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I'm doing it this year on my rigid mtb. My friend wants to come as well. He only has a road bike on 28mm tyres. (Armadillos) Neither of us has done the event before and wondering if he should maybe get a loan of a bike with bigger rubbers or will 28mm suffice for the event terrain?
Done the short course on a cross bike with 35c tyres before and still felt a little under biked in parts - bit rocky in places amd also some high speed off road descents if you let them
Well..
I wouldn't do it on 28's.
I've done it on my CXer for a few years now, 33C's are the smallest I'd do it on, saying that I've never been tempted to go bigger to my 38's either.
The terrain is very hilly, there are some rough track sections that are simple farmers tracks littered with boulders and rock, long flowing peaty sections, then small county lanes that are not very well looked after, then single track that contains woods and then sections on roads that are the rough gravel Tarmac, then other sections in Winlatter forest that are fire tracks and fairly chunky stones.
Then add in all the mountain water run off containing small nasty Flint and you have a massive variety of trail/road conditions over some spectacular terrain.
A rigid MTB is bang on, a CXer with some 38/40C puncture resistant tyres (or be prepared to fix punctures) is what everyone else uses.
Boxeilder off here runs it or has something to do with it, he's best to give the locals view and what the organisers recommend.
It's a hugely enjoyable event, one of my favourites.
I've put out the signage on chunks of it over the past couple of years - basically, what bikebouy said. I've felt rattled to hell on sections on 35c CX-Kings, about right on most stuff on 40c Gravel Roads, and over-tyred and draggy on 2.25 Ardents on different bikes. There's a lot of variety in the route, so no one thing will ever be 'perfect', but I'd say 28's would lead to a loss of feeling in various extremities and a chunk of time trying to hold on to your teeth.
Oh, and no tyre works well through 'Bog Trotters', save perhaps a fat bike one.
I'll see you there though, I'll be the short beardy chap marshalling somewhere on the route again.
Rode one of the rocky descents on 23c (very slowly and by accident) a few years ago. Tyres were cut to pieces, but amazingly not punctured by the bottom. Wouldnt deliberately do it on anything less than a tough 35c tyre.
I'm getting an increasing feeling that doing this on my full susser is going to be very hard work indeed!!!
well... i'll be running 38c schwalbe g-ones (tubeless & they measure up at 39c)... quite excited now.
just booked our hotel and ready to go...
what kind of numbers will be doing this?