Hey there bikepackers!

I'd like to finish off the Colorado Trail this summer. I'm open to starting at either end or in Breckenridge and head south.

I'm an experienced bikepacker and reasonably fit, though not an ultra-racer and intend on enjoying the trail. I figure about 10 days.

As always it'd be fun to share the trail with someone or potentially a small group.

The race was scheduled for the end of July which might be a fun starting date but I'm pretty flexible.

Also for those who want to know I'm 36, Male and married.  

Happy Trails,
Scott

Hey good luck with it! since you're in denver let me know if you want to look at it or borrow it....

Hey Bob, thanks for the interest. I wish I could say it's been thoroughly tested over months of abuse but the reality is that I've done a couple trips with it but it has worked almost perfectly! Only down side so far is that it scuffs up the dry sack a bit, hasn't worn through or anything but some paint has rubbed off onto it...

Bicyclehobo, thanks for the vote of confidence, but no I haven't done a thing with it. Sadly, I've hardly even been riding. I've done three 70 hour weeks at work in a row, which is also why I haven't responded very promptly. I agree with idea of making it adjustable and I had actually started the project with two round tubes (very similar  to your picture) which telescoped. I got as far as mounting them, which was really easy as i just used a insulated conduit clamp and the existing bolts, but they just just seemed too week and I thought going with a bigger pipe would cause my thighs to rub so I scraped the idea and went to flat strap.

Fotooutdoors, I did put in on a scale and with all the bolts and the seat post clamp it came in just barely under two pounds. I tested it with somewhere around five to six pounds on it and if anything the rack is overkill, there was absolutely no movement or flex. Perhaps a slightly narrower strap would be strong enough, provided you could weld the x-shape together rather than notching it.

This could actually be a product if you could design it in a way where the shock mount was adjustable.

Thanks, you know you're actually not to first to suggest that, maybe I should send it to Blackburn or Topeka? I agree it would be interesting to see how universal it could be made while taking into account all the different frame sizes and designs.

thanks for all the feedback everyone. I figure why not share? I know for me designing and planning my setup has been just as much fun as using the thing.

it's a bit more complicated but check out my solution to the problem
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,5321.0.html

After is was all said and done I drilled a bunch of large diameter holes all along the outside for weight reduction and then counter sunk the holes for that finished look. I really went back and forth on the topic of paint vs. raw aluminum but decided to paint it with an industrial KEM4000 white.

So how does it work? Well I'm totally happy; the bike is well balanced, it's easy to get behind the seat and I still feel confident doing drops and techy sections while loaded. Uphill of course it's heavy but it still climbs well and is capable of riding challenging terrain.

To attach the rack I purchased a seat collar with attachment points for a traditional rack. To accommodate the side to side angle of the rack I used those little cup and cone spacers we all have on our post mounted brakes.
In the front I used the shock mount and some handy little aluminum spacers out of the parts bin. Naturally I needed to purchase a longer shoulder bolt for the extra width. Still I was unsure if the rack would contact the shock during suspension travel so I notched the rack to provide better clearance.

Drilling the holes allowed me to set the angle of the rack so that at max suspension compression the tire just barely cleared the rack and so the dropper post could be brought all the way down.

-I started off with eight feet of 1.5” aluminum strap.
-Cut two 18” strips leaving five feet for the body of the rack.
-Then I heated and bent the five feet into a U shape.
-I then notched the middle of the two 18” strips so that they could interlock.
-Then I bent the two interlocking strips so that they formed a X shape.
-Drilled a couple holes so that I could bolt it all together and then JB welded it before bolting everything to position.

Got out and did the first 50 of the Colorado trail route (Denver to Bailey) last week. I wanted to test my newly built rack and it worked great. I know that nobody likes racks but I like my dropper post and wanted to be able get behind the saddle. While I've never ridden with one of the monster seat-bags it seems like getting behind the saddle would be tough and they all seem to attach where the dropper post telescopes so.... I wanted a rack.
Why not just buy a seat post rack? I don't like all the leverage on my post, especially a dropper post and especially while jumping the bike. Additionally they are heavy and I’m not sure if they angle up enough to clear my six inches of travel.

That’s awesome, it's such a great skill to have! What are you learning? I've been thinking about learning to TIG...
I haven't had time to write up a report but i recently made a custom aluminum rack and it would have been so much easier had I just been able to weld aluminum.

Thanks everyone, I thought it was kind of a neat little trick. Plus I had been meaning to take a couple inches off my camelback anyway.

Awesome. What would happen if I tried: doesn't reseat and in the process, I unseat the other tire. So I just carry a tube. Maybe a tube can act as a "compressor?"

Just my experience but in all the times I've got a flat or deflated a tubeless tire you have to "break the bead" before removing the tire. My experience would lead me to believe that even if you let all the air out (tire A) trying to reseat the other (tire b) you would not have to reseat the bead (tire A), just pump it back up. The only instances I’ve had to reseat a bead on the trail are when the bead comes off the wheel during a nasty landing or when I “break the bead” to repair the tire with a boot.
I don't think a tube would work as you'll never get very much pressure -just volume- out of a tube, although I'm sure it would work if you were to put the tube in the tire....

Maybe somebody has already done this but I thought I’d share anyway.
I recently found myself wanting to reseat the bead on my tubeless setup without a co2 or an air compressor but with a mini-pump.
As luck had it, my water bladder hose was just he right size to fit over a valve stem.
I simply cut a six-inch section and ran it between the inflated wheel and the deflated wheel.
While pinching the hose against the two valve stems I depressed the inflated wheel’s valve and then wa-la the inflated wheel acted like an air-tank and seated the bead on the other wheel.
Of course you’re now left with the unpleasant task of inflating the better part of two wheels with a mini pump, but it beats walking your bike.

I am going to be leaving from Denver Co. the morning of Sunday April 28 and driving to Flagstaff to ride the Coconino Loop, or at least give it my best shot. It seems like five days should be an enjoyable and doable pace for me. I'd be happy to have some company if anyone wants to go with for all or part of the trip.
The dates aren't set in stone but do work well for me.

Happy Trails,
Scott

Yeah I agree, it's not looking the best...  we'll have to wait and see.

Hey Gabe,

I was also hoping to do a quick trip in April, weather/trail permitting I'd be in. Buffalo Creek/Waterton works for me so long as it's dry   Though just to put it out there, I was kicking around the idea of heading out to Fruita to do an out and back on the Kokopelli....

Scott

before bolting everything together I drilled two holes into the arm rest to allow access to the frame bolts. all told it is about two ounces heaver than the salsa cage but the project saved me twenty some bucks and killed a snowy saturday morning...

then I drilled four holes in the aluminum strip, two for the bottle mounts and two for the arm rests. since the goal was to have the aluminum strip sit flush against the bike frame I couldn't bolt or rivet the arm rests in place and then have something sticking out the back. So I decided that threading the aluminum, then bolting with thread locker should hold the arm rests in place sufficiently seeing as they aren't load bearing.