This morning this year’s and second Atlas Mountain Race started in Morocco.
135 riders are now on their way through the Atlas Mountains and have 1,165km and 23,000 meters of altitude ahead of them.
The AMR is a rather technical race, which is mainly characterized by the expected heat and the quite gaping supply of water. I rode the race together with Tobias 2020 and here you can find my report about it.
As with the Silk Road Mountain Race, I looked at the bikes of the participants and evaluated them according to their equipment. The basis for this is as always the worth reading article from Bikepacking.com “Rigs of Atlas Mountain Race 2022”. There are 63 bikes listed, or rather I recorded 63, to which the data below refers.
Three insights about the bikes in the AMR 2022
It’s an MTB Race
As was the case after the first edition and Nelson Trees’ once again clear announcement, the majority of riders now rely on MTBs. This was different in the first edition, where many participants started with gravel bikes. Furthermore, the MTB dominance can be seen in the gears: 12-speed and wide cassettes are in the majority. Likewise, 1-speed drives dominate – also a “trend” from the MTB sector.
Carbon rules
Almost 50% of riders rely on carbon frames and 40% on carbon rims. I noticed this particularly clearly this year, also because there is often the impression that carbon does not meet tough requirements. However, this material has long been used in MTBs – and sufficiently tested.
Tire dominance
The AMR is clearly a race for Vittoria and Maxxis. The Italians and Americans divide the market among themselves and dominate with a total of 71%. A clear picture can also be seen in the models: 38% rely on the Vittoria Mezcal tire and 14% on the Ikon from Maxxis. In terms of tire widths, 2.25 and 2.35 inches dominate.
And what else?
Tailfin are interestingly quite little represented. Only 6 riders rely on the carrier system. And – again a sign of the MTB trend – flat bars dominate with 67%. 33% are on the road with Aerobar.
The most important thing: the color! And the dominant color is black, followed by titanium colors, gray and green. Let’s see which color the winner will ride.
Bikeanalytics: The bikes of the Atlas Mountain Race 2022
