I ride a 40:40 last year and it was fine….a few points where I wouldn’t have minded a smaller gear, but not many. A 1:1 will treat you fine, especially if you are a decent climber.
This year I will be on a 42:42 because i definitely ran out of gears in some of the descents.
31/30 was my lowest gear last year and I would have gladly paid someone for a 34 cog before the last small climb. My chain also sounded like pure metal on metal at that point from the rain so I was bleeding watts everywhere. But I didn’t cramp so maybe it was fine.
I have 31-34 as smallest. That’s fine for me at SBT. The steepest sections are on the climb to Steamboat Lake and the road climb in the last 15 miles or so. Both aren’t super long, so possible to grind up if needed.
My drivetrain also sounded like crap until I reapplied a bunch of Squirt lube at the last aid station. In my experience, waxed chains don’t do well in wet, gritty conditions. And applying oil based lube mid ride is better than applying drip wax like Squirt.
I was in a group of 5 or 6 coming in (2 buddies, me and at least 2 others) and the cacophony of protesting drivetrains after Cow Creek was pretty awful…everyone’s sounded like they were about to grind to a stop. 
Did one of them apologize for it because that was me. That was the race I started carrying a small bottle of Squirt.
Not that I heard, but if you were with a guy in an ENVE kit, another guy in a red / black Wheel & Sproket kit and another guy in a neon yellow GTE kit, that was us!
I have a small bottle of UFO drip that I will be bringing with me this year. 
Cow creek living up to its name.
Several sections of the road were washed out by flooding this spring. The repaired sections of road are a mix of loose rocks and sand. Overall, the road is in good condition, but will need to pay attention in a few short sections.
This is great recon - thank you!
Getting in on the 17th. Last event of the summer, ready to party-pace the Red course
What tires including size are people using for this ride?
Last year I did it on 38s and it was perfect.
Yup…also ran 38’s last year and it was great. Definitely don’t need more….
That said, I have 42’s mounted this year and can’t find the motivation to change back to the 38’s, so…
I’ve run 38s both years and have been perfect. It’s really a road race on dirt roads. Fly Gulch has some ‘thicker’ gravel but if you stay in the paceline, it’s fine. Cow Creek gets a lot of hype but if are comfortable on a mtb at speed, you’ll be fine. Lower part of Oak Creek can also be ‘thick’ gravel, but again, small part. I remember the first year, most of the pros were on 33/35 file tread
If I were racing this year I’d run 38s without cause for concern.
Honestly, before doing it last year, I gave serious consideration to using my Giant TCR w/ 35’s on it….the only place that it might be an issue was that one short bit of singletrack, but you could make it through on it.
Alex Howes won the race on a road bike a couple of years ago…
37s my first year. Different bike last/this has Vittorio Torreno Dry 38s.
I’ve got 40s because I don’t want to buy more tires
As of now, 47 pathfinders. They’re still on my bike from Unbound, and I haven’t bothered to change them. I also have 42s and 38s. Rode 38s the previous few years. But I’m not really seeing any downside with the 47s, and I like the comfort the provide, so may just leave them on.
Forecast Stalk 2023 
has begun.
Looking nicer than the 6-inches-from-the-sun FoCo Fondo at this point.
Little chilly in the AM it looks like…will likely be starting with at least arm warmers.
But yeah…high 70’s sounds about ideal for a bike race.
Gravel yesterday. MTB today. Perfect weather. If next weekend is like this weekend, it will be a pleasant day on the bike!
Post-ride beer. Next Sunday it will be a post-ride beer at Mountain Tap.
Welp, I may be screwed….flew home from a trade show in San Diego last night. Started feeling a little off - chest tightness and a slight cough.
Low-grade fever overnight and just feel like schitt to day. Worn out, body aches, slight fever, cough. Supposed to fly out on Thursday, but it is looking very doubtful….can’t even imagine having the energy to pack my bike tomorrow, let alone everything else I need to do to get ready.
Also having some bad flashbacks to 2019 when I got really sick the weekend before Unbound….did the race anyway and completely fell apart after mile 75.
Foooook.
