Follow Deane Parker a first time Brevet participant undertake a 250km weekend bikepacking event with 'The Flahute Presents', in the Canterbury high country o...
“Why? So many folk asked me that, you know my trail riding buddies. It was almost if I’d said I was changing...insert- occupation/sexual orientation/spouse/road cycling. Who hasn’t heard about the rise of gravel cycling?”
After the Fluid Trails expedition and 11 days on a rigid fat bike with a packraft strapped to the front, a svelte ‘skinny’ wheeled rig with no more than a light bivy set up seemed like a good idea.
With a busy life and the seasonal fluctuations of farming, I was looking for an off road mostly weekend achievable Brevet style event. Where I could get a feel for the long days in the saddle and still get some fun terrain to be able to maintain the mountain bike feel I’m passionate about.
The Salsa Cutthroat seemed the ideal platform for that style event paired with a full frame bag for tools, cooker and most of my food, the Salsa anything cradle for sleeping kit- Rab Mythic 400 sleeping bag, exped Mat sea to summit pillow and Rab Zero G down jacket. In the Revelate Designs 8L Terrapin seat bag I had a Ground Effect Anti Cyclone rain coat and Splashdown over trousers, and a pair of merino long johns.
All the little bits and pieces in the Salsa top tube bag and the front pocket of the Anything Cradle Kit. I used my iPhone for navigation and had an Inreach mini for tracking and emergency.
My Cutthroat is a 2019 Rival model. Factory apart from and Absolute Black oval 30T chainring and the most important upgrade, Teravail Sparwood 29x2.2 Durable tyres.
I was happy with the stock tyres but had heard of the legendary status of the Sparwoods on the likes of the Tour Divide. When I first put them on it was bit of a shock to see how rounded the profile was they certainly seemed narrower than the other 2.2’s that had a much flatter profile with more defined sidewalls. I only had a chance to ride the Sparwoods a couple of times before the Brevet but my confidence grew that they could cope with the jagged rocky terrain in the Hakatarere Conservation Area.
“Needless to say I got comfortable with them and by the time I reached the gnarliest terrain I was throwing the Cutty around. Fast on the gravel and sticky on the rocks certainly makes this a fantastic option for most Brevet or bikepacking event courses.”
All images by Extremekid Productions
Thank you to the sponsors of the project:
Salsa Cycles
Trackme NZ
Goat Cycles Bike Shop
Ground Effect Clothing
Rab Equipment
Julbo Eyewear
Cyclewerks NZ
Teravail Tyres
Absolute Black
Lumix NZ
