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The route is constantly being refined, campsites, hotels and other overnight stops are planned. But that's all beside the point, because the most important piece of equipment on a bikepacking tour is probably the bike and the right riding position. Find out more in this article.
Coming soon: Germany Trail Gravel Edition
>> The packing list for the bikepacking tour (coming soon)
The bike: Rocky Mountain Solo C50
Rocky Mountain is still relatively new in the gravel sector, but the Canadian bike brand has been developing mountain bikes since 1981. The first Solo, as Rocky Mountain's gravel bike is called, saw the light of day in 2021. A lot has happened since then. Rocky Mountain started 2021 with an aluminium model, but now there are also carbon versions, such as the Solo C50, which is also the adventure vehicle for the German trail.
Are summer tyres the right choice?
The Rocky Mountain Solo offers space for tyres up to 50 millimetres wide, which means 2.0". For the Germany Trail Gravel Edition, 45 millimetre wide Maxxis Reaver tyres were fitted, a fast all-rounder. The Reaver gravel tyres are ideal for dry conditions - let's see if that was a good choice for this year's rainy summer. Maxxis provides an overview of the gravel tyre range.
Weight tuning: wheels from Lilienthal
The Solo was originally equipped with an aluminium wheelset from WTB. Lilienthal has put together a wheelset as a partner of Deutschland-Trail. The small company from Braunschweig offers wheels for the off-road sector, the rims are made in Germany and the wheels are of course also assembled here. The wheels can be customised. For the upcoming gravel adventure, the rim of choice is of course the Lilienthal gravel rim: Lilienthal GX. The inner rim dimension is 25 millimetres and is 35 millimetres high. Wide rim flanges are designed to protect against snakebites. A special feature is the high maximum system weight of 140 kilos, often the limit is 110 kilos. If you want, you can also have the rims colour-matched and combine them with colourful spokes, nipples and/or hubs. This makes the wheelset truly unique. I opted for Pirope spokes and left the choice of colour to the wheel builders. The result is a mix of black and gold textile spokes.
The result is impressive - not only visually, but also on the scales. The front wheel is over 500 grams lighter than its predecessor. The new wheelset, which is available for just under 2500 euros, is therefore around one kilo lighter. More information on the Lilienthal Gravel wheels can be found at lilienthal.bike.
Translation: Lighter = better?!
The gravel bike comes with a 42 chainring and an 11-44 cassette. This means that the lightest gear ratio is 42:44, which results in a gear ratio of 0.95. For some gravel bikers, this may be a suitable ratio. Not for me, especially when I'm travelling with luggage and want to climb mountains. Without further ado, I installed a 38 chainring.
A good fit: Gravel saddle, gravel handlebars and gravel bar tape
With SQlab, we were able to gain ergonomics specialists as partners for the Germany Trail. Just four weeks before the start of the Deutschland Trail, Sandra went to Uli Plaumann from SQlab for a bike fitting. Not only was the bike adjusted, but a few parts were also changed. Instead of the 42 centimetre wide handlebars, she got a 40 centimetre wide Gravellen handlebar from SQlab, which offers an extra portion of comfort. The 614 handlebars - you have to juggle with numbers at SQlab - are based on the ergonomic concepts of the front sweep, angular grip surface and maximised contact surface of the 312R. The 25 millimetre rise leads to a slightly more upright riding position and therefore a more relaxed riding position, which is particularly advantageous on long distances. 14 degrees of flare, i.e. drops set outwards, provide more control.
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
