Lachlan Morton recently completed the Tour Divide/GDMBR route in an unbelievable time. Taking just 12 days, 12 hours, and 21 minutes to travel 2,670 miles, unofficially, Lachlan has ridden the route faster than anyone else in history. Officially though, the record still belongs to the late Mike Hall since Lachlan’s film crew violated the unsupported nature of the Tour Divide’s legacy.
Regardless, Lachlan claims it was never about the record, instead waiting “to experience the big point-to-point in a mentally and physically sustainable way, at least for him.”
To get to the finish line, Lachlan needed a full complement of specialized gear including prototype bags from Tailfin. That includes a number of spare including spare spokes, which Lachlan ended up using to fix his broken derailleur(fast forward to 19:59). Dig in to find out what was used, what wasn’t, and start planning your next big adventure!
From Tailfin:
Dig into the details and the reasons behind the bike and kit setup Lachlan Morton chose for his recent epic Canada to Mexico/Tour Divide FKT ride.
Setting a blistering time of 12 days, 12 hours and 21 minutes to get from Banff to Antelope Wells Lachlan proved panniers can be fast.
His setup also enabled him to pack plenty of storage onto his Cannondale Scalpel hardtail to ensure complete self-sufficiency on some of the more remote sections when he would need to be carrying 30 hours worth of food and water.
As a member of Tailfin’s R&D Division Lachlan was able to utilize a prototype frame bag and a unique new AeroPack top bag design, providing us with valuable feedback for future product development. He also opted to use a set of standard production 10L Mini Panniers, 1.1L Top Tube Pack (in prototype material), 3L Downtube Pack and a 1.7L Downtube Pack under his aerobars.
Lachlan’s bike setup
- Frame: Cannondale Scalpel Hi-Mod Ultimate hardtail
- Fork: Cannondale Lefty Ocho, 100mm travel
- Drivetrain: SRAM XX1 AXS, 38T chainring, 10-52t cassette
- Brakes: SRAM Level Ultimate
- Wheels: FSA Gradient Off-road i29
- Tires: Vittoria Mezcal Graphene 2.0 29×2.35” with Airliner Light XC inserts
- Handlebar: FSA KFX Carbon flat bar cut 64cm with FSA TT extensions
- Stem: FSA adjustable
- Seatpost: FSA Flowtron XC dropper
- Saddle: Prologo Scratch M5 Space
- GPS: Wahoo Elemnt Bolt
Tailfin equipment:
- Under bar: 1.7L Downtube Pack
- Top tube: 1.1L zipped Top Tube Pack (prototype form)
- Frame: Prototype full frame bag
- Downtube: 3L Downtube pack
- Rear: Prototype Carbon AeroPack with 2x production 10L Mini Panniers
