What Bike for NoVa Epic?

[Dirt]

That’s a tough choice. How fat can you go with tires on the Volagi? Have you ridden it on mellow mountain bike trails before? Riding trails on drop bars takes some getting used to. There are some rocky sections at both Accotink and Lake Fairfax that will make you want fat tires…. If you can put 29×1.9″ tires on the Volagi, it would work.

That said, I’ve ridden virtually all of the trails included in the NoVa Epic on a track bike with drop bars and 28mm road tires. It wasn’t pleasant for some of it.

I’d say take the Volagi if you can put fatter tires on it and get a chance to practice on trails a little before hand.

If you can’t go with wider tires or don’t have a chance to go out to practice, then the Ogre is your best bet.

[dcv]

Cyndi, based on what I’ve seen on your mtb posts I think you’re up to the challenge on the Volagi. Pete – 1.9″ = 48mm?
I think I’ll join you on my CX bike with 35mm tires, will try to convince my family to join too. Thanks for posting this.
V

[KayakCyndi]

The Volagi it is then, especially is dcv will join me on his CX bike!

The biggest knobbies I think I can fit are 40mm. I’ll put them on there this week and try to find some trails over memorial day weekend. I’ve ridden the C&O a bunch with just my regular 32s and the Viaje always handles that without issue.

dcv — pm me to coordinate. I’m away Thurs-Sat pm prior but will be ready to go on Sunday.

[txgoonie]

What I recall from our reverse NoVa Epic was that DaveK was regretting his choice of the cross bike on the gnarly stuff and jabber was regretting his choice of the FS on the flats. So it sorta depends on what kind of experience you want to have. Do you wanna pick slowly through the technical stuff and hammer the flats, or do you want a comfort ride? There was more singletrack on the route than I was expecting, so I was super happy with the hardtail 29er. That’s what I’ll be riding again.

[jabberwocky]

I’d go with the Ogre, personally, but thats because I hate riding drop bars off road. The 40 mile is going to be mostly gravel or pavement for the first 22 miles, and once you get past Oak Marr park its mostly singletrack until the end (aside from some short sections on the W&OD and various Reston trails). I’ve ridden everything from Wakefield north on both the MTB and the CX bike; basically the MTB is awesome on the singletrack parts and miserable on the road and gravel, and the CX is awesome on the road and gravel and miserable on the singletrack.

I’m already signed up for the 65; I’ll be riding my Ibis Mojo, but its an easier choice for me because the 65 is a lot more fun singletrack.

[mstone]

@KayakCyndi 52853 wrote:

The biggest knobbies I think I can fit are 40mm. I’ll put them on there this week and try to find some trails over memorial day weekend. I’ve ridden the C&O a bunch with just my regular 32s and the Viaje always handles that without issue.

Some parts of the CCT are very much like the C&O. Some are very much rougher (steeper, rockier, roots/logs, submerged crossings). Not to say that your ride won’t work, but just be aware that C&O isn’t necessarily a good benchmark. (I also haven’t looked at the ride map, so I don’t know if it’s on those parts.)

[jabberwocky]

Err, yeah, C&O isn’t a good benchmark. A good portion of the route is like it, certainly, but the northern 18ish miles is almost entirely singletrack. It isn’t super technical singletrack, but it isn’t easy either. If you’ve ridden the trails at Accotink, that gives you an idea of what to expect.

[ShawnoftheDread]

For what it’s worth, I’ve ridden all but the Colvin Run section on a hybrid with 35 mm road tires and had no issues, even in the Oak Marr to Tamarack Park section and with my lack of skill.

[KayakCyndi]

@jabberwocky 52858 wrote:

If you’ve ridden the trails at Accotink, that gives you an idea of what to expect.

I’ll hit that this weekend on the Viaje and see how it goes. Stay tuned for pictures and a summary.

Based on feedback I’ll register for Epic now and just make which bike to ride a game day decision. Options are good!

[eminva]

Cyndi, if you want to know the worst of what you’ll be facing, just take the bike out on the section of the CCT between Oakmarr and the W&OD. Any part of it would be representative, so just ride for as long as your schedule allows.

The rest of the trail: the Viaje would be fine if not preferable.

I’ll be interested to hear your feedback.

Would love to do this, but it is my husband’s birthday (and the day after Tour de Fat), and my husband can’t ride as much as he wants these days so I can’t very well go off on an adventure without him on his birthday . . .

Liz

[hozn]

I will throw in a vote for the Viaje. (As I’m sure everyone knows) I love riding the northern parts of the CCT and Lake Fairfax on a CX bike (usually with GuyContintental.) I am using Kenda 32mm tires and run tubeless at ~45psi (and these are working out much better than the paper-thin 34mm Hutchinson Piranhas I used to use). I ride it a lot, so I tend to be very familiar with the trails / know when to slow down / etc.; the flats (and dented rims) I’ve gotten are when I pretend I’m riding a mountain bike and plow down a hill and bottom out against rocks. Riding with care is obviously important on these smaller-volume tires. I can get through the park faster on a mountain bike, but not by much. I find log hops to be the thing that really slows me down with drop bars / the more aggressive position vs. mtb, but otherwise I have no issues. I like the line-picking challenge that the ‘cross bike adds to the experience. Given that I understand much of the lower part of the CCT to be very non-technical, I would definitely vote for a CX bike even if it meant picking your way down a couple of hills in the north.

[DaveK]

@txgoonie 52854 wrote:

What I recall from our reverse NoVa Epic was that DaveK was regretting his choice of the cross bike on the gnarly stuff and jabber was regretting his choice of the FS on the flats. So it sorta depends on what kind of experience you want to have. Do you wanna pick slowly through the technical stuff and hammer the flats, or do you want a comfort ride? There was more singletrack on the route than I was expecting, so I was super happy with the hardtail 29er. That’s what I’ll be riding again.

Exactly. The northern part of the CCT just south of the WOD (I know it has a name but outside the beltway = on the moon to me) was sketchy for me with drop bars as I’m not a great bike handler off road. Looking at the course for the 65-miler, Laurel Hill is doable on a cross bike so that gets one out of the way. Lots of nice pack gravel miles after that, Wakefield and Accotink are pushing it on a CX bike for me. Then lots more easy CCT miles, but the last straw is that same section of the CCT between 66 and the WOD. If I do the NoVa epic I’ll also be on a hardtail 29er.

[dcv]

Easy choice for me, I don’t have a mtb and I’m not too proud to walk.
I agree with eminva, the CCT north of Oak Marr is the biggest pain in the butt. I mean fun.

I just looked at the routes, it’s not a loop so do people just go back the way you came? 40 mile route = 80 mile ride?

[jabberwocky]

@dcv 52891 wrote:

I just looked at the routes, it’s not a loop so do people just go back the way you came? 40 mile route = 80 mile ride?

Its point to point. You start at Laurel Hill in the morning and ride to Lake Fairfax. The only difference between the 40 and 65 is the 40 goes straight there via the CCT, and the 65 rides a lot of the singletrack at the parks along the way (Laurel Hill, Accotink, Wakefield and Lake Fairfax).

[KayakCyndi]

@dcv 52891 wrote:

I just looked at the routes, it’s not a loop so do people just go back the way you came? 40 mile route = 80 mile ride?

They are arranging shuttles. You can see details on the registration page and how to pay for a shuttle. My plan was to drive to Lake Fairfax and park there. Then pay for the one way shuttle for me and the bike to Laurel Hill. Other option, if anyone is up for riding with me, is to work out our own shuttle.

[Author]

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