great divide mountain bike tour

[gregsmiley]

To whomever has ridden all or part of the great divide mountain tour,

I have never ridden a mountain tour before but am interested in riding this one. I have a 1980's Specialized Rockhopper mountain bike that has a rigid steel frame and fork. I would like to know if it is feasible to  ride this tour without any suspension. I understand that the ride will be quite a bit rougher than if I did it with a front suspension fork. However, I am interested in the least amount of maintenance and think that by avoiding the use of suspension, I can circumvent a potential problem. I am open to any and all comments.  Thank you

[MikeL]

You can do it.  It's not a ton of technical riding, in fact hardly any.  Just make sure you have good gloves and grips and stuff because your hands will take a beating.  Suspension for that ride is more about saving your hands than anything IMO.


-Mike

[ironspoke]

That tour looks amazing. I believe there were several people who did it this past year on unsuspended rigs, a few single speeds and one guy who attempted it on a fixie.

I would be more concerned your 20 year old bike is up to the rigors of that ride. I mean when you're out there on that ride you are OUT there.

Dont get me wrong, your Rockhopper probably has original parts draped on it that are way sturdier than a lot of stuff being sold today. Top mount shifters are the way to go. I would just make sure the bike is thoroughly checked over by a certified wrench before you start out.



This message was edited by ironspoke on 11-19-07 @ 7:09 PM