Biking Divide Needs Proper Equipment

Sun., Oct. 19, 1997

Q. Reading your articles on GPS units and backpacks I would like your input on both for a two-week mountain bike trip I am planning with my brother in Montana. We are going to ride the Great Divide trail south from the Canadian border to as far as we can get in two weeks. We both have Trek Y-22’s and will need to carry a substantial amount of gear. While we do not plan on spending every night in a tent, we are going to do our share of stargazing during the trip. How do I carry all the gear that we will be needing? What size backpack and saddle bags do you recommend? I am considering taking a GPS unit along to plot our progress against the USGS and Forest Service maps. Can you recommend a lightweight and accurate unit for me? Finally, is there a bike computer with a decent altimeter on it or am I dreaming? Greg Klug

Gear Guy: Hey, how come people are planning all these great trips and I’m sitting at a keyboard? Doesn’t seem fair!

The bike luggage you need depends on your bike. If it’s fully suspended, then regular panniers aren’t going to work. You’re best bet then will be a B.O.B. trailer ($225). This is an ingenious single-wheel trailer that can handle single-tracks and will not interfere with your bikes suspension. You can manage 40 pounds fairly easily in a B.O.B., which should be plenty to get you through your trip.

If you’re riding a hard-tail, then a traditional luggage rack and panniers will work as well. Blackburn’s Mountain Rack ($39) is a good choice for a luggage rack. Mount on it a pair of Performance HP rear panniers ($80), which have a combined capacity of 2200 cubic inches. If that’s not enough, and you don’t have front shocks, add a front rack and a pair of HP compact panniers ($70). Even at that, I might still lean toward the B.O.B. as it gets all that weight off the frame and gives you tremendous carrying capacity.

For a GPS unit, one handy model is Garmins GPS II ($250). It’s designed to be mountable to a handlebar, and has good performance. One problem with current GPS however, is that they’re notoriously inaccurate at elevation readings. Cateyes AT-100 ($90) is a cycle computer that includes altimeter functions. My preference, though, would be for a non-altimeter cycle computer supplemented with Avocets Vertech Alpine watch ($150). The Vertech is more accurate and has many more features than the AT-100.

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