I’m thinking of going 1x instead of my normal 2x just to minimize complexity and prevent mud buildup. Any suggestions on a choosing a chainring going from 46/33x10-36 to 1x with eagle 50t or 52t? I was thinking about getting a wolftooth chainring.
Depends a lot on your weight/fitness I think. I made a similar change for last year and ran a 40x11-50 and the extra gearing was nice for the steeper pitches.
Do you ever find yourself running out of gears on while climbing?
If you wanted the same low gear (while running a 10-50) you could run a 46t ring and this means you’d have the same high gear.
Current set up
With a 46/10-50
Don’t know anything about your set up/FTP/cadence range/whether you’re sensitive to big cadence jumps.
If I had to pick one I’d go a 44t gives you a bit more of an easier gear and you don’t loose too much top end. (I’ve got a 42/10 top end on my gravel bike and find it fine unless I’m riding in a fast paceline)
But knowing more about how’re your planning to race it helps too. Are you happy letting people go past or are you planning on jumping into groups.
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i ran a 44 with a 42/11 and wish i had more gear, wouldnt mind having a 40
On my current setup, I feel like the climbing gears are just right. But I do wonder if I will need a bit more when I factor in the fatigue.
In terms of setup, currently I have the aforementioned AXS gearing. Still haven’t decided on tires. FTP 320, cadence 80-90, weight 205 (hoping to get this lower for race day). I do keep my cadence fairly tight, so I guess I am sensitive to cadence jumps.
I was thinking either 42 or 44. This is my first time doing unbound. I’ve done leadville in 10, big sugar in 8 (with a bonk), recent road century in 4.5. Not sure how this translates to Unbound, but I’m guessing I’ll be in the 14-16h range? As someone discussed earlier in this thread, my loose plan is to try to keep pace with faster groups initially and probably fall off to slower groups throughout the race.
If you’re sensitive to cadence jumps, I’d go with the smaller gear. Will mean smaller absolute jumps when you get it to.
In the wondrous words of Amber, I’ve never met a smaller gear I didn’t like.
You could do a 44t and then a 52t instead of the 50t and have the extra bailout gear. Depends if you’re okay with the 42-52t jump vs the 42-50t jump.
If you’ve got the cash to burn could get both cassettes and see what works better for you.
My biggest complaint with 1x is when I get to the 14/12/10 tooth I find I’m either spinning at 105-110rpm and then it drops to 80/85 and that can be annoying when in a paceline and you’re stuck at that speed but when I’m alone I’ll just modulate my speed to sit around the 90 and go a bit slower.
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I despise my 12 and 11 in my 1x. I can feel the gear slowly turning and stealing my watts.
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I used a 44 10-50 and it was perfect for me.
Like others have said you need to find what’s best for you.
Best thing to do is put your current gears into a gear calculator and figure your speed and cadence and the gears you find yourself in the most. As well as the gears you can’t be without. Then try to find a chainring size on your 1x that suits those needs best.
Don’t worry too much if you’re missing the top end of your gears. I don’t know if I ever used my 44x10 in the race. If I did… I probably wouldn’t have missed it.
A 44x10 at 100rpm is 60.5km/h. There aren’t too many times during the day when you need those speeds.
I most certainly used my 44x50 and spun up two of the hills without blowing myself up.
I wouldn’t neglect the easy gears…even if you’re super fit. I think many of the pros on mullet builds only had a 46 on the front.
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Similar. I’ve done Leadville in 9:38 and 9:52. Am thinking Unbound will be about 15 hrs. With +/- 1hr around that. Maybe more likely +1 hr.
Being a bigger rider with higher absolute watts for FTP, the Unbound course will suit you better vs Leadville, so you may go relatively faster.
I’m around 4w/kg (when fit) and I’m shooting for sub 14 and plan to run a 42 w 10/50. My leadville times are 8:50 and 9:24(w/issues). I’ve run that 42 setup at much flatter/shorter/faster gravel races and have never had an issue spinning out. I’ll ride it on fast group road rides as well and it can be a challenge with a slight downhill and heavy tail winds, but it’s fine as long as it’s not too long of a stretch.
officially heading to the dark side…just placed my order for a set of zipp aerobars
now to figure out if i am going to put my cushcore inserts back in or not
I’m glad you mentioned the Betty Lou pie bars. I’d never heard of them. I ordered them. They’re delicious. I also like that they’re pretty compact. I only tried them at home. But I’ll definitely start using them on the bike and will bring a bunch for unbound.
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Which Castelli cycling skin suit does everyone like?
This is a pretty good article on the topic.
I’ve practiced my nutrition strategy is some C gravel races before my last go at DK in 2019, I’ve personally found that when you actually put this practice in races you’ll find where you’re going wrong.
I will have a 1.5L vest on with plain water. Two or Three bottles with some mix that I’m used to in my bottles and easy to digest gels and a few blocks every now and again.
People overcomplicate this topic over and over again with their desire to have ‘real food’. Your body only needs energy, so eat water and sugar and don’t put load on your body.
I hope this helps, with like 2 to 4, C gravel races you should definitely be able to solve and optimize your nutrition strategy so it’s the last thing on your mind on race day.
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San remo
Thanks. That is helpful. I think one adjustment I’m going to make even before reading that article is moving away from trying to just do liquid calories. I feel like I end up forcing down liquids my body doesn’t really want. I still plan on having some carbs in a bottle but not have to rely on it being my primary source. And then from there sort out what gels or other food I like. Generally speaking I don’t tend to require a lot of “real food” but I’ll have to sort out which gels I like. I like Maurtens but not all day. But might bring Maurten and the Huma gels. But I have plenty of weekend rides to sort it out. Even next month I have a 100 mile gravel event which will be a good place to practice.
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The s-works pathfinders are back in stock if you’re looking
UPDATE: seems they quickly went out of stock. I signed up to be notified when in stock which is how I knew right away they were available
Must have come and gone.
Oh wow. That was quick. I signed up to be notified once they were in stock. So I ordered right away. Didn’t expect them to disappear that quickly
I just got some s-works 42’s at my local Specialized store (last thurs)
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