Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Things That Break on the Tour Divide: Mechanicals in the World’s Toughest Bikepacking Race
Over the course of a 2700-mile bike race, things are bound to happen—like a nagging injury, running into a rainstorm, and yes, mechanical issues. While some of these things can be controlled, others sometimes happen by the luck of the draw. In this piece, Neil asks a few folks who participated in the 2023 Tour Divide to share their experiences with mechanical issues and how they handled them.
During a bike race or ride as long as the 13 to 30-day Tour Divide, unexpected events are inevitable—be it an injury, weather, or mechanical failures on your bike or gear. To get some perspective, I decided to ask a bunch of participants from the 2023 Tour Divide to recount their experiences with mechanical problems and discuss their strategies for overcoming them. Many of the people I contacted said they didn’t have any issues last year, which I found interesting; some folks really do get by with zero issues. However, others seem to have very bad luck, such as this year’s current Tour Divide leader Justinas Leveika, who had a string of mechanical issues last year. In this video, we’ll hear from him and others, then I circle back with issues I had on my Tour Divide ride and close with a few takeaways. Watch it below and scroll down for the written version.
I really want to thank these riders for sharing their stories. When I went down the Divide, I was not as skilled of a home mechanic as I am today, but I honestly don’t think that would have changed anything. Perhaps I would have cleaned and lubed my chain more regularly along the way, but most of the issues I had were related to normal wear and tear. I had Orange Peel bike shop in Steamboat, do a once-over on my bike, and that was about the halfway point on the route. They said my drivetrain and bottom bracket were toast, which is common after loads of sloppy miles. They replaced the bottom bracket, but I opted to keep the chain, cassette, and chainring on, as a new chain simply wouldn’t mesh with the old parts, and I didn’t want to pay for a whole new drivetrain.
One thing that was really unfortunate was a failed bearing in my Shutter Precision (SP) dynamo hub. Not only is there inherent drag in a dynamo hub, but when the bearings fail, it takes that much more effort to get them spinning. And that’s what happened. I sent the hub into SP after the race, and they replaced the bearings for me. I’m sure this resulted in me working harder and expending more watts as I made my way down to Antelope Wells, but I’m also not sure if I would trust another dynamo again. Finally, I also bent my aero bar from a crash—this was all to carelessness in the Great Divide Basin—but it’s the kind of thing that happens. Luckily, a bent aero bar was the worst of it. Most of these things I either had to deal with or were pretty easy to manage.
Takeaways
So what are a few takeaways? I think, first and foremost, have a bike that is in good working order before you leave. As Ulrich said: replace wearing parts—chain, cassette, pads, and tires. Avoidance is the key to success. On top of that, consider using components with standard parts so you aren’t in a situation like Chris or Katya. Maybe use more standard Shimano or SRAM drivetrains. The same applies to brakes pads and bottom brackets. Play the odds game—we have seen electronic shifting break, so perhaps if you want to avoid that, simply don’t use it. The same goes for suspension forks: will you have time to get the oil and seals replaced, or are you okay with the fork feeling like junk by the end of the race?
I also think overbuilt wheels and a bike that has clearance for bigger volume tires might handle some of the challenging sections on route better, despite them being few and far between. Simply understanding and not being afraid to work on your bike, make adjustments, tinker, and, most importantly, being able to repair your bike when it’s debilitated truly goes a long way. And baby your bike when it needs it most; don’t shift under load through peanut butter mud. Oh, yeah, and don’t forget to top off that sealant and lube your chain.
So, what are some of your takeaways? And if you’ve a major mechanical problem on a route like the GDMBR, let us know about it and how you fixed it in the conversation below.
Further Reading
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