{"id":44966,"date":"2022-12-26T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-26T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=710589"},"modified":"2022-12-26T19:34:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-26T18:34:17","slug":"gravel-bike-vs-hardtail-vs-full-suspension-mountain-bike-which-is-best-for-a-1200km-bikepacking-race","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/gravel-bike-vs-hardtail-vs-full-suspension-mountain-bike-which-is-best-for-a-1200km-bikepacking-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Gravel bike vs hardtail vs full-suspension mountain bike | Which is best for a 1,200km bikepacking race?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Jordan Gibbons\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 26 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The 2022 Atlas Mountain Race (AMR) covered 1,171km of riding through mid-Morocco with a total elevation of 16,720m \u2013 though all who finished the race think that may have been an underestimation.<\/p>\n

Of that 1,171km, online route planners suggest about 368km of the ride is paved \u2013 the rest is either natural (rough gravel), unpaved (very rough gravel), gravel (terrible gravel), paved (sand, probably) or unknown (bricks, rocks and entrances to opencast mines).<\/p>\n

Along the way were large stretches with no food, no water and no shelter. Goat tracks so steep that walking was treacherous. Roads that had collapsed beyond all recognition. Oh, and specially imported Belgian headwinds that defied the concepts of north, south, east and west.<\/p>\n

For this, there can be no right bike.<\/p>\n

Unlike the Trans-Continental Race<\/a> or similar ultra-distance events, where one type of bike proliferates, the start line of AMR is a motley collection of two-wheelers.<\/p>\n

Everyone has their own idea of what will work best (or what they think will work best), but they generally fall into three camps: gravel bikes<\/a>, hardtails and full-suspension mountain bikes<\/a>. Here, we take a look at a bike from each school of thought.<\/p>\n

If you want to get a sense of just how hard the race is, check out our full report from Jordan Gibbons<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here, Jordan talks us through three of the key bikes from the race, starting with his own\u2026<\/p>\n

Jordan Gibbons\u2019 Stanton Sherpa<\/h2>\n
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Jordan rode this custom Stanton Sherpa at the 2022 Atlas Mountain Race.<\/span><\/figcaption> Jordan Gibbons<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n