• Jack-it Night: April 2024 RS Meeting Hey Guest: Wed. April 3rd is the next Rising Sun meeting, and you won't want to miss it. We're doing our annual offroad recovery equipment demonstration and trail skills training aka "Jack It Night." Meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. (early) Click here for all the details.

Bikepacking the Colorado Trail

benjrblant

Trail Ready
Joined
Sep 7, 2016
Messages
404
Location
Denver
This July, I'm planning to bike the Colorado trail. I wanted to post up for suggestions and advice.

I'll be taking the hardtail, which is getting updated to a 1x11 drivetrain. I'll likely retain the tube-type tires and pack some spare tubes with sealant. Looking at getting a frame bag, seat bag, and possibly handlebar bag to carry some gear including a bivy sack, pocket stove, and some other minimalist gear.
Planning on biking in the west/southwest direction from Denver to Durango in early/mid July.

Have a photo, because threads with photos are always more fun:
IMG_20181226_201244.jpg
 

rover67

Rising Sun Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
9,291
Location
Boulder, Co
SWEET! I could talk to you for hours about this!

I've done it twice now, once during the race with my buddy Zach and another time with my wife, Zach and his wife, and our friend Liz. I also did the AZTR last year with Zach.

We do alcohol stoves, lightweight bivys, and tarps. I'd say a 30* bag is about as light as you can get away with. Lots of frame bag vendors out there, Gary Wheelwright in Boulder does them and is kinda local. I think he has a website or facebook page "Boulder Bikepacking Gear" or something like that.

Lightest tire I'd run is an real nice casing Ardent or something like that. I have since switched to Minions for all bikepacking. I realized I didn't like the Ardents specifically for how they cornered after years on them. I also run tubeless but there is plenty of back and forth about that on the internets. Personally I wouldn't run tubes but thats not do or die. I carry two extra tubes and patch kits and a good pump everywhere.

Make sure the bike is tip top. We've had brakes go, hubs blow up, crank arms come loose, bottom brackets fail, derrailures get munched, two seats break (on one trip within a mile of each other), and wheels get destroyed. I personally cracked a frame in 4 spots on the trail one year even. Never had a flat on any of the trips though, I probably will the next time though!

bikepacking.net has a lot of info on it if you go search threads.

How much night riding are you planning on doing?

Get out and try and ride 10mile and a few other a$$ kickers before the trip. Also get shoes you can hike in. I think about 100 of the 500 miles is hike-a-bike. Less for some, more for others. A lot of folks do flat pedals, I ride clipless and hiking friendly shoes.

Heres our video when we did it with the big group for some stoke:

 

Cocarlisle

Hard Core 4+
Joined
Apr 11, 2014
Messages
760
Location
Golden
Very cool !!!!!
Love to hear about it
Are you going solo?
 

DaveInDenver

Rising Sun Ham Guru
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
12,944
Location
Grand Junction
I run an overstuffed 30 degree (effectively a 20 degree) quilt with a tarp in July and August and wouldn't go any lighter. It'll be colder than you think.

I'm a fan of butane/propane stoves. I have a Snow Peak one that I bought for the 2017 attempt and absolutely LOVE it. I dunno why I waited 47 year to get one and a titanium pot. Do it!
 
Last edited:

benjrblant

Trail Ready
Joined
Sep 7, 2016
Messages
404
Location
Denver
SWEET! I could talk to you for hours about this!

I've done it twice now, once during the race with my buddy Zach and another time with my wife, Zach and his wife, and our friend Liz. I also did the AZTR last year with Zach.

We do alcohol stoves, lightweight bivys, and tarps. I'd say a 30* bag is about as light as you can get away with. Lots of frame bag vendors out there, Gary Wheelwright in Boulder does them and is kinda local. I think he has a website or facebook page "Boulder Bikepacking Gear" or something like that.

Lightest tire I'd run is an real nice casing Ardent or something like that. I have since switched to Minions for all bikepacking. I realized I didn't like the Ardents specifically for how they cornered after years on them. I also run tubeless but there is plenty of back and forth about that on the internets. Personally I wouldn't run tubes but thats not do or die. I carry two extra tubes and patch kits and a good pump everywhere.

Make sure the bike is tip top. We've had brakes go, hubs blow up, crank arms come loose, bottom brackets fail, derrailures get munched, two seats break (on one trip within a mile of each other), and wheels get destroyed. I personally cracked a frame in 4 spots on the trail one year even. Never had a flat on any of the trips though, I probably will the next time though!

bikepacking.net has a lot of info on it if you go search threads.

How much night riding are you planning on doing?

Get out and try and ride 10mile and a few other a$$ kickers before the trip. Also get shoes you can hike in. I think about 100 of the 500 miles is hike-a-bike. Less for some, more for others. A lot of folks do flat pedals, I ride clipless and hiking friendly shoes.

Heres our video when we did it with the big group for some stoke:



Ooh! Yes! This is the response I was hoping to hear! I'd love to get into more detail about your experiences.
I've been eyeing a few alcohol stoves, mainly for convenience, weight, and fuel availability.
The bike is getting a full workover, new drivetrain, checks on everything, and I'm planning to load it up and get some shakedown rides in.
Not really planning on night rides, unless you'd advise it or suggest otherwise?

Very cool !!!!!
Love to hear about it
Are you going solo?
I'll post a report. Planning on going solo.

I run an overstuffed 30 degree (effectively a 20 degree) quilt with a tarp in July and August and wouldn't go any lighter. It'll be colder than you think.

I'm a fan of butane/propane stoves. I have a Snow Peak one that I bought for the 2017 attempt and absolutely LOVE it. I dunno why I waited 47 year to get one and a titanium pot. Do it!
I've got a Snow Peak Giga Power Ti stove from many years ago, when I was into ultralight backpacking. Was considering taking this guy or acquiring a small alcohol stove. The availability of alcohol seems nice, carrying multiple canisters of isopro doesn't sound fun.
Planning on a bivy, a 30 degree bag, and a bag liner.

FWIW, give Dirt Bags a call for luggage. Heath is a very cool dude up in Wyoming/South Dakota.
Ooh, I like these. Custom sized as well, for not much more than an off-the-shelf one from Revelate or Ortleib.
 

Cocarlisle

Hard Core 4+
Joined
Apr 11, 2014
Messages
760
Location
Golden
I ride mainly at night and around 530 am
Very deep expierience as it’s only you and the trail
No one else out there
Love it
Red rocks trail last week

I have never done a successful bike packing trip
Tried once but my friends bike broke by Fruita so we had to turn around
 

Attachments

  • 0F7520EE-59EE-486F-8A03-BC9E876E607A.jpeg
    0F7520EE-59EE-486F-8A03-BC9E876E607A.jpeg
    1.6 MB · Views: 248
  • 8E35FA99-F0EA-4860-BE28-30496F8A158A.jpeg
    8E35FA99-F0EA-4860-BE28-30496F8A158A.jpeg
    1.3 MB · Views: 237

rover67

Rising Sun Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
9,291
Location
Boulder, Co
Kokopelli trail is fun we've done that one also. Wasn't really a bike pack since we did it in one push so no bags or anything.

The question about riding at night mainly ties into how many days you plan to spend doing it. If you want to push the mileage (whatever that may be for you) then riding at night tends to happen since you are pushing to certain points or riding till you simply can't anymore. And the reason I ask is because of lights. We've been using Fenix lights with good success. They have replaceable batteries and are bright. My personal favorite is the LD22 which takes AA's that you can find anywhere. Also I can share batteries with my GPS if I need to. I have a simple helmet mount for it. You can conserve power by running it low or make it blast if you need to. People have different preferences for brightness though, it may not be enough for you. BUT, if you want a light for making a few extra miles after dark, setting up camp, and breaking camp in the dark, it can work. You just have to give up the overall power for the ease of battery replacement.

12-13+ days and a strong rider you can do it with little night riding. That's a SWAG not knowing you. Anything quicker than that you'd better be pretty boss or plan on riding at night some. When we did it over 12 days with the big group we still rode at night some, maybe an hour or two a night. We had a decent pace that I'd say wasn't too bad. Also depends how much time you spend in towns, that can burn a ton of time if you arent careful.

https://www.amazon.com/Fenix-LD22G2BK-B-LD22-Flashlight-Black/dp/B00BNUBH7G

We also run the energizer lithiums in everything and they seem to perform well. Just make sure to set your GPS for using them since the alkalines people normally use take different power settings.

you could do a dynamo hub and nice light, but for the CTR you might be going too slow to make it work well, plus they are expensive setups. I tried one on the AZTR and it did well but there were lots of decent paced spots to ride to charge things.

I personally love my alcohol stove. The fuel is everywhere and it's super light and works for boiling water. If you want to do more than boil water it can suck since theres no control. I use about 1 oz per cook to boil a pot of water that does a meal and a drink, usually for breakfast and dinner.

I use a coke can stove, and everybody else I bikepack with uses a cat stove. They both work pretty well. Build a few and try them out a bunch. Get a feel for fuel consumption. A wind break is crucial.

https://www.thesodacanstove.com/alcohol-stove/how-to-build/index.php

https://www.thesodacanstove.com/alcohol-stove/cat-food-can-stove/index.php


Think about shipping yourself stuff. Good spots to receive packages are leadville, BV, and Silverton. The stretch from BV to Silverton is NO JOKE. take a decent amount of food. you can re-up in BV depending on how many miles you are making per day. One year we got stuck up near the top of that stretch for a day waiting out a storm. There is a hut up there you can use but it is hard to spot travelling toward silverton.

The stage Stop near Tarryall is a good stop also. Princeton Hot Springs has stuff too.

Another nice hut is the one up to Searle pass from Copper. You can call and reserve it when you get service if you need it coming down 10Mile.
 
Last edited:

rover67

Rising Sun Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
9,291
Location
Boulder, Co
Also get your order in for a frame bag ASAP. The rush for the bikepacking events is real. These people making custom bags get loaded up.

here is a another source:

https://www.bedrockbags.com/

his stuff is nice.
 

DaveInDenver

Rising Sun Ham Guru
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
12,944
Location
Grand Junction
My frame pack and gas can are Dirt Bags, my front is a Relevate Sweet Roll, the tail bag is Oveja Negra. The only thing I would change is to DIY a front harness for a dry bag rather than using the Sweet Roll. No complaints about the bag really but it's limiting in its shape and configuration. I discovered Dirt Bags because I kept getting pushed to the back the line by JPaks and finally had to give up waiting after 3 months of excuses. I met Heath for a ride at Curt Gowdy, he measured the bike, sewed and had them to me in a week.
 

Basaltfj40

Trail Ready
Joined
Jul 21, 2017
Messages
381
Location
Basalt
I hiked it with my wife and 2 dogs in 37 days, best time of my life! I carried the whisper light international and used gas or Diesel bc I could fill up for about 30-40 cents. But I have seen these on the trail and have a friend that uses one for backcountry skiing. Also you can use a larger can beverage to make theses

My only suggestion would be if you can......... slow down and take your time! It's such amazing country

Let me know if you need a support crew?!? Would love to hike in with some supplies!
 

nakman

Club Secretary
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
14,548
Location
north side
my only contribution here is I'd multiply any Marco estimate by 1.5.. if he can do it in 2 days, figure 3. :)

Cool adventure though! If you can time this right I'm sure there will be some sag wagon support available.. for example some of us will be at Hundreds in the Hills in Silverton July 24-29.
 

rover67

Rising Sun Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
9,291
Location
Boulder, Co
I don't know man, I'd consider myself a back of the pack guy for these races... Pretty average for normal, below average for racer types..

Ben if you'd like to borrow gear instead of buying we have a pretty decent selection of bar bags, seat bags, feed bags, and gas tanks. In the off chance my frame bag would fit you could borrow it also. Another thing to consider is wrapping your frame in clear 3m protective tape if you don't want it worn where the frame bag attaches. I personally don't care as my bike is a workhorse, but others do care. Also wrap the head tube where the bar bag will rub.
 

rover67

Rising Sun Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
9,291
Location
Boulder, Co
Oh Also... It helps if your front brake hose is long enough to go around the bar bag.. so you might want to mock it up first and make sure things don' get tight at full lock. You'll probably ball it up at one point and it sucks to damage a brake hose/cable on the trail. Ours are al a bit long looking without luggage.
 

benjrblant

Trail Ready
Joined
Sep 7, 2016
Messages
404
Location
Denver
Thanks for all the input! I'm on the fence about stoves at the moment, kind of leaning towards the snow peak gigapower but only because I already own it.

I'll be getting a custom frame bag, but if @rover67 isn't using the saddle and/or bar bag, I'd consider using them! I'm going back to some Avid BB7's so I'll be sure to route the cables out of the way. Also considering some different bars, maybe a Jones H bar?

Getting the new drivetrain fitted right now, it's shaping up nicely.
IMG_20190105_131431.jpg
 

DaveInDenver

Rising Sun Ham Guru
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
12,944
Location
Grand Junction
Just my $0.02, I like the predictability of my iso-butane stove. Plus you already have it and I think spending zero and having something you're familiar with outweighs an alternative.

You can get canisters in Leadville (I grabbed one at Leadville Outdoors, which you pass on US24 at the south edge of town) or Buena Vista. Also it's possible to send yourself one in resupply packages, which I mailed to myself at the BV and Lake City post offices.

BTW, a tip, include a return mailing label in the resupply and ship junk you don't need back to yourself. I loaded the packages with more than I was actually using up so sent boxes back.
 

rover67

Rising Sun Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
9,291
Location
Boulder, Co
It’s up to you, we have like 3 different seat bags and at least a few bar bags. Just let me know. I ran one of those H bars for a while, they are neat.
 
Last edited:
Top