I have put 3m film in those areas
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The big events are definitely fun. But Iāve had plenty of fun at smaller events.
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Does that make your bad decision somehow feel better? Donāt most get stuck riding solo anyways? 
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You have a point.
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I only did the 100 and ran new Ultegra 11sp hot waxed with Silca and it was pretty great the whole race. However, I walked much of the first 3.9mi just so I wouldnāt damage my chain/bike. The 2nd mud pit was worse and that actually clogged up my chain/derailleur so I couldnāt shift and I ended up dropping my chain and seriously doing a number on the paint near my bottom bracket (luckily no carbon damage).
I never re-lubed and the chain itself held up great. I am hot waxing from now on as opposed to drip waxing.
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Sometimes. But small groups form and break apart throughout the day. I rode with a lot of different people. Some for very short periods of time. Others for awhile.
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They are full of crap with the number. After the start I pushed it to the side of my frame and kept it there the whole race and didnāt have any timing issue.
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Waxed chain to start with Silca hot melt. Chain was making a little noise at water stop 1.
Brushed the dust off the chain quickly at water stop 1 and applied Tru Tension Tungsten. And again at aid 1. This worked really well. Kept the chain quiet.
Then the rain started and the chain got really noisy, especially in the big cassette cogs. At water 2 and aid 2 I sprayed the chain with water to get all the grit off, wiped down with a rag, and applied Silca synergetic. This kept the chain surprisingly quiet, despite the chain getting a constant spray of wet grit from the front tire.
I cleaned the bike today to inspect for damage. Chain rings and cassette look OK. The plastic derailleur jockey wheels look like they need to be replaced. Havenāt measured the chain yet, but probably will need to replace that also.
Only a few frame scratches - isolated scrapes from where small stones went between the tire and the frame, mainly on the front fork.
Brake pads OK. Tires (pathfinder 47s) look remarkably good. Almost like new once I cleaned all the dirt off. As I said in an earlier post, I thought most of the course had surprisingly good gravel relative to expectations (the 47s helped also!), so the tires didnāt get a beating.
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I saw your post and finally went downstairs and took my number plate off. Iāve got a nice smiley face gouge from the plate.
Took wheels and chain off. No other major issues except jockey wheels were pretty clogged up still and did not spin well at all. Got those clean out and much better. Last thing I still need to do is pull out the pads and clean with alcohol.
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I was running Ekar with a silca SS wax. I carried/pushed my bike through the grass for all the hike a bike. Donāt start riding until we got to the house. Looked ok so rode to the top of the little hill. Massive gunk up. I guess I got so much muck on my cassette and in my chain that the chain would not seat on the front chainring. Half a crank and the chain would drop inside. Spent 30-40 minutes cleaning scrubbing washing (with Gatorade 
) and literally a 1/2 a bottle of synergetic. Finally got it to stay on and was too scared to shift so single speeded for about 5-10 miles. Got to CP1 and hosed down and reapplied synergetic. Fine after that to water oasis at 124 when I pulled the plug.
Anyway I saw Ben Delany had a similar problem with his SRAM chain and crank. Did anyone else have this issue? Iām wondering if the narrower 13speed chain makes this more likely?
Lesson for me: if I ever do unbound or any potentially heavy mud race/ride again, carry the bike even more until it is fully clear. And carry a bottle of synergetic! I would have DNFād at mile 15-17 without the bottle.
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Never dropped the chain during the race. Sram 1x with XPLR cassette. All my friends who run the same to set up but with oval chainring ended up dropping the chain multiple times. I had an issue with chain, jumping gears when it got really muddy.
Not sure if itās just luck or set up. I also rode every paddle and every water I could possibly see, which helped to clean the bike and the cassette. Typically if there is water in mud section, it means there is hard surface underneath.
And I rode on grass a lot.
Just my 2 cents. I noticed most people did the opposite.
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dave rome mentioned something that I hadnāt thought of before, but makes senseā¦
1x setups with narrow wide chainrings may be more susceptible to issues because of the (by design) tight fit between the teeth of the chainring and chain
I had the same issue. I run rotor 1x13. And my chain was full of dirt. Because of this it kept calling of my front chainring.
After some careful cleaning and pedaling for some minutes it worked fine again.
At aid station 1 I reapplied squirt. At aid station II I applied oil. This kept it running fine for the whole race. I still need to check my wear off my chain. It was new, so I expect it to have some life into it. Especially after a deep clean and rewax
Not a good look for the Worlds premire gravel race. Where is the organization is posting these negative attacks on partipants? Could you please share the link thanksā¦
Contemplating all the madness regarding Unbound "The worlds largest most famous and most prestigous gravel race. After listening to AACC 420ā¦ as @Jonathan and @IvyAudrain talked about some aspects of the of the Worlds greatest gravel race.
So letās exam the following points almost a week laterā¦
The participant
The event / organization
The participant. - Participant personal responsibiity, know what you are getting into first just start with the name of the event and the website.
The participant should expect that the orgainzation clearly defines what their race is or is not and what is expected on the event website.
The Worlds most prestigious gravel race website is severly inadequate. No where near a Gold Standard for this level of event. Compare it to the worlds most prestigous XCM MTB race Cape Epicā¦ that also has Pros & Joes on the same course See links below
Unbound you need to UP your game.
The particpant should expect that if the RD says he will make a course change during the pre race brief he follows thru with it.*
Finally, We the participant must read the name of the event and think about what it says about the raceā¦ Words have meaning and we have a responsibility to think about it. The below all have names that mean something hard is in store with the exeception of Big Sugar and Belgian Waffle Ride, that might lead one to believe sweets and chocolate syrup 
but I better go check the website 
.
Race Across America RAAM 
Cape Epic The Untamed African MTB stage race
The Mediterranean Epic MTB Stage Race UCI Horās Category "It will be hard. It will be Epic.
The Mediterranean Xtreme MTB stage race "Is it too hard or are you too weak.
Crusher in the Tusher
Big Sugar 
Belgian Waffle Ride 
Unbound
Organization should never attack or disparage participants publicly. Own it! Learn from it! Make the change for future events.
Organization should look at the blueprint from other organizations that have set the Gold Standard.
Unbound you need to UP your game.
Compare the two websites below of largest races in the world in their respective categoriesā¦Which one is the Gold Standard and makes it clear and easy for the participant to understand what is expected?
Lifetime you need to UP your game.
- In Unbound 2023 RD suggested a course change if specific mud conditions got bad he said it would be an easy fixā¦see RD pre race brief a couple of days ago on this thread.
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I didnāt drop my chain and did run a KMC chain guide, the same one a number of the proās ran. Ben Delany said in his video he wasnāt certain the chain guide helped with the mud but I can only relay my own experience in that it seemed to work well and had no issues up front.
Curious what others experience was who ran chain guides?
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FWIW, the first two stops had spigots that I used to fill my bottles, but I agree the concept of having so many people hit the designated gas stations was not ideal. If I were to do it again I would spend more time looking for alternative refueling spots.
Personally, I think you are keying into the names and website a bit too much. Maybe the homepage of the website does not have all relevant info, but they publish athlete guides. Here is the first paragraph in the general course info section:
āAll UNBOUND GRAVEL event distances will utilize a single-loop format. Although some blacktop roads
will be necessary from time to time, the vast majority of the course will be on gravel and dirt roads. Some of these roads receive little to no maintenance throughout the year and can be quite primitive in nature. In the event of inclement weather, gravel and dirt roads can become mud roads. Riders are therefore encouraged to prepare their bikes, their bodies, and their minds to be ready for any and all possible conditions. The course will not be marked.ā
Emphasis added.
I really donāt see much value in contemplating the name either. What am I to infer from āChequamegon 40ā other than it is likely either 40 miles or 40 km?
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I canāt because they deleted their Instagram post that took a shot at Sophia for no reason. Lifetime probably told them itās not a good look but who knows.
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The mistake lifetime made IMO is mentioning the reroute to begin with, not clarifying after the race why they didnāt use the reroute, and doubling down on the HTFU attitude when people complained and/or asked for an explanation from lifetime. It just feels like lifetime feels no obligation to clarify why they chose not to utilize the easy reroute option which they specifically pointed out.
Iām not aware of people complaining about later mud sections which were at least partially caused by thunderstorms during the race.
I certainly would have preferred if they used the reroute as I prefer riding my bike. Short hike a bike are sort of common during many gravel events but that first one was long.
Itās hard to tell with social media how many people are really bent out of shape about it or if itās just a small number of people.
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