I would also think about them. I really need a solid rear tire and front tire. Not sure if a race king 2.2 will fit on the factor. The rear i am limited to 45. Pathfinder has been a super solid tire for me. If they figured out how to make it 3w faster I would be so excited.
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Messing around with tires for an upcoming race and thought I’d see if race king 2.2’s would come close to fitting my checkpoint. I believe my frame is officially rated for 45’s, but it fits 47’s with pretty good clearance. I still didn’t think the 2.2’s had a chance, but they fit better than I expected. Bottom line is that I wouldn’t hesitate to run one in the front (even with a little mud), but the rear clearance probably isn’t enough even in dry conditions.
A few pics - Decent up front
Decent on the seat stays
Decent on the seat tube
Deal killer on the chainstay (2-3mm clearance)
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Yeah even in dry conditions, your tire will depress when cornering and such and rub those chain stays. My thunder burt fits the same in the rear. Has tons of clearance but the chain stay is like 2mm. I rode it in wet sloppy gravel conditions for 60 miles yesterday but since nothing really caked on my tires it didn’t rub any more than normal riding. My bike is titanium (raw in the chain stay) and you can see where it has absolutely rubbed on the chain stay. If it was carbon fiber it would probably do some damage pretty quickly, even without mud.
I think I’ll run the TB’s for dry races still, but mid south and unbound seem to even have a bit of mud (and high puncture risk) in dry years that I’ll be running something a few mm small.
You might be able to get away with a TB in the rear if there’s not mud, but a 50 would probably be best.
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At least you can run the front.
This will be my first year doing Unbound, and I am in for the 200. I have a question about the hired crew support. What service do they provide other than just getting your drop bag at each check point?
I used them for the 100 about 3 years ago, they were fine. Opted for 3 Feet for the 200.
As with @webdev511, I used 3 Feet last year. They were fantastic…as soon as we got to their tents, someone took the bike and asked what adjustments were needed (if any). Someone else was getting our gear bags while someone else was asking what we needed in terms of nutrition (water, Coke, food, etc).
One big thing to note - while you can pre-fill bottles and hydration packs with the powder of your choice, you cannot pre-fill them with water (to protect against leaks and spills all over everyone’s gear). Make sure you mix your bottles and packs well before leaving the aid station!! I failed to mix my hydration pack well last year and ended up getting heavily concentrated mix for the next 2+ hours and it shut my stomach down. It wasn’t until the second aid station until I got it sorted.
But that was on me, not 3 Feet. I would definitely use them again if I needed to hire a 3rd-party crew. The support was excellent, the crew was friendly and supportive and the food choices at the aid stations were excellent.
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Along those same lines… Assuming there is some mud, what are there for available services/facilities to wash down/lube up bikes after the race? I assume there are self service car washes around town (maybe?), but are there any pressure wash stations or similar?
If there was some sort of available service to pay someone to clean/lube it, I’d probably jump all over that as well. Seems like it could be a business idea, if there isn’t already…
3 feet had a much needed power washer.
I just looked at their site, and (at least for mid south) it showed that they had one at the halfway point. Do you know if they have one at the end as well?
$45 for their services, but might be worth it just for the pressure washing. My wife/kids will likely be at the halfway or another aid station as needed for my support, but for their pressure washing and they mention any small maintenance/repair items, that price is pretty easy to swallow.
3 Feet did not have any service at the end of the race and they return your drop-off bags on Sunday morning.
However, Muc-Off has had a cleaning station / service for free at the end of the race.
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Pressure wash with caution. I’ve used the muc off washers at the finish (they support many events), but I do it myself rather than letting them do it. From what I see, they hit every part of the bike with the pressure washer. There are few things that can damage the bearings on your bike quicker than hitting certain areas (BB, Headset, front/rear wheel bearings, etc.) with a pressure washer when the bike is covered in mud. After the 2023 Unbound mud fest, there were an awful lot of people replacing a bearings on bikes, reporting extensive repairs on social media. Modern sealed bearings are generally unphased by mud, grit, etc. until pressure is applied. Clearing all the mud with a gentle stream from a hose is so much better in my experience.
My bike at the finish in 2023. I recall taking this photo was an unlock to a complimentary bike washing. I asked the guy with the pressure washer to keep the spray nozzle at least a foot away from the bike. The spraying cleaned off most of the thicker dirt, but I still needed to do a deep cleaning when I got home.
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There’s also a self service car wash in town if you want to do it yourself
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I just ordered a 40mm g one rs pro for the rear in mid south if it’s particularly muddy. I plan to bring two wheel sets, and will likely do the same for unbound unless something new is released (likely) or I don’t care for how this performs.
Dry: pathfinder 47 rear, thunder burt or pathfinder 47 front
Mud: g one rs pro 40mm rear, pathfinder 47 front
In Texas dry conditions I’m fine with the thunder burt front and rear, but I’d assume a bit of mud regardless on either course, and obvious concerns with flats (more so in the thunder burt rear than front).
Mid south will be my first 100m gravel race, and 3rd-4th time riding that distance ever, so really just looking for a good hard, well paced ride, as opposed to riding on the edge of my capabilities as I would a 60ish mile race. I’ll get to the same comfort in the 100’s hopefully soon.
Measured my MOG with 2.2" Race Kings mounted up. I have 3.5mm clearance at the narrowest point in the front - basically 45 degrees right at the “corner” or point of the tread but much better everywhere else on the tire. The rear is ~4.25mm at the narrowest. About the same at chainstay and rear seat post. That’s with a layer of RideWrap on all surfaces too so there’s a little protection in place.
So, fine for dry conditions, but not for mud…
Racing Ralph 2.1" and Thundero 48 still on the way.
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I got in some long gravel rides this week. Tested my tire setup with race king in the front and 47 pathfinder in the rear (also did a long road ride with this setup on thursday). The race king is slower on the road compared to the pathfinder (based on feel and comparing some segment times), but sure feels nice on the gravel. I attribute a lot of the difference to running about 10psi lower with the larger race king, it just soaks up the chatter. I’m not sure I’ll run the race king at unbound (if dry), but I plan to keep testing and I’ll have a chance to run the setup on the unbound course when I do some pre-riding in late april.
Also wrapped up my base training today. I’ve been loading up the training stress over the last 3 weeks, feeling it the last few days and I’m ready for a rest week. First race of the year next week (valley of tears), I’m doing it on my MTB and just hoping for a fun training day. Considered doing it on the gravel bike, but no aero bars allowed and we plan to do some MTB riding after the race while we’re in the area.
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I finally got out on the road today, I think the first time since december. Did it on the XC bike as I have an event on that coming up.
Had a big melt, so was able to drive about 90 minutes and get sun, blue skies, dry pavement. One problem - temps in the mid 20’s and winds blowing 15+, so wind chills were single digits.
Still, it was 5 hours I didn’t have to sit on the trainer, and I really earned that pizza I was fantasizing about the whole ride.
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First race of the year today - Valley of Tears in Turkey, TX. Unfortunately the race was cut short due to weather (heavy snow, after a beautiful 80f day yesterday). Bummer when they shut it down. But the the legs felt good and I ended up with an AG podium. Lost contact with the lead group early and chased for an hour and somehow managed to make it back to the front of the race. Raced my Epic 8 XC bike (2nd time doing a gravel race on this bike) and again it has me considering the XC bike for Unbound. It definitely costs some watts in places, but saves watts in other places and is a difference maker on selective technical sections. And it’s so comfy, fun, and low stress. Jury is still out, but I may make it an experiment this year and see how it goes. I need to stick the aero bars on it and see how it rolls.
BTW, pretty deep pro men’s field at Valley of Tears. Keegan won the dirt crit yesterday, but must have had issues today because he finished way back. Sofia won yesterday and today in dominant fashion, but it was a pretty small field for the ladies (but w/ some hitters). Very well run event, despite lousy luck with the weather. Only negative is that the course doesn’t take rain/snow well. Not just short stretches of unrideable mud, double digit miles of mud at a time. Race organizers did a nice job of adjusting on the fly, pretty impressive even though it was a bummer with the race being so short. I still recommend this race, plan to try again next year.
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Congrats on the podium!
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