You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Following a weekend at Mountain Mayhem doing the 24 hour event solo I was wondering about the best bike for that kind of riding/racing.
I was on a 2012 Santa Cruz Tallboy with 100mm each end, old but pretty light at 10.5kg. I managed 29 laps but as I got more tired and sore I wanted more travel on the descents and a less saggy bikes on the climbs. No complaints though, it worked flawlessly.
Saw a big variety of bikes around the course but wondered what the general received wisdom was.
A comfortable one....but I can't see any bike being "comfortable" after 24 hours
In answer to the OP, this would be pretty high up my list...
a 2012 Santa Cruz Tallboy with 100mm each end
perhaps with lockout for the climbs.
Basically a short to mid travel 29er, that isn't mega heavy.
A titanium singlespeed with a Lauf fork worked pretty well for at least one guy...
I think you're on pretty much the right bike, I use a KTM Scarp it's a 29er Carbon FS with 100/90mm travel and lock outs for fork & shock.
Nothing on this planet is comfy at the end of a 24hr race, top result BTW 👍👍
I'd be fitting higher sweep bars and ergo grips for that purpose. They're supreme for comfort.
Cheers Steve - I guess you must have passed me a few times as I plodded round, saw quite a few KTM guys, done on hardtails which was partially what got me wondering.
I shan’t be trying to singlespeed it any time soon, that was an incredible effort. And whilst high bars might be comfy on the flat there were some pretty steep climbs where I wished for a lower front end!
Anybody seen any results yet?
Cheers Steve – I guess you must have passed me a few times as I plodded round, saw quite a few KTM guys, done on hardtails which was partially what got me wondering.
Funny you should say that, of the 11 guys we had racing there, only 4 were on Myroon HT's the rest of us were on Scarps.
Over long distances I find my Scarp faster due to less fatigue, don't get me wrong the Myroon is silly fast and massively capable, but I'm 42 so I can't take the punishment if a HT over 24hrs 😂😂
A Tallboy would be pretty high up my list too.
Used to do them on a Yeti ASR-Carbon, which was rapid when it worked but far too fragile.
Have switched to singlespeed and now doing them on a titanium Salsa El Mariachi, being on a hardtail isn't as much of a problem as I thought it would be, in fact not a problem at all, surprisingly good.
Worry more about getting your position right/comfy and reliability than outright speed and you'll still be going strong at the end.
Tallboy gets my vote; mine is 2010 I think and a little like Trigger's broom. Its going out to do the Exposure 24/12 in a few weeks and is the best bike I have found for the mix of comfort and speed needed for long rides...... I've actually never done a 24 hour race before but have ridden the Tallboy for 55 hours non-stop, so I know its comfy!
Bar ends and Ergon biokork grips may be all you need to make yours even better.
Don't even bother with the lockout - if you're like me you will forget to change over most of the time.
Not quite 24 hours but I did 9 hours a day for 3 days doing the whw and ggw. Used an anthem 29er, had one concession of comfort over weight with a dropper post but I found it a perfect companion. I
My Anthem X 29er is perfect for this sort of thing. It's pretty much my go-to bike for anything these days.
riding your bike for 24 hour is going to hurt one way or the other and I think a short travel 29er FS is the perfect bike. Might be worth looking at subtle changes - grips & saddle can make a huge difference to comfort and bike feel.
Stick a 120mm fork in your Tallboy and a 1 degree angleset if it will take one.
What's the course like these days? Last time I did it (about 2010) a cross bike would've been ideal as it was mostly racing muddy fields.