How much fluid to carry and how to carry it is the second most burning question for Rim Ride now that the rear shock blew up on my FS. I figured if I was HT then I might as well be SS – and of course that makes the #1 burning question what gear to ride. Brad recommended a 32×22 on a 29er so I am going with a 34×20 on my 26er to make it all a bit more of a challenge. I hear he shorted the course and needs to do a do-over anyways….
I’ve had the same conversation twice today with 2 different people.
Me: You should carry as much fluid weight on your bike rather than your back to save upper body fatigue, not to mention the impact on your rear end.
Other: My bike is a lightweight xc racing machine and only has one bottle cage mount.
Me: Phooey. You can stick bottles all over the place.
Here is my Kokopelli Trail Race machine from 2007. Zip ties work just fine as do the Minoura mounts. Seat packs fit nicely in lots of places other than under the seat. Under the stem for one.
Here is a Yeti with one bottle mount braze on carrying 6 bottles. Two on the forks, two on the down tube and two on the seat post.
Rim Ride is gonna take me about 11 hours X 300 calories per hour = 3300 calories and about 18 oz of fluid per hour to get all those calories digested = 200 oz fluids. Thus far no reliable refill spots have been identified on the course. I’ve got about 100 oz on my bike and 100 oz on my back planned. That’s all…
I have decided I am going to tow a yak carrying two 300oz bladders on it’s back. The bladders are going to be made from the stomachs of 2 cows….which I will see on my training ride today. :-)
That’s the craziest looking water setup i’ve ever seen on a bike. Its almost dorky. Not only did we cheat and miss rockin A and circle O we feasted on roast beef sandwiches and chocolate milk that we stashed the night before at the top of Gemini. Yummy! Good luck!
Thanks for reposting the picture of your Specialiazed Kokopelli model, it’s great!
Putting the weight on your bike, especially the way Dave mounted those bottles on his fork, also helpfully lowers the center gravity.
nice!
I’m going for three bottles and six liters. Less than 20 lbs on the back is irrelevant.
Awesome set-up. I did the Moab 3-day Expedition Race with a 100oz camelbak, a seatpost rack with food and gear and of course a few water bottles.
The kokopelli trail was fantastic. Between 3 and 5am with the moon and wind, it was pretty and tough.