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Bikes of Hope 1000 2023

Bikes of Hope 1000 2023

16 June, 2023

A 1,000km point to point of the Swiss Alps can throw all weather forms at the riders; known to change from baking summer heat to mountain storms within hours, the Alps pose a challenging enviroment to equip for.

Follow along with our commentary here.

Jenny Tough

Name: Jenny Tough

Bike: Canyon Exceed

Key items of kit: Apidura Backcountry, Front dynamo + Silva lighting, Women's hydrophobic down sleeping bag + insulated ground mat. Velocio luxe bibs, merino top and Montane waterproofs.

Pius Gloor

Name: Pius Gloor

Age: 59

Location: Steinhuserberg, Switzerland

Bike: Litespeed Unicoi Titanium Softail with SRAM X01 drivetrain. Shimano XTR BR-M9100 Brakes. DT Swiss D232 ONE Dropper Seatpost.

Key items of kit: Revelate Ranger (6L) Framebag. Revelate Mag Tank (0.9L). 2 pcs Revelate Feedbag (1L). Rhinowalk Front Roll Bag (2.4L). Lezyne Mega XL GPS. Nitecore NB10000 Powerbank. Sleeping System MSR e-Bivy with Sea to Summit mat.

Thomas Boury

Name: Thomas Boury

Age: 31

Location: Lyon, France

Bike: Kona HeiHei CR, Fox suspensions 120/120mm, Maxxis tyres 2,4 on 30" wide wtb rims, Shimano XT 32 11-52. The seat post, stem and handlebar are all carbon from Ritchey. Grips are Ergon GP2 and saddle WTB Volt.

Key items of kit: full kit from Restrap, with a custom made frame bag. navigation : eTrex and Wahoo Bolt. Lights : Fenix BC 30 / Stoots Misti. Clothes : Albion Cycling. Sleep system : Sea to Summit ultralight matress, pillow + SOL bivy Garmin powermeter pedals.

Michael Schelfhout

Name: Michael Schelfhout

Age: 42

Location: As, Belgium

Bike: Mondraker Podium Carbon RR SL - custom build, with RockShox SID 100mm, Extralite wheelset, XTR brakes, SRAM X01-XX1 Eagle, Cane Creek eeSilk seatpost, SQlab active saddle, SQLab handlebar.

Key items of kit: RoguePanda Bismarck bottle bag, Brooks toptube bag with food, Broadfork downtube bag with rain gear, Wildcat saddle bag with sleep gear ehbo-kit and toiletry, DrjOn G-Funk Handlebar Strap Deck System with SeaToSummit bag with mattrass and bivy, Salsa full frame bag with extra food and space for legwarmers/warmwarmers/repair kit/etc, Exposure lights.

Davis Pazars

Name: Davis Pazars

Age: 26

Location: Riga, Latvia

Bike: Specialized Epic with DT Swiss XRC 1501 wheels and WTB Ranger 2.25 tires. 11 speed Shimano XT with 30T in the front, 11-46T in the back.

Key items of kit: A revived Apidura saddle bag as well as a Restrap top tube bag and snack pouch. Magicshine front light and a basic blinker in the rear.

Jona Riechmann

Name: Jona Riechmann

Age: 36

Location: Rosenheim, Germany

Bike: Bombtrack Cale AL with RockShox SID 100mm. Astral Serpentine Carbon Wheels. SON dynamo up front and White Industries XMR in the rear. WTB Ranger 2.25″ Tires. Gearing: 32T oval chainring with a 9-50T cassette and 170mm Aluminum cranks from Leonardi Racing. Cockpit is mostly SQ Lab – 30X Handlebar with 710 grips combined with Innerbarends. Navigation with Garmin Edge 530 and smartphone with Quadlock Mount as a backup.

Key items of kit: BAGS: Ortlieb Framepack RC, Seatpack 11L plus the super useful Fuel Pack. Extra Water/Food capacity gives an Evoc Hydration Vest.

GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: The awesome dynamo lights from Supernova. M99 DY Pro plus E3 Taillight 2 light up the nights.

Dan Chesters

Name: Dan Chesters

Age: 46

Location: England

Bike: Canyon Exceed CF SL 6.0 Hardtail. Shimano XT groupset 28/38 x 11-46.

Key items of kit: SON Dyno hub powering K-lite ultra MTB V2 lights front & rear, with USB charging hub. Hope components - Brakes (calipers/rotors0 pedals, BB. Tour Divide stem cap :-)

Muriel Graber

Name: Muriel Graber

Age: 43

Location: Oetwil am See, Switzerland

Bike: Sadly my beloved Liv Obsess developed a crack in the frame just three weeks prior to departure. So the lovely Cannondale Scalpel HT Carbon 2 is my brand new ride - I guess we'll get to know each other quickly during the Hope 1000... Not quite ideal, but sometimes you have to wing it. I don't have much time left to work on adaptions, but at least will change the chainring to 30t. In combination with the Shimano XT 10-51 cassette I hopefully will be equipped to tackle those climbs. Tyres are Schwalbe Racing Ray and Ralph 2.25″.

Key items of kit: Bags: Restrap bar pack, Revelate Design feedbags, Geosmina MTB frame bag, Topeak saddle bag. Sleep System: OR Helium bivy, Nemo Tensor sleeping pad, Sea to Summit Spark S0 sleeping bag.

Manuel Schmid

Name: Manuel Schmid

Age: 43

Location: Oetwil am See, Switzerland

Bike: Trek Procaliber 9.8, 2018

Key items of kit: Bags are a mix from Apidura and Revelate Designs. SON Dynamo with Sinwave Beacon light. Front Tire Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge, Rear Tire Continenal Race King (not a standard combination :-)). Drivetrain Sram XX1 with 10/50 Cassette. Brakes Shimano XT. For sleeping i use the Borahgear Cuben Bivy, the Sea to Summit Spark Sp0 sleeping Bag and the Sea to Summit Ether Light XT sleeping Mat. For navigation the Garmin Edge 1040.

Paul Addy

Name: Paul Addy

Age: 45

Location: Nyon, Switzerland

Bike: OPEN WI:DE. Nothing but pretty much stock equipment and GRX 1x. I feel like I'm taking a risk with a gravel bike over an MTB but tried to mitigate this with a 2.25 Schwalbe tyres on Mason x Hunt Adventure Sport 650b wheels (with a dynamo), plus a RedShift suspension stem for a bit of comfort on the rough stuff.

Key items of kit: On the bike, I have Apidura bags throughout. The sleep set-up os a Rab bivvy, Therm-a-Rest Neoair matt and a Sea-to-Summit SP2 sleep sack... ...I like my sleep.

Bobby McNicol

Name: Bobby McNicol

Age: 31

Location: Manchester

Bike: Vitus Rapide 29 CRX

Key items of kit: Schwalbe slippers, and full Restrap luggage set.

Michael Kimmich

Name: Michael Kimmich

Location: Berlin

Bike: Kona Unit with Rock Shox SID Ultimate 120mm, Sram GX 36/10-52, Magura MT5 4 Caliper 160/160, Ergon Grips, SQ Labs Inner Bar Ends, SQ Labs 612 Saddle, Canyon Suspension Seat Post, DT Swiss XM1700 Wheels.

Key items of kit: SON Dynamo Hub with Supernova M99 Dyn Pro and Tail Light, Sinewave Charger, Ortlieb and Revelate Designs Bags.