# trail bike for 'bikepacking'



## mattcrandle (Feb 13, 2004)

combining my love of camping and biking, i have started to get into 'bikepacking' (long, self-supported mountain bike trips). i do all kinds of riding, so i have a dowhill/freeride bike as well as a light XC racer. to fill this new niche, however, i need a good solid trail bike.

what i am after is about a 4" (maybe 5) travel bike, preferably with coil shocks, not air. its main requirement is that it be able to take a lot of punishment and adapt to all kinds of riding. it needs to be very sturdy and strong (i tip the scales at about 200 pounds), but it has to be light enough to ride 30-40 miles a day for days on end. it has to have solid, well tried components (nothing too exotic) because small town bike shops dont always have an extensive selection of parts.

anybody have any good ideas? any suggestions for bikes that fit this description are very welcome. thanks.


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## bhutata (Jan 13, 2004)

You don't say anything about your budget, but the first thing that comes to mind is the Santa Cruz Heckler. It comes with a coil-over shock option, but even the 5th Element air gets good reviews in hard use.


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## mattcrandle (Feb 13, 2004)

thanks for the suggestion. i dont really have a set budget - i just want to get the right bike for the job. at some point next year, i hope to bike the Great Divide trail that runs from canada to mexico, 2600 miles, and i dont want to skimp on the equipment. i had read up on the heckler quite a bit beforehand, and so far, it was my favorite choice, without actually having ridden a heckler before.

anybody have any positive/negative comments on using a heckler as a long-distance trail bike?


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## bike_freak (Dec 24, 2003)

*Well I can't say for frame but..*



mattcrandle said:


> thanks for the suggestion. i dont really have a set budget - i just want to get the right bike for the job. at some point next year, i hope to bike the Great Divide trail that runs from canada to mexico, 2600 miles, and i dont want to skimp on the equipment. i had read up on the heckler quite a bit beforehand, and so far, it was my favorite choice, without actually having ridden a heckler before.
> 
> anybody have any positive/negative comments on using a heckler as a long-distance trail bike?


 I would say get thompson parts such as seatpost and stem. Look at chris king parts for headset and hubs. This might sound weird, but look into a rohlof(sp?) geared hub. Use either Marz or fox forx, they seem to have the best life. 
I suggest going with disks, but I'm sure you already knew that. Also get heavier rims and not any light xc rims, cause that's one thng you don't want to break in the middle on no where.
Might also want a tubeless setup with sealent, if you pun****ure, just run tubes after.
Although I don't really have any of these parts nor do I do this sort of riding, it interests me.
What about a hardtail? Are you going to be riding much road or is it all offroad?
The heckler with a 5th element coil rear shock sounds like a cool option. And if you really want chi chi parts, then get a ti spring for it, good weight savings!


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## mattcrandle (Feb 13, 2004)

i have thompson seat posts on both my foes fly and my xc bike, so i will definitely stick with them for this new bike build up. i like the idea of the rohloff geared hub, but i wonder about servicability when i am out in the middle of nowhere. if i trash my standard derailleur, it is not hard to macguyver it together to get me down the trail and every bike shop in the world will have a replacement. if the geared hubs are reliable though, i will definitely look into them. as for the disc brakes, that is all i use these days, even on my light xc bike. (riding a friends bike with v-brakes makes me wonder how i ever got by without my trusty hayes discs!). i definitely am going to go with a stout wheelset. my D521s on my fly might be overkill, but the mavics on my xc bike wouldnt stand up to the abuse of loaded-down trail riding that many miles. my xc bike also runs tubeless tires, although i have had tubes in them for some time now and i like the flexibility.

i considered a good solid hardtail (less parts to break/wear out), but i admit i am spoiled by my full-suspension bikes and riding that far that many days in a row is going to be rough enough on me as it is. although there is a little bit of unavoidable pavement riding (around wilderness areas that are off limits to bikes and around other obstacles that have no satisfactory off-road route), it is very minimal. the goal is to spend as much time on the trail as possible, getting to see all of the scenic places that paved roads wont take you.

i am just getting into this whole aspect of biking as well. i have a short 4-day trip planned for a few months from now (for any arizonans, i am riding down from flagstaff to payson). i hope to do a few of these short trips to get my gear needs figured out and my setup dialed in without being too far from home. i hope to bike a portion of the colorado trail later in the summer when the snow is melted. although i love hopping on my bike for a nice day ride or shuttling south mountain for some killer downhill, i think i am really going to take to my new found 'bikepacking' experiences.

thanks for all of the great suggestions, they are much appreciated.


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## PickledFish (Jan 24, 2004)

*Specy*



mattcrandle said:


> combining my love of camping and biking, i have started to get into 'bikepacking' (long, self-supported mountain bike trips). i do all kinds of riding, so i have a dowhill/freeride bike as well as a light XC racer. to fill this new niche, however, i need a good solid trail bike.
> 
> what i am after is about a 4" (maybe 5) travel bike, preferably with coil shocks, not air. its main requirement is that it be able to take a lot of punishment and adapt to all kinds of riding. it needs to be very sturdy and strong (i tip the scales at about 200 pounds), but it has to be light enough to ride 30-40 miles a day for days on end. it has to have solid, well tried components (nothing too exotic) because small town bike shops dont always have an extensive selection of parts.
> 
> anybody have any good ideas? any suggestions for bikes that fit this description are very welcome. thanks.


A Specialized Enduro sounds good for you too. It's not as huckable as a Heckler but I find it a lot more comforable and the few pounds (or part of a pound) you save will make a huge difference in that 2600 miles. It's definitely strong enough to handle that kind of riding. I haven't ridden a Heckler long enough to tell, but one of my riding buddies that rides a Heckler says that there is some pedal feedback, and that could be a problem for such a long trip as yours. Also, when me and my buddy were building up his bike, we had a lot of trouble even touching the front derailleur because the swing arm was in the way, on the other hand, I find myself spending more time maintaining the pivots on my Enduro's 4-bar linkage. That may, or may not be a problem for you. For the front shock, Fox or Marz sounds good. For the rear shock, it's really a matter of preference. If you're concerned about the air shock's durability, don't. I've had my Enduro Expert for 2 years, and have been riding it really hard... the shock's never leaked and never blew, despite the countless 4-5 foot drops it's done with a 170lbs rider on it. My 2 year old Float on my Enduro is just as plush as my brother's '04 and my buddy's 5th Element coil. So I would definitely go Enduro. I mean, even the name is perfect.

My 2 cents.


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## bike_freak (Dec 24, 2003)

*geared hubs.*

Oh ya, They are realible alright. Theres a guy here in Aus(Hugh kingston) who organizes all the Polaris events. He also does huge adventures from city2city for fundraises. He covers huge distances and is totally self surported. He rides through rural places alot where there isn't a single person for days. His bike is a sinlge speed, steel hardtail. He uses Marz marathon s forks(the coil ones). He pulls a bob trailer aswell. He swears by the geared hub, but only look at the rohloff one. Apparently it's something crazy like they only need a oil top up every 10,000km's. They have I tihnk 14(equal to nearly a 27speed) gears and weigh not too much more then a complete xt drivetrain. I test rode one(although it was setup as a comfort bike) and it was amazing, it changed gears while pedaling backwards and stand still! Although I would not get one(well not for a while atleast, cause I don't have any money and I don't do long enough adventures to think of needing it. Also, I think I have seen a couple of freeride and downhill bikes using them.
Go with a chris king front hub though.
Cheers
Your lucky that you can do this stuff. I'm too young(15).


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## JimC. (Dec 30, 2003)

*having had both*

an '00 Heckler and now an '03 Enduro, my vote would be the Enduro. Why? It's just plain comfortable. I think that might count for a lot in a long trip, which I stress I have not done, so this post is speculation to a degree. The suspension is adjustable, it'll take a beating, parts are standard parts that most stores have. And at about 29 lb, I can't think of another ride that delivers the goods at entry level prices of about $1300 with discs and 4-5" FS, and a lifetime warranty on the frame.

Just my .02 CAD, Jim


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## frank n. beans (Jan 19, 2004)

mattcrandle said:


> thanks for the suggestion. i dont really have a set budget - i just want to get the right bike for the job. at some point next year, i hope to bike the Great Divide trail that runs from canada to mexico, 2600 miles, and i dont want to skimp on the equipment. i had read up on the heckler quite a bit beforehand, and so far, it was my favorite choice, without actually having ridden a heckler before.
> 
> anybody have any positive/negative comments on using a heckler as a long-distance trail bike?


That sounds bad ass. How much and what kind of gear are you going to carry with you, and how? Pulling a trailer I'd assume?


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## mattcrandle (Feb 13, 2004)

*gear*

well, as for gear, it is pretty much what you would take on a long backbacking trip: lightweight tent and sleeping bag, backpacking stove and water filter, clothes, etc.

along with that, you have to bring extra bike parts and tools to do repairs on the trail since most of the riding is VERY far from towns/bike shops.

i will be using a trailer, a BOB Yak. all the reviews i have read say it is the best. it holds up to 70 lbs. i believe, but i hope to go lighter, maybe 50 lbs. of gear on the trailer. hauling my own 200 lbs. up and down the mountain is hard enough, so i want to keep the trailer weight down as much as i can.

that said, it is probably better to be over-prepared than under. if i get out there and break down and cant continue because i didnt want the extra weight of some tool, having a light trailer doesnt really help me much when i cant ride.

my first short 4-day ride will hopefully be toward the end of march/early april. just has to warm up enough up near flagstaff so it isnt too cold to camp at night. i cant wait!


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## bhutata (Jan 13, 2004)

Zinn's MTB book has a great list of tools and gear to bring along. I'm not sure exactly where my copy wound up right now, but it's worth taking a look at his list to see he has any other good ideas that you haven't already covered.


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## Ventanarama (Dec 10, 2001)

bhutata said:


> You don't say anything about your budget, but the first thing that comes to mind is the Santa Cruz Heckler. It comes with a coil-over shock option, but even the 5th Element air gets good reviews in hard use.


Ummmm, seriously? Where is it getting good reviews for hard use? It's got 20 reviews with a 2.5 out of 5 average on mtbr. No offense, but that's the last shock on the market (of the mid to high-end stuff) that I would recommend for any type of backcountry use. It rides great when it works, and hopefully they'll get the bugs worked out, but in my experience it is the least reliable rear shock on the market right now (other than low-end junk). Almost every person I know with a 5th Air has sent it back at least once. For backcountry touring I'd stick with a Fox or Romic coil shock. 
Larry Mettler
http://www.mtnhighcyclery.com


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## locobobito (Feb 22, 2004)

*A few thoughts on what you'll need*

Matt,

I have done 5 bike packing trips so far. My trips have been pretty short about 5-6 days 100 to 150 miles. I have had 3 different bikes that I used, an old trek VRX, Santa Cruz Bullit (with a boxxer) and lately a Jamis Dakar XC. Besides the weight, the BUllit was the best because of the softer suspension and more travel. I am getting a Dakar XLT 2.0 so I can get better weight and more travel. As far as set up, My compadre (who has done 4 out of 5 trips with me) and I agree on a few key elements. We both use Koobi enduro saddles, Thompson seat posts, Easton carbon riser bars, ODI lock-on grips, Time pedals, XT shifters, SRAM chains, old style XTR rear der. . I like the discs on my bike because you will be using a lot of brake when descending with a BOB. MY buddy rides a Truth but wishes he had more travel during some of the rides. Some of the places we rode : White Rim, Moab UT. (a good ride to cut your teeth on bikepacking, Kokopelli Fruita to Moab, Maah Dah Hey Medora N.D. Part of the Divide in New Mexico, and in Mexico. If you want some info on what we've learned as far as what gear and such to take just email me.

Give me a home where the cell phone won't roam,
and the beer and the beef jerkey flow.


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## NEPMTBA (Apr 7, 2007)

I think you have to consider technology and moving parts...

...the more parts that move the more options they have to fail.

All parts fail eventually, so I assume your starting off with a new bike, but that leaves you with homework first, as you should ride it to get familiar, and used to it then prep it and go enjoy!

Kinda the way a racer prepares, leaving no stone unturned, if failure arises being prepared wins the day for you.

Nice to see everyone "bike touring" through life


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## swampboy62 (Feb 10, 2009)

A reply on an 8 year old thread?

Hope they check back periodically 

Steve Z


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## jmctav23 (Oct 16, 2010)

well I'd like to know what bike he chose and if he ever completed the divide route...what a mystery


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