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29x18 does not = good flat course choice
Hmmm SS and canberra are normally great fun......
Not so much today. Dont get me wrong I had a great day out on the bike, the tracks were awesome as always. My problem was I was on a SS set up to climb the big hills that the Otway 100km race had that I did a month earlier, I was too lazy to worry about changing the gear to suit this race and as such I found the going very tough on the flat parts of the course.
I started off in the first wave and from the start was spinning a lot. Once we hit the singletrack things suited me nicely I was able to keep up without too much effort. t5his continued until we got out of Kowan Forest and hit Sutton Rd..... I couldnt hold on to the bunch in front of me (which included 1st and 2nd in SS (both running a much higher gear)) I carried along at the pace i could manage while watching riders go past me all the time. Once into Majura I was happy, hmm I love singletrack. Anyway I ended up suffering a flat tyre though here, I used a gas canister to pump it up hoping she be right its only a very slow leak. This turned out to be a big mistake. ALWAYS put a tube in if you get a flat rather than relying on Stans to seal the hole.
I bumbled my way through the untimed section and used about 40mins of the 45 that I could of, this was good as it gave my legs a bit of a chance to rest. I also saw Andy here as well.
The ride to Stromlo was not to bad i think i only lost 1 place until I my tyre when flat again... I thought well only 20km to go to the finish I hope i can make it before my tyre goes flat again....
The climb up Stromlo was perfect as I was finally riding the hills that my bike was setup for!!! I past a lot of people on this section. About 8km to the finish I was suffering from a slowly deflating tyre that was making cornering very hard. The last bit of singletrack was very slow indeed as I nursed home the tyre.
I quick check of my tyre and rim once home showed the damage done. the tyre was toast and the rim had lost all of the paint on the top of the lip. no dings and the wheel is still true though.
I will be back next year but imight have gears I reckon or maybe just SSing with a sensible gear... Note to self 29X18 is not a good gear for a flat course.
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Just ride some gears man!!! You'd whip it with gears!
Sounds like a hell of a day out with one gear.
On another note - I have a 32hole Stans 355 29er rim in the garage doing nothing if you need it to replace your rear one.
Hey Gav. Sorry i didnt get into conversation at the start line - I was getting in the zone, as they say.
Anyway, I heard that canisters and stans dont mix too well. As the air coming out of the high pressure canister drops in temperature, it freezes the sealant.
Ants, whats that canister thing taped to your seatpost? Have you used it with any success? Do you run stans inside your tube aswell? If so, how have the two sealants work together?
Cheers,
Tate.
Deon, who won SS on the day, was running 2.125:1 compared to your 1.61:1 so you must have been fairly down on speed. That was about the biggest gear he could have pushed up the hills and he's a very strong guy
I run Caffe Latex in my tyres, so does Jenny. It works with gas.
On the seatpost is a mixture of sealand + gas. Maybe Weldtite or something. I get it in a tri shop.
The theory is thus...
1. Caffe Latex seals small holes
2/. If that fails, and whole is too big, use seatpost combo thing (cant remember the brand)
3/. If it all fails, 26" inner tube (stretches well, and is much lighter than 29er) and normal gas bomb (in back pocket)
Brilliant time considering all of that Gav.
Yeah I know about Stans and gas canisters not mixing so well. The real problem was there was basically no spare Stans in the tyre when I opened it.... I will follow Anthony's Idea from now on though.
I have check over the rim and it is still OK so no need to replace it. I have also managed to get some GEAX Barro Race TNT tyres on to the rim now so I shouldnt a have a flat for a while as I will not be able to get the tyre off again in a hurry. 620g is a bit heavy but it is a rock solid tyre with strong side walls and bead.
only 2 more weeks without gears for me. Once the mont is done I will be back to 18 different gears.