the entire route with a Bombadil prototype (not racing, but touring). --As far as racers go, Kent Peterson did it on a fully rigid monocog. --Rick Hunter also tried riding it with a ridged cross bike setup, but had to quit after his knee swelled up. --Deanna Edwards rode the entire thing on a fixed gear with 700x35 tires and only a rear brake!
>From the pics, it seems like most of the route is dirt road--not gnarly singletrack. That said, I'm sure there are a number of sections where suspension would make the whole adventure a lot more comfortable. Probably comes down to home many miles you are going to do per day. If you are going to do 100-150 like many of the GDR racers, you'd need something to take the edge off. Those are some tough mofos riding that race, and nearly all of them use front suspension. If you have more of a leisurely touring style, maybe some fat 29er tires at low psi would be enough. Dustin > From: JoelMatthews <joelmatth...@mac.com> > Reply-To: <rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com> > Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:38:58 -0700 (PDT) > To: RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com> > Subject: [RBW] Re: Atlantis on the Great Divide Route? > > > In spite of the fact I have never really done much mountain biking, I > have a bee in my bonnet that I ought to do the GD. > > Most of the report I have read the rider did at least have front > suspension. There is a report from a GD completer a few years bike > who started the ride in Canada with a Stumpjumper but switched to a > front suspension bike in Montana. > > Personally, I have never warmed to suspension bikes so would like to > think you could enjoy the trip without one. > > On Oct 29, 10:57 am, Ray <r.sh...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: >> Question: Is it practical to use an Atlantis on the ACA Great Divide >> Route, as opposed to a hard-tail mountain bike with suspension fork? >> I am thinking about mounting some appropriate large 700c knobbies, >> maybe a suspension seat post or a Brooks Flyer, and probably pull a >> trailer (as opposed to panniers). I have spent the past several days >> reading through the journals of others who have ridden the route, and >> the over-whelming bike of choice is a hard-tail mtb with suspension >> forks. >> >> What is max tire width I can use on my Atlantis? The RBW site no >> longer spec's that, just a recommended minimum. >> >> By the way, I realize that a Bombadil would fit the bill nicely. But, >> I don't have the funds at present to purchase one, and I already own a >> great Atlantis, which I just used on the Western Express route with >> panniers. Just wondering if I should think about "fixing up" my >> Schwinn Moab 3 hardtail for the Great Divide, or use the tour-tested >> Atlantis instead. >> >> Thank you for comments and suggestions. >> >> Ray > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
