Mawson Trail

[dalai47]

Just got the shipped email from the Australian distributor today. Will post photos and details once they arrive from NSW.

[qvack]

Just finished doing the North->South route this week, so happy to answer any questions you might have.

We took 12 days, including a couple of half days to do a little sightseeing. Most of the others were in the 80-100km range though, with one 120 to catch up. We were very lucky with the weather, with good trail conditions the whole way. Some of the tracks would quickly become impassable with any amount of rain, so keep that in mind with your planning.

[dalai47]

Nice qvack! Long range forecast is still looking dry for the time I'll be there...

Was there any water available in the hut watertanks or must I only rely on that I can get in the various towns? Roughly how much water were you carrying per day? Your 12 days is good news, as I only have 11 days to get to the return bus at Parachilna!

Is there still a detour around Wirrabura due to the fires earlier?

[qvack]

We were generally carrying ~5L of water when staying in towns, or 8-10L for bush camping. We didn't actually need the extra in the end, since we ended up at campsites with water available each night.

There wasn't a huge amount available at the north end - apart from the obvious spots in towns/ marked heysen trail spots we also filled up at a farm campsite just out of Hawker (few km north of the really steep bit) and at the rawnsley caravan park. Worth noting that most of the Heysen stops are quite a bit off the main trail - the only one we actually stayed at was Mt Bryan East.

Some of the roads in Wirrabara were officially closed. We checked with parks & wildlife before going through and were told it was fine to do the normal track, so we just rode around the signs and had no issues

Other advice would be to skip the section through the Bundaleer Channels - we had ~20 punctures between two of us in this 10km section compared to the one I had in the other 930km of riding. They're neat to see but there's 3 corner jacks everywhere which well and truly ruin your day.

[dalai47]

Details much appreciated!

Might have to see how I can carry more water for the northern section, as I currently only have capacity for 5.2 litres.

I have fitted Schwabe Marathon Plus MTB tyres given the concerns of thorns on the Bundaleer Channels, but I might just avoid that section all together as you suggest. I'm not keen to spend the day fixing that many flats!

[il padrone]

Other advice would be to skip the section through the Bundaleer Channels - we had ~20 punctures between two of us in this 10km section compared to the one I had in the other 930km of riding. They're neat to see but there's 3 corner jacks everywhere which well and truly ruin your day.

Schwalbe Marathon Mondials thoroughly beat them.

[RonK]

How do tubeless tyres with sealant cope with thorns? There's no way I'd want to fit tyres weighing nearly one kilogram each.

[Aushiker]

How do tubeless tyres with sealant cope with thorns? There's no way I'd want to fit tyres weighing nearly one kilogram each.

I leave them in. The sealant forms around the thorn and it never comes back out.

I've ridden for years in areas with huizache - the thorns are brutal and have had tires last their entire time with thorns in them.

I've never had a problem with loss of tire pressure due to this

and more replies of this nature at MTBR.

BTW I have just ordered a pair of Maxxis Mammoths for my Salsa Mukluk build ... they weigh in at around 1.2 kg each

Andrew

[il padrone]

How do tubeless tyres with sealant cope with thorns? There's no way I'd want to fit tyres weighing nearly one kilogram each.

Marathon Mondials in 26 x 2.00 weigh in at 750g each. If that's too heavy, then I know that my Vittoria Randonneur Cross (26 x 1.75) are really VERY resistant to thorns and weigh just 590g each.

[qvack]

How do tubeless tyres with sealant cope with thorns? There's no way I'd want to fit tyres weighing nearly one kilogram each.

They should cope, as should tubes with slime. The slime tubes are an extra 0.5kg for the pair though, and I had no punctures anywhere on the rest of the trail running UST tires with normal tubes. I ran a Maxxis Ignitor front/ Monorail rear which were great apart from the one stretch with thorns. I was a little paranoid about sidewall slashes as there are sections with sharp rocks which is why I went tubeless ready. Would have been interesting to see how the marathons coped through this bit as the thorns cut straight through the kevlar beads on the tires we had.

Some bits of the trail are quite rocky, and while you could cope with thinner touring tires it was much more pleasant with proper MTB tires fitted. If I'd had tubeless rims I would have run tubeless, but if I did it again with the same rims I'd probably run normal tubes as I'm really a weight weenie at heart

[Tim]

Nice bike. The farm gate is nicer.
If I'm not mistaken that's an old Sunshine, turn of the last century antique.
Very collectable.
Worth more than the bike.

[RonK]

How do tubeless tyres with sealant cope with thorns? There's no way I'd want to fit tyres weighing nearly one kilogram each.

Marathon Mondials in 26 x 2.00 weigh in at 750g each. If that's too heavy, then I know that my Vittoria Randonneur Cross (26 x 1.75) are really VERY resistant to thorns and weigh just 590g each.

I bought a pair of Randonneur Cross after seeing you recommend them in multiple posts.
So, first ride I got a puncture - from a puny number 26 staple.
Should have stuck with Marathon Supremes.

[RonK]

BTW I have just ordered a pair of Maxxis Mammoths for my Salsa Mukluk build ... they weigh in at around 1.2 kg each

Heavy for sure - relative to their size though, surprisingly light.

[dalai47]

There's no way I'd want to fit tyres weighing nearly one kilogram each.

I'm fine with it if they stand up to their marketing hype. Given the total weight of my rig once loaded up with my gear including water, an extra 300g per tyre over other lighter options I doubt it will be noticeable...

[qvack]

Nice bike. The farm gate is nicer.
If I'm not mistaken that's an old Sunshine, turn of the last century antique.
Very collectable.
Worth more than the bike.

Would have carted it home if I'd known that, we came across at least two of them so would have balanced the bike nicely.

[il padrone]

Would have been interesting to see how the marathons coped through this bit as the thorns cut straight through the kevlar beads on the tires we had.

Thorns cut through the Kevlar bead ???

Maybe you meant that they pierced the Kevlar belt? Thorns will do that as Kevlar is a woven belt. It will resist cuts very well, but as it is a fibre, spines will still penetrate. My Randonneur Cross have a tough layer of hard rubber belt like the Mr Tuffy tapes - much better at resisting penetrations.

Some bits of the trail are quite rocky, and while you could cope with thinner touring tires it was much more pleasant with proper MTB tires fitted.

Many quality road touring tyres will actually have thicker rubber on the tread overall. MTB tyres are really quite thin in between the knobs and this is where rocks and thorns will pierce through.

[il padrone]

Nice bike. The farm gate is nicer.
If I'm not mistaken that's an old Sunshine, turn of the last century antique.
Very collectable.
Worth more than the bike.

Many of these gates along the Mawson Trail. They are classic trail furniture.

[il padrone]

I bought a pair of Randonneur Cross after seeing you recommend them in multiple posts.
So, first ride I got a puncture - from a puny number 26 staple.
Should have stuck with Marathon Supremes.

Certainly illustrates your different experience.

A bit of a puzzler really, as I have been using these tyres for loaded touring on all sorts of roads and tracks, and for regular suburban commuting, for the past 10-12 years. Recommended to friends and all the fellow riders using them have had similar puncture-free experience.

One swallow does not make a summer.

[RonK]

I bought a pair of Randonneur Cross after seeing you recommend them in multiple posts.
So, first ride I got a puncture - from a puny number 26 staple.
Should have stuck with Marathon Supremes.

Certainly illustrates your different experience.

A bit of a puzzler really, as I have been using these tyres for loaded touring on all sorts of roads and tracks, and for regular suburban commuting, for the past 10-12 years. Recommended to friends and all the fellow riders using them have had similar puncture-free experience.

One swallow does not make a summer.

While it's a little disappointing to get a puncture first ride, it is extremely disappointing that it was caused by such a puny object as a staple from a school kid's stapler.
Regardless, I won't be using them. I'm thinking 29x2.10 Schwalbe Rocket Rons tubeless at 500g apiece., or 29x2.10 Thunder Burts tubeless at 510g apiece.

[dalai47]

Well the Mawson trail (S-N) was an awesome experience! Just got back into town last night so will be a little while to go through the hundreds of photos and update my blog...

Of note - I found the 11 days were ample for me - this included two short days of ~30 km either side of Wilpena pound. As I hadn't been to the Flinders Ranges I wanted to and did walk up Ohlssen Bagge the afternoon I arrived in Wilpena Pound and St Mary's peak the next morning before continuing north to Middlesight Water hut where spent the following night.

Happy to report not one flat for the entire trip! So although the Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB bike tyres running regular tubes weigh a ton I am happy I went with these. Given everyone's comments about thorns along the Bundaleer channels I nearly didn't ride along there. But made it into Spalding unscathed along the first section of the Channels so thought I would continue the next day... Though was a particularly stressful section - stopped and checked my tyres at every gate stop (there were numerous gates!) plus at other random times along that section. Was my least enjoyable part of the whole ride and a huge relief when I saw the end of the Channels sections!

Weather could have been better, especially the first week where we has some very strong westerlies blowing which made the sections heading that way a real slog! Plus some heavy rain - a particularly heavy shower 20km before Laura made one particular 10km section a nightmare. The famous mud stuck to everything - stopping me a number of times as the mud built up around the front wheel and fork. Took well over an hour to cover 10km having to stop and unclog the mud before trying to roll on...

Glad I took the MTB - impressed how some of you guys have taken a fully loaded tourer through there. Some of the sections were particularly rough! I ended up riding all of the trail including the super rocky descent past Hawker other than 3-4 HAB sections day one.

Would recommend the ride as a great introduction to those wanting to try some longer off road touring; given it is a little like a painting by numbers tour with maps and regular signposts and plenty of towns for possible accommodation, food and water stops along the way.

[RonK]

Good to hear. Look forward to seeing your detailed blog.
Hehe - 11 days might have been enough for you but it's not touring pace. I would be planning to take twice the time.

[dalai47]

Some days were a little longer than I would have liked, as the weather on the first few days put me behind my schedule...

Ended up riding a couple of days into the night. Day three - my longest day at 138km as I wanted to make the My Bryan East School house Heysen trail accommodation. Another night when the Wirrabara forest diversion sent me into open farmland, so had to ride another 15km till I found a good stealth camping spot.

I think my preferred distances looking forward for rides on dirt will be no more than 100km per day. Beyond that it started to be more a focus on getting to where I wanted to be rather than the journey.

[il padrone]

Hmm.... much longer days riding than we bothered with. We took about 21 days, and had a couple of rest days to explore the wineries, and another couple due to bad weather. With the loss of time we only stayed overnight at Wilpena Pound - didn't climb the peak at all (we had already done a flight over it though).

[dalai47]

I come from a racing back ground in endurance sports (Ironman tris and started in to dabble in running Ultramarathons) prior to cycle racing and am considering taking on the Monaro Cloudride and then the Tour Divide possibly in the next couple of years... So will need to condition myself to be doubling my riding times in future trips if this is to happen!

For more relaxed touring I found around the 100km a day range mostly fine...

[RonK]

Hehe - well 100km is a long day for me touring on asphalt, let alone dirt roads and trails.
I followed the Monaro Cloudride this year - it was ridden at an astonishing pace, so you would have to be very well prepared.
If endurance riding is your thing, you may be interested in tackling the Kiwi Brevet, the Great Southern Brevet, or even the [URL=http://www.touraotearoa.nz/?m=1]Tour Aotearoa[/URL.]
I rode several stages of the Great Southern Brevet on my touring bike, and plan a return to attempt the full course when my bikepacking bike is ready, albeit at a leisurely touring pace.