My waxed chain suffered at both SBT and Big Sugar this year…SBT we got hit with rain for about an hour or so…but to be fair, everyone’s drivetrain was sounding like tortured cats as we came back into town.
At Big Sugar it was very dry and dusty…leaving the aid station at the brewery was up a pretty steep climb. As I passed the Shimano tent, the tech yelled out “hey man…do you need some chain lube?” That kinda hurt…
I dunno if I will continue to use waxed chains for long gravel events…both those events I started with chains that started completely stripped and freshly waxed (Silca wax in a crock pot), but I was unable get to the finish in either race without a horrible sounding chain.
I was surprised at how not-abnormal the gravel was. Compleeeetely relieved that it didn’t live up to the hype… but still, maybe a tiny bit disappointed
When I was at unbound after almost every downhill where there was a washout at the bottom with rocks there was at least one person pulled over dealing with a flat.
There was one unlucky guy who flatter in the first five miles just on a normal flat gravel road. But after that it was people at the bottom of a hill.
I’ve heard this same thing here but from many other people.
I started with a freshly immersion waxed Silica chain It went the full 100 w/o issue and was just gross at the end. Only thing I have changed since is I do a layer of super secret drip over the wax the night before events now.
So go with a NEW and FRESHLY waxed chain, do drip the night before, bring a tiny bottle with you. have fresh chains in your drop bags and run newer tires. I’d say put 100-200 miles on them before you head to Emporia just to make sure you don’t have a bad tire.
Do you think that the Super Secret on top of a properly immersion waxed chain really helped? I would think it just puts more wax on top of the wax, but doesn’t really get into the places you need it too since the immersion waxing would have taken care of that.
The question for me is for a long event like Unbound where even a properly waxed chain might not last, what is the best lube to apply on top of the wax in middle of the race where the chain is full of dirt? Josh from Silca has talked about this in the past on some of the podcasts, and I seem to remember him saying using Synergetic, which is a wet lube, would be a reasonable option. But I think he might have also made a comment that at that point it might not matter that much what you use.
For those who have done Unbound 200, what about the thought of simply changing the chain at the aid area? If you have a second waxed chain ready to go, it seems it wouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes to pop off the old chain and put the new one on, assuming you have a pit crew or drop bag.
For Big Sugar this year I ran a Molten Speed waxed chain. While it was definitely not perfect by the end of the race, I didn’t find the need to re-lube it along the way. I did Funk Bottoms (about 133 miles) also on a Molten Speed wax chain and it held up fine for the day (dry, less dusty than Big Sugar) but I probably would not have wanted to go much longer. For Leadville I’ve run ICE Friction chains, and again by the end they were making some noise but for the most part held up very well for the duration of the event.
For Unbound, being 200 miles, I definitely could see the need to have to relube a waxed chain.
For training I’ve used mainly RockNRoll Gold, which holds up great on rides around 70 miles. On 100 mile+ days, it seems to work well simply reapplying it somewhere around the half way mark. Since you just sorts of spray it on the chain while back-pedalling, I wonder if it my be a reasonable option for Unbound? Would be really easy to carry along a small bottle of it which would allow you to relube multiple times if needed.
It’s really a judgement call, but 100% on having a fresh chain in each drop bag.
Doing the 100 last year If all the stuff after Madison had been before I would have swapped chains. Since I run an Osprey pack, I’d be tempted to bring one along, but a solvent soaked industrial wipe & and a bottle of lube would be lighter.
Having a good full on wax as a base at the start may help delay either action (cleaning or swapping)
I had a fresh waxed chain at the start and one at each checkpoint.
If you’re one to putter around at the aid stations then for sure swap your chain.
But… You can really solve this problem by not running a waxed chain. No way I’d do it again and would recommend to anyone else not to do it. It’s just not worth it to me. The main reason I wax chains is for cleanliness and the ease in maintaining multiple chains for multiple bikes. Neither really applies at Unbound. Efficiency is low on my list. For a one-off race like Unbound I wouldn’t care about an oily chain at the end.
Just use a regular dry lube and reapply at the aid if needed. It only takes 10 seconds.
This is for the 200. I would likely use a waxed chain for the 100 and use Squirt at the aid if needed.
I run freshly waxed chains for any distance in any conditions and keep a small bottle of squirt with me (and a big bottle at aid stations). Depending on conditions, I may or may not apply the squirt, but it works great over a waxed chain that is getting dry. I’m a minimalist at rest stops - swap hydration pack, grab some calories, and give the crew a snotty thank you kiss. I try to keep it well under a minute per stop unless I’ve got issues going on.
Last edition somebody volunteered 10 hours for me, so I was able to skip the lottery and sign up for the 200 mile event. Super grateful! First timer here. Doing lots of training hours now and getting my gear together.
Well, guess it’s time for things to get serious! I did the “shorter” one last year, but 350 is quite a bit more than 200. Equally scared and fired up for this, preparation is going to be fun, on both the training side of things as well as equipment/self support.
Edit: failed to mention that I am just back in training shape after getting rocked by COVID and a post COVID bacterial lung infection. AIFTP has me at the lowest I’ve been since I started training, and I’m heavier than I’ve been since then as well. Starting from the bottom just makes the climb that much more satisfying from the top!
Hey Mitch, I made it in also, similar situation. Sitting in bed recovering from Covid and had a gap off the bike for a few weeks due to work has dropped me down.
Prep is daunting and I am doing the training based in Dubai, UAE and only coming a few days before the race…
No aero bars, and now a staggered start for pro men, pro women, and amateurs. I personally think these are great changes and will improve the event. I found it very sketchy riding near guys who were in their aero bars in the large early on groups. Curious to hear what everyone else thinks.
Edit: misread that amateurs can still use aerobars. Kind of odd, I guess this is probably due to the elite riders complaining about it?
