Preparing for the Gofastpops Bike Tour

[Gofastpops]

Howdy All,

I'm throwing this out there first thing - my plans do not include "rock crawling or deep river forging". OK, everyone snicker now, I'll wait.

So, I'm about 3 years away from retiring, maybe sooner if I'd grow a pair, and for at least 5 years I've been wanting to get out west to ride my mountain bike.

Work and family has a way of interfering with dreams but soon I'll move back to Georgia to be with family (Grandma will be happy) and I'll have lots of time to spend riding again.

The 4 Runner was the first step. I sold my Honda Element to get a vehicle capable of getting me out in the boonies without getting stuck. Hiking, biking and photography are my goals. It would be nice to see a night sky full of stars again. Waking up in Yellowstone (not in the parking lot mind you) is something I've always wanted to do.

I haven't decided if I'd rather have convenience of a off road trailer with tent/kitchen or just be self contained with a roof tent and my standard car camping gear.

Vehicle upgrades will probably consist of better tires (obviously), a roof rack, skid plates and possibly a small lift kit. not sure rock sliders are necessary but nothing is off the table at this point.

For now, I'll just car camp and ride locally while I firm up the details. But I've seen to many magazines/pictures of awesome, epic rides and I don't want to get to that point in my life sitting in my recliner still wishing I'd done that.

cheers all,

Don B.

 

[NoLight]

Welcome!!

 

[MRM69]

Hey Don!

I too am about to give up my Honda Element for a T4R. My wants for a vehicle are much the same as yours with a strong desire to get further out in to the wild than my Element would allow.

The one thing I'll will miss is the ability to throw my bikes into the element with little to now disassembly (my 29+ requires me to remove the front wheel, though all other bikes fit with wheels on).

How are you carrying bikes in your T4R? I ran into a guy at one of my local parks recently who had a MTB stored inside his T4R and he let me try out my 29+ in there and it fit no problem with the front wheel off and the dropper lowered. I didn't have a gravel or road bike with me, so not sure how they will fit with the front wheel off? I really like the idea of interior storage of bikes, but could use a hitch rack occasionally if need be.

I'm looking at ordering/buying in the next month or so. Any insight would be great!

Mike

 

[Gofastpops]

Hi Mike,

I threw together a bike rack for my Element (out of spare parts) that works well for my use.

I brought it with me when I bought the 4Runner. The Sale lady must have thought I was crazy when I said the bike had to fit inside before I'd buy the 4Runner. It slid in nicely and I'm sure she saw dollar signs.

I stand about 5'10". I have a medium Gary Fisher Paragon 29er and a Airborne Ti Hag 29er (single speed in the Avatar pic). they're roughly 35" (I think) from the floor the the top of the seat with the front wheel off. The seat rubs slightly on the roof with my rack. If I rebuilt tha rack a little lower (take off the 2x4's) I'd have no rub. You're droppper post should make this easy.

My rack is on the floor in the attached picture. The wood shelf was my sleeping platform in the Element.