BRAN Gravel: Gear Choice - Part 2

A couple of days ago I posted some gear choices for the Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska's gravel route. BRAN gravel  will require a lot of thinking about your gear and choosing correctly will make your week go a lot better. Hopefully these suggestions will help you find the right choices for you. (And you can apply this to any tour, long gravel ride, or ultra-distance event.)

I don't have a lot more to cover in this article, but there is one detail which can enhance your ride a great deal. Many riders don't think about this in regard to their drop handlebar set up. What is it?

Handle bar tape. 

I was a retail bicycle mechanic for over thirty years, and I have seen how much handle bar tape is ignored. This is kind of puzzling because it is not only an important contact point between yourself and your bicycle, but handlebar tape is relatively cheap, as bicycle parts go. Having your handle bars re-wrapped with fresh tape will enhance your experience and make you feel better about your bicycle. 

New handlebar tape will make you feel bold! Like elephant! (JK!)

In today's marketplace you can find lots of choices in handlebar tape, and it can be confusing. Many folks simply choose their favorite color and go with whatever the tape may be. This is a big mistake most of the time. Color matters, yes, but comfort matters more. 

Who cares what color your bar tape is if your hands are miserable. So, I would suggest looking at handlebar tapes with some level of technology built in. My 'go-to' tape is made by a company called Ergon. Note: I have no affiliation with Ergon, nor do I receive any compensation from Ergon for suggesting their products. I just really believe in their bar tapes and believe they are the best on the market for hand comfort, longevity, and grip. 

Ergon makes a handle bar tape called the BT Gravel Tape, and while it is not cheap, it does really well at reducing vibrations, it has a great grip, and it lasts and lasts. But recently Ergon has offered a new tape called BT OrthoCell. It's a bit less thick and feels more racy, if that is what you like. However; the material it is made from is a special foam developed by BASF to absorb vibrations, and it does this quite well. Plus it comes in a basic black, which most folks are okay with.

 At any rate, try the Ergon stuff, I highly recommend it. But definitely get new handlebar tape if you haven't done so this year. 

Consider a TPU tube as your spare. They weigh a lot less!

Tools & Spares:

Lastly I wanted to hit on tools and spares for your gravel traveling. As mentioned by the BRAN folks in our podcasts, there is a good chance those little stickers called goat heads will be found in Western Nebraska. A tubeless set up is recommended to help you get by without puncturing a lot of tubes. However, in a worst case scenario, tubeless can fail you, and then what? 

Well, you need a bail-out tube. I would suggest a TPU tube as your backup. TPU tubes are smaller rolled up than a traditional butyl tube, but more importantly, they weigh a LOT less. This makes them an easy choice for a back-up tube. 

Those mini-pumps are getting better all the time, but you also may want to look into the mini-air compressor type, electric pumps which are small and quite easy to use now. Just make sure you have an inflation device! I should also mention there are tubeless plugs out there which can help seal up bigger tears, cuts, and holes sometimes. A good tool to check out is a Stan's DART tool. These are easy to use and not very expensive.  

As far as basic tools and a way to carry this stuff, check out my gravel based tool kit review I wrote in 2018 HERE. This was written to aid riders looking at a really long gravel ride and with the aim to be self-sufficient. 

Nutrition: 

Usually it is a wise thing to carry some food and to make sure you are hydrated while riding for over an hour on any bicycle ride. Food choices run all over the place from powders which you can mix into your water to convenience food fare. I tend to be a person to avoid sugary stuff and I go with protein and fatty items like pemmican bars or a similar type meat product. I also have used Justin's almond butter packs as well. Although those are hard to get down without some water! 

Hydration is obviously important and I use a product called Elete which keeps cramps away for myself. I know some folks like pickle juice or other hydration products. But definitely consider hydration additives to keep the cramps at bay.  

The good news is that BRAN has a few points of interest along the route each day where one could stop to eat and resupply. So carrying a ton of stuff may not be necessary.  If you are registered for BRAN you can get access to Ride With GPS's event listing for BRAN which has all the daily routes and those points of interest I mentioned are marked there. It's a great way to plan ahead for your hydration and nutritional needs and to see what you'll be doing for mileage and whatnot. 

Okay, that's about it for gear talk! Now it is time to pack it all away and get ready to go! I'll have daily updates from the route here on the blog starting June 6th and running through the 13th.