I mostly quit Maurten for the same reason. I make my own now. If I’m traveling and want the convenience of pre-packaged product, I will take Maurten packets, but I make them in the moment rather than make them all before the ride. 99% of the time, I just make my own though.
Asking this makes me feel a bit like a newbie, but what is causing derailleurs to rip off in mud?
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Along with @TooManyDogs 's post, what strategy were people running for chain lube/wax and how did that work for the day?
Broadly speaking, once the rear derailleur cage & pulleys loads up with mud, rocks, grass and such, the chain can’t pass through it. Continued pedaling pulls the derailleur via the “locked” chain and rips it off at the back.
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You should also see all the pics of carbon frame damage from the mud and gravel clogging between tires and frame and wearing away at the carbon. I understand the pros not stopping to clear it as they’re trying to win and likely are sponsored. No way I was trashing my bike for a race. But I’m not at the pointy end of things
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I keep seeing the photos, and some how unbound is turning into a $5000 race entry
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There was one guy who trying to ride parts of the mud section. There was mud pa led between top part of his tire and frame and you could hear this humming as he was riding.
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Well, that may come if gravel continues to grow as Unbound is considered the best in and largest in the world of gravel… The Top MTB Race in the world Cape Epic in South Africa has a $5000 entry fee… for that fee you can get a new bike. I thought about it years ago but the price tag was too steep and fiscally irresponsible would be hard to justify to the wife as well. Sooo I came up with the bright idea of volunteering and make it a family vacation. But little did I know that to be a volunteer the price tag is $3000… Sooooo, Unbound might be heading in that direction in years to come with an increased price tag…or not Cape Epic is 8 day stage race and has a lot of moving parts …
Check out the below clip from an Unbound participant and his financial break down…don’t know if I would admit that he walked away from $200 lodging snafu but I suspect it had to super screwed up…
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Hahahaha grabbed this from a brand ambassador Facebook group I am in, seems like these carbon repair companies are getting a bunch of traffic this week
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If you squint hard enough you see that Unbound is a complete grift for carbon repair places, drive train replacement and tire manufacturers because you absolutely need a brand new pair of tires (no, not those tires) each time you head into the flint hills 
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I mentioned it in my longer post above, but I did a YBN chain that I hot waxed myself with Silca Super Secret. Rolling into Aid 1 is was starting to make a bit of noise. At Aid 1 I my crew had everything ready and I sprayed down the drivetrain with White Lightning Clean Streak focusing mainly on rear cassette and front ring. I then wiped down the chain with a clean microfiber. I then lubed it with Rock N Roll Gold but spraying lots of it on the chain over the cassettee while pedaling backwards, spinning a few more times and then wiping it all clean again with microfiber. The whole process only took a minute or two.
After that my chain didn’t make any noise the rest of the day. I did apply a little more Rock N Roll at Oasis 2 and again at Aid 2. I didn’t need any more of the White Lightning.
We had a lot of discussion earlier in the thread about topping off a waxed chain. I think a lot of different options will work, but can attest that in tough conditions the Rock N Roll Gold worked great and was very easy to apply.
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Sure unbound is getting more expensive. But the entry fee itself is no where close to $5k…yet
It’s $290 for the 200 mile distance plus $85 for crew for hire if you don’t have your own people.
It’s really because traveling to Kansas is so far for many so that’s a lot of the cost. Then lodging since Airbnb prices are jacked up high for that week and there are few hotels so a huge supply and demand issue.
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Except there is nothing epic about unbound. I can ride muddy farm roads and destroy my bike without paying to travel to the middle of nowhere to do it. 
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Are you still going to ride that? 
It will be interesting to see if people start adopting the use of frame protection tape in these locations. I did a hack version on my gravel bike with heavy duty packing tape for a small bit of protection. High level frame tape and the good old helicopter blade tape could save some serious $$$$ when used in the right spots.
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Probably, my mechanic said it’s not ideal but not dangerous to ride. I may need to to touch up paint or possible repaint the whole frame in the future. At the same time trying to talk to Specialized to see what they can offer.
And this is just the back of the bike. The fort is not looking any better.
Note, I road as much as I possibly could. My mechanic told me that 3 bikes out of 10 were damaged like mine. I guess people who walked mud sections saved their frames.
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My chain was hot waxed, got pretty covered with mud early and was making some noise. Wiped down and a heavy coating of Squirt at aid station 79m and all was good. Probably should have re-applied at 167m aid station after heavy rain, but just pushed to the finish. It was making a little noise in climbing gears the last ~30 miles, but not terrible. Some light scratching of chainstays and inner fork, but just cosmetic. My worst bike damage had nothing to do with conditions. My number plate rubbed a deep divot into my head tube. They were being pretty strict about not wrapping the number around the head tube, so I only attached it at the top and just let it lay against the head tube. Just really dumb on my part, but it didn’t wear all the way through the carbon. Amazing what a flimsy number plate can do with enough cycles.
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But not with 4000 other people
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Yep. I long ago started using helicopter tape to protect from rock dings but also from where frame bags will rub. But for unbound I just got off and cleared out the mud. I was just looking to finish.
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