Bikes Of The Southern Divide - Spring Edition 2023

Rob Mercer

Name: Rob Mercer

Age: 59

Cap number: 29

Location: Cornwall

Bike: Titus Silkroad

Key items of kit: 2.1 inch 29r tyres, Exposure lights and heavy but cosy-ish Gore-Tex bivvy bag

Budgie

Name: Budgie

Age: 53

Cap number: 24

Location: Prinsted, West Sussex

Bike: Orbea Alma hardtail for this trip as super comfy so can ride longer (thats the aspiration anyways). Mix of XTR and XT with 34 x 11-51 and bunch of shiny upgrades for both comfort and weigh saving.

Key items of kit: Ortlieb Bar bag with bivy, sleeping bag and inflatable mattress. 3x Tailfin cage packs, one with tools under the downtube and x2 on suspension forks with heavy duty waterproofs (I am not too sure if I am keeping the fork bags on as may be wearing the waterproofs.....) Apidura Seat Pack, the medium one with the angled section where it fits to the seat post and doesn't move around too much and will fit clothes and food. Also wearing a OMM race pack with grab items such as foods and quick waterproofs. Garmin 1030 for routing and Garmin Fenix 6x Pro watch for backup but will also track my HR. Lights are Exposure, both bike and helmet front and also Blaze on the rear.

Adrian Uttley

Name: Adrian Uttley

Age: 59

Cap number: 43

Location: Banstead, UK

Bike: I'll be riding my new Sonder Broken Road Ti. XT 12 speed with 28T up front and 10-51 out back. I swapped out the stock bars for some SQlabs 30x 16 degree carbon bars and added some Ergon grips & Spirgrips inner bar ends. Rolling on newly built carbon wheels with a SON Dynamo in front and DTSwiss 240 in the back. 2.25 Vittoria Mezcals running tubeless. Suspension seatpost, and my preferred saddle (Selle Anatomica)

Key items of kit: Bags are a mixture of Tailfin, Straight Cut Design (custom frame bag), Restrap, Revelate, and Apidura. I'm running a K-Lite lighting system with USB charging, plus a mixture of rechargeable lights in the front and rear. I've added a runners light to the Tailfin which works off motion (no batteries), I'm not sure how well this will work on the road but seems like a cool idea. I'll be navigating with my trusty eTrex32 with phone as a backup (quad lock mount on bars). I'll be "sleeping" in a Nordisk Lofoten ULW, which I plan to use as an outer tent & footprint only. Luxury item: Battery mat pump.

Toby Waters

Name: Toby Waters

Age: 36

Cap number: 44

Location: Chepstow

Bike: Ribble CGR SL 38t chainring with 11-50 cassette GRX di2 groupset Zipp 303 firecrest wheels with schwalbe g one RS 40c tyres

Key items of kit: Tailfin rear pack with tent/sleeping gear Wizard works bags with food and mechanical stuff Restrap aero bar bag with clothes in.

George Knuff

Name: George knuff

Age: 35

Cap number: 26

Location: London, England

Bike: Orro Terra C - GRX 800, 1x 40t and 11-42 cassette. Hunt wheels paired with Pathfinder S-works 700x42.

Key items of kit: Apidura frame, top tube and saddle bags; Exposure front and rear lights; Garmin varia radar & light and wahoo elemnt bolt.

Laura Govers

Name: Laura Govers

Age: 37

Location: Groningen, NL

Bike: Kona Sutra Ltd with tubeless Maxxis IKON EXO TR 29” tires

Key items of kit: A mix of Ortlieb and Apidura bags filled with my sleeping kit (Hubba hubba NX2, thermarest neolite, sea to summit spark III), stove and plenty of food and snacks - essentials!, spare parts, extra clothes and down jacket, rain gear and anything else you might need. I’ll probably overpack - I appreciate traveling light but hate to be cold or hangry :)

Nicky Shaw

Name: Nicky Shaw

Age: 32

Cap number: 11

Location: Harrogate

Bike: Trek Procaliber 9.6

Key items of kit: Apidura seat pack - Bivvy, sleep kit and Albion layers for the night shift.

Apidura top tube bag - Electronics, chain lube, sun cream and snacks.

Apidura frame bag - Bladder with 1L water; electrolyte tabs, tools, pump, alpkit mat.

Apidura hydration vest - 1.5L water, snacks, valuables.

Albion have my back covered, and to guide the way I have the Wahoo Roam. An Exposure Maxx MK12 lights the way.

Chris aka Tato

Name: Chris aka Tato

Age: 43

Cap number: 41

Location: Manchester

Bike: I'm running a Specialized Diverge s works. Love it, had lots of adventures and hopefully many more to come.

Key items of kit: Super sexy Tailfin aero pack with 5L panniers, Apidura top tube bag and a Rapha bar bag.

Joe Cox

Name: Joe cox

Age: 37

Cap number: 12

Location: eydon

Bike: Santa Cruz Stigmata CC

Key items of kit: Aero Bars, 650b x 52 Teravail Rutlands Restrap Bags

Stephen Haines

Name: Stephen Haines

Age: 49

Cap number: 22

Location: Stevenage, UK

Bike: Trek Checkpoint SL6

Key items of kit: Apidura bags, Exposure lights, Hutchinson Tundra tyres, Alpkit Hunka XL bivvy

Hanif Meeran

Name: Hanif Meeran

Age: 51

Cap number: 28

Location: London

Bike: Specialized Diverge

Key items of kit: Helium bivvy and sea to summit spark 2 for sleepkit. I might regret not taking a tent. Tailfin, Apidura and Ortlieb bags. Son Dynamo. Exposure front light. Sinewave and battery pack. Endura wet weather gear as the forecast is looking mixed.

Bjoern Stiel

Name: Bjoern Stiel

Age: 45

Cap number: 40

Location: London

Bike: Pearson 1860 Off Grid

Key items of kit: Tailfin AeroPack Apidura Expedition Frame Pack 2 Stem Bags (Restrap & Apidura) Exposure Strada Mk10 Super Bright

Randal Davison

Name: Randal Davison

Age: 46

Cap number: 14

Location: Ashford Kent

Bike: Cannondale Topstone Carbon 4

Key items of kit: Tailfin

Terry Ormiston

Name: Terry Ormiston

Age: 42

Cap number: 34

Location: Folkestone

Bike: Canyon Grizl CF, Shimano GRX 810 2x, Hydraulic Disc, DT Swiss G1800 (700) and Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite (50mm Tubeless)

Key items of kit: Apidura Saddle Pack Apidura Feed Bag Tailfin Folk Mounts and Bags Tailfin Top Tube Bag (Flap) Exposure Starda RS and Tracer Moon lights (Day/Back up) Garmin 350

Wesley Burden

Name: Wesley Burden

Age: 44

Cap number: 05

Location: Kent, UK

Bike: Mason Bokeh

Key items of kit: A decent pillow and sleep mat for some good sleep. Hopefully!

Ros Willicombe

Name: Ros Willicombe

Age: 48

Cap number: 45

Location: Exeter

Bike: Ribble Gravel SL Shimano GRX 1x11 700c Wheels WTB Raddler tyres

Key items of kit: Apidura Expedition bags Top item “The Feedbag” Exposure Six Pack Front Light Wahoo Roam Bike Computer

Rob Roy Cameron

Name: Rob Roy Cameron

Age: 38

Cap number: 7

Location: London

Bike: Specialized diverge set up 1x with a goat link so I can have a 11-46 cassette on the back to get up the Cornish climbs. Tyres are 40mm Tofu Swamperos to hopefully stay fast on the road sections.

Key items of kit: Restrap bags with bivvy sleep system in the back. I went as small as I can go hopefully I won’t freeze at night. Exposure lights front and back and a set of aero bars for the road sections.

Steven Wise

Name: Steven Wise

Age: 55

Cap number: 47

Location: London

Bike: Specialized Diverge GRX di2 Gravel Wide++ 700 CD wheels Rene Herse Manastash Ridge 44 mm tires

Key items of kit: Tailfin rack - Change of cycle kit, toiletries, puffa jacket, bivvy, tarp and sleeping bag Apidura tube bag, food pouches and handlebar bar bag - Gels, bars, dried fruit, biscuits, malt loaf etc Frame bag - Electricals, tool kit, rain jacket, gloves

Alex Lazenby

Name: Alex Lazenby

Age: 26

Cap number: 27

Location: Southampton

Bike: Orbea Terra H30

Key items of kit: - Tailfin AeroPack with 5l Cargo Cage Packs and 1.7l V-Mount Pack

• Salsa Anything Handlebar Cradle
• Restrap Race Top Tube Bag (long version)

Nicola Brain

Name: Nicola Brain

Age: 32

Cap number: 3

Location: Frome

Bike: Whyte Dean

Key items of kit: Ortlieb seat and bar bags

Stem bag full of trail mix so I can eat on the go!!

Francis Barnett

Name: Francis Barnett

Cap number: 1

Location: London

Bike: J Guillem Atalaya, with Redshift suspension seatpost and stem. Carbon 650b 35m deep Parcours rims with 55 Rene Herse Umtamum Ridge tyres.

Key items of kit: Restrap Race seatpack and bar bag, with Restrap frame, top tube and food pouches.

Loo Nalton

Name: Loo Nalton

Location: Porlock, Somerset

Bike: Lauf True Grit

Key items of kit: Mix of bags including Tailfin, Apidura & Alpkit Son Dynamo for charging electronics, Shimano GRX with 38 & 11-46 dinner plate of a cassette to save my knees. WTB Riddler 44 tyres.

Matt Robinson

Name: Matt Robinson

Age: 33

Cap number: 38

Location: London

Bike: The bike I was planning on using is still missing a major part, the frame! So I will be taking on the SD using my Plan B bike - my trusty Reilly Spectre. To give this all-road bike some extra off-road chops, I switched out the 700c wheel at the front for a 650b one shod in 50mm tyres. #reversewheelmullet

Key items of kit: Outback I'll be hauling sleep kit and some fresh duds in a Tailfin AEROPACK. A frame bag takes care of daily essentials like a rain jacket, as well as electricals and spare lights. A top tube bag rounds out my trip of storage spots, and it'll be stashed full of snacks! I'll also be repping a race vest with a hydration bladder. And finally, Exposure lights front and back will take care of night time illumination.