Gravel/Bikepack nerds enter...

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Originally Posted by frorider

New carbon wheelset question—I’m helping a friend figure out what to buy. Seems that hookless is the future, but they need Tubeless Specific not just Tubeless Ready right? https://road.cc/content/feature/hook...ter-you-306969

When I go to sites like JensonUSA, it’s easy to find tubeless ready but I’m not seeing ‘specific’. Mostly just want to make sure there’s plenty of tire options for these.

Thoughts on 24H front and 28H rear for a sub 150 lb rider?

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fwiw i (personally) dont think hookless is the future and brands are trying to push this because theyve invested in the manufacturing already; i dont believe "cleaner tyre-rim interface" is an actual advantage when theyre less safe if incorrectly set up. also the fact theyre lighter? because of the hook? seems like a stretch. if interested peaktorque on youtube went down this rabbit hole from an engineers perspective. id personally want hooked rims if i was in the market though harder to come by.

i also did not know about tubeless-specific so thats news to me.


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Originally Posted by ktoor

i also did not know about tubeless-specific so thats news to me.


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I think tubeless-specific is referring to UST style rims that don't have any nipple access holes molded into the center channel of the rim.

Looks like fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXeZfRD-fQ4

‘ Tubeless specific’ is referring to the tires. Tighter tolerances than tubeless ‘ready’ tires apparently. The rims themselves build up the same as hooked clinchers—has nothing to do with the old UST rims.

I think I’ll steer him toward hooked. I don’t own a gravel bike but I try to keep aware of bike industry trends. It’s the engineer in me.

I also vote for hooked for gravel wheels that might see pressures higher than say 30psi. Hookless is another industry trend that is 100% about lower manufacturing cost, not performance or safety.

If buying now, I can't see why anyone would get rims that are drilled in the spoke bed. Solid ones are SO much nicer to change tires: rim tape is Satan's work. Obviously building a wheel with a solid bed would be horrible, but that's someone else's problem. Farsports (Wheels far) and others make them.

After work special from today in SoVT
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^^^Somebody's training for the RAS Ride. :wink:

OK, I think I have most of what I need for my first backpacking trip, which will be only 1 or 2 nights. I read the bikepacking 101 guide, and what to bring, but there is a lot I would bring they didn't mention, like soap, butt wipes, pack of cards, small poop shovel, alcohol, OK I'm kidding about a couple of these - but what do all newbs forget (I've never backpacked just car camped a lot) that you like to bring? When weight isn't a concern?

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Originally Posted by Peruvian

^^^Somebody's training for the RAS Ride. :wink:

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JB brought the Peru Crew over to Putney on Wednesday, it was a hoot!

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Originally Posted by muted reborn

OK, I think I have most of what I need for my first backpacking trip, which will be only 1 or 2 nights. I read the bikepacking 101 guide, and what to bring, but there is a lot I would bring they didn't mention, like soap, butt wipes, pack of cards, small poop shovel, alcohol, OK I'm kidding about a couple of these - but what do all newbs forget (I've never backpacked just car camped a lot) that you like to bring? When weight isn't a concern?

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Depends on your expected downtime. You can get away with less of you arrive, eat, sleep and leave vs. arrive, lounge, eat, sleep.

Soap - no, use the wipes
Cards - sure, they are small
Poop trowel - depends on the soil and if stick would work, but yes

Being more food than you think. Salty and sugary snacks for variety. Small camp chair like a Helinox is a nice luxury, small section of tyvek also works well to sit on.

Don’t bring wipes bikepacking or backpacking, they don’t breakdown like toilet paper. If you want to tidy up more bring something like Cetaphil gentle cleansing lotion and use it with some TP.

Bring a trowel, the hole needs to be deeper than you think.

Wipes and hand sanitizer aren’t really adequate for washing your hands after you poop, use a small bar of soap and a little water.


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^^^True, I should have added ziplock baggie for bringing the wipes back out. Don't bury those.

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Originally Posted by Iowagriz

^^^True, I should have added ziplock baggie for bringing the wipes back out. Don't bury those.

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Correct. This is what I do. Wipes are for cleaning face first end of the day and then booty. I just use hand sanitizer for cleaning hands but the post about using soap and a bit of water is not wrong. I have not died yet.

Bidet

Can be done if you plan ahead and camp geyser-adjacent.

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It’s a squeeze bottle system. Lots of options online. You can even practice at home.

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Originally Posted by bodywhomper

It’s a squeeze bottle system. Lots of options online. You can even practice at home.

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I've seen those in thru hiker gear videos. I was curious how you know when you're completely clean. A few more vids suggested that you feel around back there with your fingers to find out. Unless I'm missing something, this doesn't seem like that great of a system to me honestly. For just a few days out, I'll carry the TP and wipes.

Use a few tp squares to confirm clean or not.

It’s a less tp/wipe solution that’s less abrasive, uses less wiping material, and should result in a cleaner ass.

I mean I guess you'd want to dry off anyways which that would do.

Could see a thru hiker opting for this. I've just never had an issue using TP and wipes.

Man, some of you don't bikepack near enough starbucks and it shows.

I’m just trying to share the way of the bidet :)

So uh... how about that gravel riding?

Been doing some things. Pancake ride a few weeks ago, then last best ride gravel race, then a nice loop in whitefish/glacier yesterday among other things

Pancake ride was 175mi and 13k feet this year and started at midnight. which was nice because it was hot during the day. I was actually kind of cold for some of it and probably could have brought a vest. Early on a lead group of 4 formed, I think the other two guys wanted to be alone but it's kind of a race so i stuck with them and so did a friend. Wound up being nice to be in a group on a few of those remote roads in the middle of the night. Pretty cool and way out there. We got to the mandatory gas station stop at mi 80 just before it opened at 6, refilled things and bought our lottery tickets, then i don't think we stopped until an aid station at 120. From there it was a big climb, then another big climb, then a trail. Up until then it was a fun, hard, long adventure and then got real annoying. The 5mi on ridgetop trail was mostly unrideable, and then disappeared a few times and left you climbing down a mountain side over deadfall. Guess he got us good with that one.

A weekend later I went back up there for last best ride, maybe not a great idea. I hung onto the front group up the first big climb and then it was pretty chill until the last part so we had a nice group riding fairly casually up along whitefish lake. This one had real pros in it and once we hit the main climb up to the back of big mountain it was on. The fast guys disappeared but I got to the top of that first part in I think 7th and could see a guy in front of me. Then completely blew up going across the relatively flat section before the back of the ski area and struggled to the top, losing time and places. It's a very, very long and steep hike up the last part. Got with a guy I knew for the ride down, started feeling better eventually, we caught one person, and i wound up getting to the line ahead of them for 9th so actually a pretty good result but i had better in me.

Yesterday went up that way again with a friend and we rode over red meadow pass, to polebridge and then on the inside north fork to west glacier. Fun loop although you don't get the huge scenic vistas like you would on going to the sun road. Also took the "short" way back to columbia falls on the bike path next to hwy 2, which actually ends after hungry horse and puts you on a very narrow section of highway with no shoulder for a few miles which was not a fun end to the ride. Oh and I sliced open a tire real good right in about the midpoint of the inside n fork road which was pretty dumb of me but i had tire boots and all that stuff so it was fine.

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new tires might not be as reliable as the pirellis but they do look nice and are big and comfy

That bike is all business, I like. Midnight start to a gravel event is nuts, never heard of such a thing.

A smattering of pics from our week long bike tour of the Finger Lakes.

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Nice! Looks like a great trip

Rad photos of adventures being shared! I just noodle/stomp around my extended neighborhood on short fun rides and do not take photos.