Interesting frame size jump as well
Looks like he was using some prototype wax treatment from silca as well. In the video the bag said Super Secret Chain wax + 2 SpeedChip. Guess they have a new product coming or something in the works.
You can buy it now. Probably a paid sponsor?
So it looks like about $75 on top of the price of the chain. Not terrible if you donât have a place/stuff to do the initial cleaning/waxing, but pretty pricey on an ongoing basis.
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I think those are just the standard SS Silca waxed chains - they have offered pre waxed chains for a while. BonkBros podcast mentioned something new coming from Silca, probably the speedchips?
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The current wax chains from them are bulk stripped donât currently use their strip chip and it said speed chip. So definitely seems like he got something new that isnât available to the public.
So the consensus seems to be that the fastest bike for Leadville is:
- âFullâ suspension like Trek Caliber or Epic WorldCup.
- Hopefully sub 20lbs
- Dropbar.
- 2.2-2.4 fast tires.
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Yes, this is what iâm referring too. Seems like a new âSpeed Chipâ product is on the horizon and the fact that he has 2 tells me this product is likely additive up to a point. 2 may be better than 1 but 3 not much better than 2.
Silca is announcing something this week.
Dylan Johnson said on his last podcast that going forward, Leadville will be a drop bar race for anyone whoâs at the front. I guess thatâs turning out to be true.
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So Silca user here.
Has anyone gotten it to last more than 20-30 miles in gravel?
It sounds like a squeaky wheelbarrow by mile 30, not sure how people are waxing and able to last 1/3 of the race without stopping to rewax.
I went back to their wet lube for gravel.
Off topic for this thread, but yes. 200+ miles of Unbound without any issues like that.
Edit: Also lasted a ~260 mile ride that had several bouts of heavy rain without noticing any difference in chain noise.
Yeah, lasted me Leadville, and every gavel race out to 130 miles that wasnât wet. Definitely gets hit hard by water though
This may end up being The Bike for a few races. Curious to see the feedback in the next week, as well as what people choose for Chequamegon.
So 4 of the top 10 at Unbound 200 were on MTB tires, from what I can tell 3 out of the top 10 at Leadville were on dropbar MTBs.
Wondering what is the next marginal tech gain Dylan Johnson (or someone else?) will incept into the LTGP peloton? Aero fenders? One of those saddles with lumbar support that the UCI banned?
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Wasnât sure where to put this. But, Keegan and Lachlan both had flats. Plugs didnât do the trick, so they rode a flat until they got a new wheel at the feed zone. No articles go into this and Iâm genuinely curious. Do they not carry tubes? Too much of a pain the butt, too much weight to carry?
In conversation with Delany, Keegan said he was thinking this was a Leadville-only setup.
Crazy how many flats are happening. You would think that this is the next âmarginal gainâ in bike performance as it could make or break your race!
First tire company that makes a might fast rolling tire that doesnât flat wins. 
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Dylan said something similar about his own bike, on the BonkBros podcast. Which makes me wonder what heâs planning for Chequamegon since this is what he rode there last year:
I guess weâll see, exciting times.
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The BWR guy must be laughing that guys are finally doing Leadville on drop bars. I did SD this year for the first time and was surprised how fun it was to ride a gravel bike on singletrack. If a rigid gravel bike can handle that course no problem, an actual mtb with drop bars does make sense for Leadville. It doesnât look right to me, but Iâm sure weâll get used to it.
There will def be more next year. Not having tried it myself, I can see wanting flat bars going down Powerline and Sugar Loaf descents, but everywhere else would be pretty comfortable.