Colorado Trail Recap: Feedback

Looking back on the ride after a month, I wanted to document what I was happy with and what I would change for next time. I was overall really happy with my setup - everything from bags to bike to helmet

What I wanted to focus on: When I did part of the Colorado Trail in 2011, it was miserable. I was unprepared, my gear was weird, it was hard. This time, I wanted to give myself all the fitness and gear advantages, as well as make sure my expectations were really realistic. For that reason, I put a focus on having a comfortable, efficient setup and not feeling like I was dying the whole time. So let's go over what I was happy with on this ride, and what I would change.

 What worked:

Backpack: This turned out great. I loved the water capacity, rain cover, back protection, and the small pockets. I would ride with this same pack again no question. 

30t chainring: This was the right choice. I was able to ride in the second or third gear for a lot of the time and not feel like I was stretching my drivetrain all to hell.

Dropper post: I almost took this off, but I'm really glad I had it for some of the faster, rougher descents. It was worth the additional weight (but mine could use a tune so it comes all the way up more consistently).

PB&J: Oh man, these turned out to be really good on the trail. I don't know what it was, but they hit the spot. 

Emergency Ramen: This was both filling, and a mental support. I ended up eating this on night 2, and it was a great, filling, warm meal.

Helmet: I wore my road style helmet with a cycling cap on this trip rather than my MTN helmet with a visor. This worked great for a few reasons: the rain cover fits much better on my road helmet, my glasses fit into the road helmet vents better, and it is lighter. 

Racks: Front and rear rack were great, (nearly) no problems at all (see below). 

What I would change: in no particular order

Cockpit. Maybe raise bars a bit. When I was riding with my seat a couple inches low, it felt surprisingly good.

Inside bar ends: Larger inner ends, they were fine but not great, maybe something a little larger. I did use them a lot.

Wheels: The 35mm ID wheels on the Transition were really heavy, especially for the dirt roads. Look for some lighter alum or carbon wheels with a narrower profile.

Frame bag: Get a bag that fills the frame better, like the Revelate Ranger xl. The frame mounted water bottle was a hassle to get on and off and I wasn't happy with how it worked. With a larger frame bag I would also try to eliminate the under frame bag with cooking stuff in it. 

Camp Shoes: Bring recovery flip flops or something like the Chaco chillo slides, I regret not having a comfortable show in the evening.

Sleeping bag: A lighter, smaller sleeping bag would be ok, or even a down quilt. If I got cold, I would put on all my clothes. 

Pearl Izumi shoes: I need to break these in more, they made my pinky toes go numb.

Snacks: I packed some snacks that were too sweet, and too much sugar early in the day was not great and gave me a headache.

Rear Rack: When I was taking it off I noticed that the bolt at the dropout was not super tight - would check those on the trail more in the future. I would also add a thin plastic built in fender to keep water and dirt from getting thrown all over the place.