HT550 kit: post-match analysis

The promised kit geek-out is here: what I took, why, whether it worked and what I’d do differently next time.

My tour of the Colorado Trail last year was a good opportunity to put last year’s would-be Highland Trail setup to the test, give or take some modifications. I detailed the CT setup here.

Frame, wheels, cassette

The most significant difference from this was the bike itself. My XC/downcountry full sus is a fairly lightweight alloy Orbea Oiz H10 TR. However, for a route with over 60,000 feet of height gain – and quite a bit of that height gain pushed – a lighter machine was going to be preferable. Thanks to the Cycle to Work scheme, I was able to get a lovely carbon hardtail at a decent price: a Trek Procaliber 9.7. Yes, I’d rather have had a bike of the same weight that was full sus, but that would have been eye wateringly expensive. I used the stock Bontrager wheels which are lightweight carbon, if a little skinny at 23mm internal width. I’d rather have switched out the rear for my handbuilt lightweight alloy 30mm DT Swiss, with its swanky 240 hub (giving a total weight only slightly in excess of the Bontrager rear) but the hub’s attachment is for a Shimano cassette and I find the SRAM GX one (10-52) works better. And it’s lighter too.

Invisiframe on all my MTBs.

Suspension, chainring, power meter, chain, lubrication

No changes to stock suspension (and no change in front shock pressure/tuning compared to normal riding). Starting with the drivetrain, I put on a left-sided Stages power meter and a 28T chainring in order to be able to stay in zone 2 and on the bike for steep climbs. I’ve an oval on the Oiz, and I do think it at times helps a little in maintaining traction on steep, technical climbs, but it plays havoc with the evenness of the pedal stroke and in fact, having worn out that (alloy) oval chainring on the Oiz, I’ve ordered a round one.

Verdict: the power meter was indeed really useful for the first couple of thirds of day 1 when it’s very easy to get sucked into zone 3 or 4 by the momentum of other riders. It helps too to remind you to keep pedalling properly on flats and false flats, which is essentially extra free speed. It stopped working sometime during that first day as, one way or another, the battery cover came loose. Worryingly, it broke on the final descent with the housing that the pedal screws into ripping out of the crank, thankfully without accident, this via riding fast over an unnoticed sharp edge of rock which failed even to puncture the rear tyre never mind ding the rim – thanks to the foam insert, which we’ll get to. It’s going back to Stages for replacement. The 28T chainring was probably my favourite bit of kit of the whole setup! I only spun out on descents and, at those points, getting into a more aero position (more on that later) resulted in faster speed than an extra gear would have.

I went with a YBN gold chain, partly due to its lower friction (see Zerofrictioncycling) and partly for bling value. I thought long and hard about lubrication system. I wax my gravel/road bike chains and I used wax for the dry, dusty Colorado Trail – with daily applications of drip wax as top-up, following a dry cloth wipedown. If the forecast had been wetter, I think I’d have gone with my standard MTB system of Boeshield. But with it being forecast largely dry, wax was the better choice: lower friction, much lower component wear (including of that fancy gold chain) and much cleaner on the hands. I used Tru-Tension Tungsten All Weather Lube (stored in one of those wee Lateral Flow Test dropper bottles) which is about the most wash-off-resistant of the drip waxes. I have to say, this worked like a dream. A wipedown and re-wax would take all of one minute during a water stop and I’d wait till I could hear some chain noise before doing this. I found myself doing it either once or twice a day. The drivetrain was perfect all week and cassette, chainring and jockey wheels were still all barely dirty at the end.

Saddle and seatpost

At the rear end I went for an ISM PN 4.0 saddle: one of their lightest offerings. I’m lucky to have narrow ischial tuberosities (aka sit bones) which allows a narrow saddle: lighter and less in-the-way on descents. These ISM saddles are, for me, the best I’ve found. And they’re equally comfortable in sat-up MTB position or pelvis-tilted-forward TT position. This sat on a Bontrager Line Elite 13cm dropper post which is both comparatively light and worked flawlessly all week. A far cry from the likes of the Reverb.

Pedals

I ride flat pedals on MTB, largely so as to be able to use super light, super comfy, super grippy, super breathable hillrunning shoes that could have been designed for boggy Scottish hike a bike. It’s a lighter system than clipless too – substantially so when I’ve compared the combined weight of flat MTB pedals plus hillrunning shoes vs my gravel/road bike setup of SPDs, cleats and comparatively lightweight biking shoes. Flats are also good when you’re getting on and off the bike loads. And they’re less likely to break and become unsuable than the much more mechanically intricate system of clipless pedals and cleats. A good pair of flats (I used the lightweight HT Components AE03 Evo) are also super grippy, especially on sticky hillrunning rubber. The one downside is that the wee studs can dig into your shins during hike a bike manoeuvres. But my shins are so scarred anyway that I’m really not bothered.

Stem and handlebar

Moving forward, I flipped the stem and mounted it as high as possible on the steerer. My legs are comparatively long for my body, leading to a very high saddle height, so it’s always a challenge on MTB to get the bars high enough for long-ride comfort. This was aided by swapping the stock alloy flat bar for a 30mm riser One Up carbon bar that I think I trimmed to 70cm: better for getting through foliage as well as a tad lighter. Judging by some hand/wrist neuropathy at the end of the ride though, the bar could have been a tad higher still, so I aim to get a more up-angled stem for any future long rides. On the steeper/more technical descents, I felt the lack of a shorter stem too, so will bear that in mind when looking for the new one.

One thing that helped a lot was the Innerbarends. I’ve got these on all of my mountain bikes. They weigh nothing, cost not much more and have a number of benefits: substantially more aero, though said aero position isn’t sustainable comfortably for more than a couple of minutes; great for sitting even more upright than hands-on-grips allows; excellent for varying the position, reducing wear on the skin, joints and nerves; good for holding onto on climbs. (They’re also great as attachment points for bags, though I didn’t use them in that capacity for the HT.)

Tri bars, Garmin, grips

By some way the most controversial kit choice was tri bars. I was able to find some to fit the 35mm bar (Deda Parabolico Uno) at under 100 quid. Due to the bar having a fairly narrow central mounting area, I had to mount them pretty narrow, but that worked out fine and was good practice for road TT riding. An extra 300g or so. So why bother, on a route where my average speed was 7.7mph? Indeed, at 7.7mph, aerodynamics matter not one jot. However, if you’re riding that into a 20mph headwind – a light breeze by upland Scottish standards and therefore a common scenario – you’re now dealing with a relative windspeed well in excess of the amateur road riders who rightly obsess over the subject. Meanwhile, if you’re riding 15mph on the flat into the same headwind (also a common HT scenario) aerodynamics are now even more important than for the best professional time trial riders. Having ridden my HT setup MTB with pals on their carbon gravel bikes, I’d take my HT tri-barred MTB any time over the gravel bikes as a speed tool, unless the terrain was road-downhill or there was a reliable tailwind. I bodged an attachment for my Garmin Fenix 6X Pro watch (which served perfectly as bike computer, including excellent navigation with Talkytoaster’s UK map) between the tri bars which was a perfect location, pre-attaching it to an after-market charging mount.

Moreover, the aerodynamic setup was a psychological advantage, and psychological protection against the debilitating effects of a headwind, which I consider about the worst thing in cycling. Here, whenever I encountered a headwind, it made me feel better, not worse: now I had an advantage! I’m never going anywhere without those tri bars ever again.

Unfortunately the flat Ergon grips that work really well for many people give me neuropathy, which took probably a couple of months after last year’s Cairngorms Loop to fully resolve. I used Deity Supracush in Colorado and found them to be excellent, so went with a pair of those. See a bit further down for the verdict.

Mudguard, tyres, foam insert

Mudguard-wise, I kept the lightweight and effective Mudhugger FRX. Perfect. I took the rear mudguard off in favour of the Tailfin: see further down. This was actually a weight saving as the Tailfin is lighter than the rear Mudhugger, even without the cable ties.

I find tyre choice fascinating as there are so many variables which feed into it and so many ways of answering the same question. For Colorado, I’d been very happy with Maxxis Aspen rear and Maxxis Forekaster front. However, this ain’t Colorado and there’s a lot more mud in Scotland, for starters, even in one of the driest editions of the HT. After further geeking out on bicyclerollingresistance.com I decided to try the Schwalbe Racing Ralph instead at the rear. Essentially I picked the fastest rolling MTB tyre that had a decent amount of tread depth for mud. Its lugs are substantially deeper than the Aspen’s and it actually rolls faster. That is some voodoo shit right there. I went with the tougher compound. January’s horribly muddy Strathpuffer was the perfect test. I had a DHR II on hand on the 30mm wheel in case I needed it, but I didn’t. It was in. On spring hardtail rides though, I found the 2.25″ didn’t provide as much cushioning as I’d like, especially for a very long ride, so I managed to get the 2.35″. For the front, I also went with a very low friction Schwalbe offering: the Rocket Ron, again in the 2.35″ width, though the lighter weight casing. Both performed pretty much flawlessly in the context of my reasonably circumspect HT riding style and, once I started experimenting with skidding it, I found the Racing Ralph to be reasonably satisfactorily progressive. Meanwhile, the decent knobs on the Rocket Ron can handle some mud, inspire cornering confidence and they didn’t let me down. Starting pressures 25psi rear, 20 front. I didn’t find myself needing to adjust either, though wetter conditions would have changed that.

The final piece of the jigsaw was the Panzer Evo XC rear tyre foam insert, against my intermittent finesse with the water bars that are prolific on the HT. I punctured twice on the full sus the first time I rode the Devil’s Staircase descent without one – admittedly very enthusiastically. With the insert though (and 25psi at the rear on the first day too, just in case) I had no need of concern. Ultimate proof came in that ding on the final descent. Not even a puncture. Remarkable. Almost tempted to stick one in the front next time too, but I won’t as I’ve only once had a front tyre puncture on any MTB and that really was just lack of concentration.

Bike setup verdict

What about the overall verdict on the bike? Fantastic on climbs. As good as one could wish at hike a bike. Great on the flats, whether track or road. And those tyres roll! Really fun on semi-technical descents and semi-technical climbing. Somewhat underbiked on the more technical descents, especially when steeper, given the relatively steep head angle and XC stem, but those make up a very small proportion of the route. I find more technical climbing a tad easier and quicker on full sus, so the Procaliber might have lost some time there to the Oiz, but overall it’s definitely the faster of the two for me on the HT route. But there’s a but. Or a butt. On a long ride, a hardtail is only as good as yours is and, it seems, mine isn’t – in spite of frequent applications of Body Glide and chamois cream. Just too bumpy for too long and with each bump there is… friction. I didn’t have these problems touring Montanas Vacias on a similar setup, but that is more of a gravel route (albeit a rough one in parts) and we were only in the saddle for perhaps 8-10 hours each day. Next year, I’ll be taking the Oiz, and I’ve already swapped over the lightweight pedals, saddle, wheels and front mudguard. Riser carbon bar in the post!

The other thing that was problematic was a neuropathy of my left hand which gradually developed. I reckon it’s the dorsal motor branch of the ulnar nerve, due to compression within the bones of the hand/wrist. I’ve addressed this since by consciously changing my grip somewhat and also by wrapping some bar tape around the grips to make them bigger and softer. Thankfully, the neuropathy is already well on its way to resolution.

Luggage and race vest

Restrap Race top tube bag. I bought this a few years ago as it looked like about the biggest top tube bag on the market. In that regard, it is indeed very good, though could be even better as it’s quite narrow. But I’ve since become a convert to this remarkably aerodynamic shape. Indeed wind tunnel analysis shows that such a bag makes a bike more, not less aerodynamic, and this has become by a long way my most-used piece of bike luggage, being on all bikes on all rides other than for the very shortest of forays from the front door. Given the thousands of miles’ use it’s had, it’s holding up very well indeed. On the HT, this held quick-access items such as the in-use battery pack, charging cables, alcohol hand gel, midge net, some of the bike tools, lube and rag in a wee packet, ibuprofen/paracetamol and toilet paper.

Custom made Alpkit Stingray full frame bag. Alpkit offer a fantastic service with these and I’ll shortly be buying my third one, this time for my gravel bike. Two compartments, horizontally divided, is perfect. The bottom held less-used and heavier items, principally spares/tools for the bike and a cut-down first aid kit, plus the electronics dry bag. The upper compartment held nothing but food, with the bottom compartment serving as overflow capacity.

Most non-race bikepacking setups also have a front roll and a seatpost bag. Mine had neither. I’d bought a fantastic (and fantastically light and robust) front roll harness from Straight Cut, but subsequent digging around on the internet showed the horrifying aero costs of a front roll. Plus I know from hard experience that weight on the front of the bike is bad bad bad for steep, rocky hike a bikes. On the other hand though, I didn’t want to risk a comparatively big and heavy seatpost bag on my dropper post (and, with it, lose a few cm of said dropper, though that was much less of a consideration). Cue the Tailfin: essentially a space age reincarnation of the pannier rack which we thought bikepacking had consigned to oblivion. The key difference though is that this isn’t designed for panniers – the least aerodynamic things known to cycling – but for a bag to sit on top of it. Tailfin sell a nice one that plays well with the device, but I preferred a simple, cheaper, lighter dry bag attached to the Tailfin with some straps. (Come to think of it, I’ll go with long Voile straps next time for marginal time savings.) The Tailfin design is very elegant, extremely light, and interfaces well with just about any bike thanks to their custom axle. And it survived that last-descent ding with aplomb, in spite of being fully loaded at the time. I am a total convert – as, evidently, were many of the other HT riders this year. I would be amazed if we don’t see even more next year.

(Incidentally, Tailfin do a version that’s just slightly heavier which does allow panniers and/or water bottles to be attached to the sides, for those using it to move house.)

By bikepacking standards, this is still a fairly minimal setup. This is facilitated by wearing a race vest: more and more common, it seems. These are generally designed for ultra running and are therefore great at not bouncing around. They’re also great at not covering much of your back and being made of breathable materials so that you don’t end up with an enormous wet patch. Mine is the Nathan Pinnacle 12L. I bought it before the Colorado Trail and loved it. It has a 1.6L water bladder and drinking hose which is superb. Front pockets held the current allocation of snacks as well as empty wrappers, phone, cards, cash and key. Its main body pockets were where I kept almost all my clothing. Breathable materials do mean they ain’t waterproof, so in all-but-dry conditions I keep one or two items in a dry bag. In my experience though, almost no rucksack is waterproof anyway.

I am 100% using exactly the same system next time, with the substitution of those Voile straps.

Electronics

See above re Fenix 6X navigation. Garmin inReach for tracking, borrowed from a friend and cable tied to the stem. Flawless. No need for mid-race recharge with 20 minute tracking intervals, on the extended tracking mode which turns the device off in between transmissions. These devices have an SOS function which transmits a distress signal directly to the satellite network, so I didn’t take my usual single-use GPS beacon.

2 x Exposure Joystick lights. I’d previously bought an Exposure Toro to use as bar light, alongside a single Joystick, but two Joysticks was better. I got the adaptor which allows a Joystick to be attached to the bar mount (in turn mounted directly to the stem with Exposure’s adaptor) which meant I could ride double-lit for technical sections. Meanwhile, whichever Joystick wasn’t on my helmet could be getting charged easily on the bar mount, including while operational. And having two meant redundancy in case of one breaking/being dropped/failing. Speaking of which, I’m not the only one to have found Exposure’s after-sales care to be excellent. Sometimes you do get what you pay for.

Aeropex Aftershokz Bluetooth bone conduction headphones. They ain’t cheap but they’re sweat-and-water-proof, allow you to hear passing traffic and birdsong and sound really not bad. I put my playlist on the Garmin so I could leave the phone on flight mode: I didn’t intend charging it over the course of the race.

Rear light from Amazon. A great wee thing that I’ve used on every single bike ride in the past couple of years. About the Tailfin’s only weakness is the lack of rear light attachment point so I bodged an attachment to the dry bag which lasted all of about 48 hours on the HT. Need a better solution next time, whether mounting to helmet or a wee one that is apparently intermittently available in Lidl/Aldi and which can attach to the Tailfin.

Three battery packs: 1 x 20,00mAh, 1 x 10,000mAh, 1 x 5,000mAh.

Other than the rear light issue, wouldn’t change a thing.

Sleep system and rear dry bag contents

In a multi day event where the clock doesn’t stop, sleep strategy is one of the most critical as well as one of the most individually variable components of success or failure – especially for an utter rookie such as me. My strong instinct was that a couple of extra hundred grams of sleep kit would far more than pay their way if they facilitated better sleep during the limited hours I would go for. I’m convinced that, in my case, my instinct was right. Moreover, it was a system I’d slept perhaps 30 unproblematic nights on.

Cumulus X-Lite 200 sleeping bag. Even with post-Brexit import taxes added, this bag still represents phenomenal value for money: a bag that weighs 350g and that I’ve slept well in down almost to freezing point. Its one drawback is that the down isn’t hydrophobically treated and its super lightweight outer and inner aren’t either. But that wasn’t relevant on this year’s super dry HT.

Thermarest NeoAir UberLite regular sleeping mat. Is this the lightest full length insulated sleeping mat? Yeah, probably. And from a company with excellent after-sales care. (Mine was previously replaced promptly for free when it developed an ultra-slow leak.) Very comfortable.

Exped inflatable pillow, string-looped to the mat so it doesn’t wander. Super light. Super cosy.

Outdoor Research Helium Bivy. There’s a reason so many people have one of these. They’re awesome. Not the lightest bivvy in the world – though at the lighter end – but it’s hooped, which majorly improves breathability and therefore reduces condensation – and thereby the weight of your sleeping bag the following day(s). It’s reasonably hard wearing which means you can deploy it with confidence on most surfaces. And it has an excellent midge net.

Ear plugs and eye mask. I used ear plugs most nights so as not to be woken by passing riders or cars. I’d have used the eye mask if I’d used a bothy, for the same reason.

While I’d change the length of some of my sleeps, I wouldn’t change anything about the setup.

In terms of the rest of the contents of the dry bag, it was overnight stuff: a few wet wipes in a wee bag for cleaning feet; TEDS stockings for feet (to reduce peripheral oedema/cankles and thereby both body weight and the chances of foot complications), spare super light hillrunning socks for each day; dirty clothes; mini toothbrush and mini toothpaste; bungee washing line in case the weather crapped out and I ended up needing to dry stuff in a bothy/on the bike; pee bag (so as to be able to pee without needing to get up; total gamechanger); single spare jersey, so I could have a dry one to put on just before bed if I was sweaty; spare head band; repair kit for blow-up mat/pillow.

Clothing

Final choice was highly influenced by the likely range of weather scenarios as per the most up to date forecast. The following list would have looked rather different even in average conditions.

Going from head to toe….

• S-Works Evade aero helmet. Designed and bought for road riding, but see comments above re aerodynamics. I’d have swapped this for my lightweight XC Scott one in the event of significant rain in the forecast as the latter has a wee visor. Or I might have gone S-Works and taken a cycling cap. Decisions decisions!
• Buff sweat band. I always wear one of these under my helmet when cycling, probably necessary due to my thin eyebrows.
• Photochromic sports sunglasses, whose lens varies between clear and cat 1. Perfect for Scottish riding, night or day. I treated the inner with an anti-fog spray the day before the race just in case the weather turned out worse than predicted.
• Lightweight but sun-proof cycling jersey
• GripGrab full finger touchscreen-compatible gloves
• Endura below-knee padded shorts. Much better than bibs, given ease of access for bum cream application/toileting
• Rule 28 aero calf guards. Partly for aero gains, partly to reduce area for sun lotion coverage, partly to reduce lower limb oedema
• Lightweight hillrunning socks
• La Sportiva Mutants. A shoe designed for Alpine mountain running that turns out to be perfect for boggy Scottish hike a bike

Wouldn’t change a thing.

In terms of spare/extra clothes:

• Rab MeCo beanie hat. Great wee thing which I always wore in bed and sometimes wore under the helmet. Probably my most worn piece of outdoor gear ever
• Castelli Nano Flex sleeves
• Rapha Brevet Gilet. Super light, costing almost one quid per gram. Eech. Then again, it is pink
• Mountain Equipment Switch Vest. Light, highly breathable thin gilet that provides a bit of extra warmth while allowing you to sweat
• Super light Altura Rocket jacket, sized small for aero gainz. Notwithstanding its lack of pockets, this is an amazing (and cheap; yes, cheap) piece of kit that I searched long and hard for. Knowing how good Pertex Quantum is for wind resistance and breathability, I managed to find one I could wear on a bike. It’s also about the most reflective object in the known universe. I’ve just ordered a medium one for an event in the autumn, sized to go over a down gilet
• Eye wateringly expensive but commensurately light, breathable, waterproof and aero Gore Tex Shakedry jacket. More like two quid per gram
• Gore Tex Windstopper lightweight oversocks, if needing a bit of extra foot warmth. I did use these on the second day. They’re super light too.

Again, with the same forecast, wouldn’t change a thing. Having clean feet and a fresh pair of socks each evening was a welcome wee luxury.

Spares and repairs

• Topeak Hexus X multitool, whose 8mm hex attachment saved my HT on the first day when the right crank bolt worked loose. (One I’d not tightened myself; note to self for next time.)
• Tiny Gerber multi tool including mini pliers (great for suturing a tyre wall, a bikepacking bag or a human) bottle opener and little knife. Cheap as chips, if not as tasty
• Dynaplug quick tubeless repair kit. Awesome wee thing, if pricey
• Pump, with various widths of duct tape and Gorilla tape wrapped around it. As they say in medical school, if you can’t fix it with duct tape, you haven’t used enough
• (All these lived in the top tube bag for ready access)
• Dynaplug spares
• 2 x Tubolito inner tubes
• Tubolito puncture repair kit
• Old-skool tubeless repair kit with a variety of plugs and sewing kit
• Superglue mini
• Spare tubeless solution with hose
• Spare valve core
• 3 x 12 speed missing links
• 2 12 speed chain links
• Spare derailleur hanger
• Spare brake pads: full front and back set
• Spare gear cable
• Variety of zip ties
• CO2 cannister x2 (as backup for pump) + adapter
• Mini shock pump – on the basis that if you have one, you won’t need it
• 1 x tyre boot
• Jubilee clip and some inner tube in case of dropper failure. Lighter and more compact than a Wolftooth Valais for the same purpose. (The Valais is awesome though if you want to run a seatpost bag. Just don’t overtorque that bolt!)
• I suppose I really should carry some spare bolts, spare rear derailleur bits and possibly a singlespeed-conversion kit but, until it happens and I regret not doing so forevermore, I can’t be bothered. Meanwhile, I try to ensure that I’ve tightened all the bolts on the bike myself, using Loctite where possible.

Other bits and bobs, carried in accessible places

• Factor 15 P20 sun lotion in wee bottle. This stuff stinks but is very sweat resistant
• Midge repellent (a non-Smidge yet picaridin-containing one that doesn’t smell as bad but still repels ticks as well as midges). Again in small container and reduced quantity
• Sun cream stick for lips
• No spare Garmin. Nav backup was combo of phone maps and my brain. Tracking backup was the inReach. I did carry a spare Garmin charging cable in case the bar mounted one failed. The mapping on the Fenix 6X is superb.
• Caffeine tabs
• Titanium spork for eating yoghurt, Chinese takeaways or anything else I took a fancy to
• Plastic bag for shopping
• Very lightweight, almost cosmetic, bike lock. I grew up in London, after all. I didn’t actually feel the need to use it at any point but was glad to have it just in case

First aid kit

I’m a doctor and have worked in pre-hospital medicine, so my hill first aid kit is usually substantially more extensive than this, but the HT is a race and I’m not the event medic.

• Ibruprofen and paracetamol separately for ready access
• Stronger painkillers
• Chlorphenamine (antihistamine)
• Buccastem (antiemetic)
• Loperamide (anti-diarrhoea)
• Gauze for cleaning wounds
• Plasters and dressings to cover common eventualities
• Tick tweezers
• Steristrips for closing wounds. Superglue (in bike repair kit) potentially handy in that regard too
• Sterile sutures, both thick and thin gauge
• I normally carry a long self-adhesive bandage that’s awesome for fixing just about anything, but duct tape works just as well

And that’s about it! Feel free to ask any questions or post any comments below.