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Calling all Fling Veterans | HT or FS? Advice needed
Calling all Full Fling veterans
I'm a Fling virgin, and trying to decide which bike to race, my XTC Hard Tail or my 575. What can I expect from the trail?
A mate of mine who I consistently beat in every event is on a serious training push and has also started to trim his new bike (a Carbon Blur) down in weight. He's desperate to beat me this time and I fear he's going to make me work extra hard in this event - he's riding really strong at the moment. In an effort to combat this I have managed to drop 1kg off my Yeti just in tyres alone buying some ridiculously light race tyres and tubes. But I'm thinking that if I put them on the XTC I can go lighter yet and that over the distance will give me quiet an advantage.
In weight terms my XTC wins hands down by being almost a kilo lighter: YETI 12.5kg vs XTC 11.6kg
But how technical is the The Fling? What can I expect? Will putting lightweight tyres on be asking for trouble with punctures? and is it worth putting sealant in the tubes to help minimise any downtime caused by said punctures?
Any advice appreciated
Cheers
Phil
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unless you're of Gordo or hamish fitness or you're over 30 years of age i'd go the yeti. for old farts like me comfort is king on long races and any advantage you have in speed on a hardtail will be lost in the latter parts of the race as your body becomes battered and fatigued. watch out for punctures too. i had problems last year on light tyres and ultra light tubes and i consider myself fairly nimble over the rough stuff.
that he thinks the hard tail if you feel your body can manage that, especially since the track is 6ks longer than last year, and not known for being technical... (mind you, he is only just over 30!)
He, by the way is being a total freak and going single speed.. well, he has to really since I have stolen his Giant - Blondie N+1
which is 10.3kgs vs 12.4kgs for my FS. There is a lot of firetrail and climbing which favours the hardtail and I felt pretty good at the end of last years race. The singletrack is pretty smooth and so I think that you will be fine on the hardtail if you have trained on it over long distances and therefore used to the ride.
Beware there are some fast really rocky descents which may shred light tyres so I would run tyres with a stronger sidewall and regular rather than ultralight tubes at a decent pressure eg 40psi. These may negate any weight savings and reduce the comfort that you would have with the hardtail though. Trades offs, trade offs....
you will be right Phil, i've seen you climb on the Yeti and you go well, so ride your favourite bike with fast tyres
I think the first and last section of the fling are fast and the middle section probably has more singletrack whilst there seem to be many hills prior to halfway hill and it and the following ones can hurt a bit.
As always it will depend how strong you are in the last thirty or forty ks and its which bike keeps you feeling the best
Anyone got any thoughts or experience with running sealant inside tubes? Good or Bad? Is it worth adding the extra (minimal) weight?
For these distances would you guys run tubes or go tubeless + sealant? Just curious.
I run tubeless myself but carry a spare Presta tube. Haven't done anything longer than about 30-40km on the dirt myself yet.
...who it appears has acquired a personal secretary for the evening
says... go the tubeless every time
must say, since I have gotten his fabulous Giant I like tubeless...so relaxing!
oooops he said (while i was typing my own thing) 'since he has gone tubeless a year ago he hasn't had one flat - however, since getting the 29er and reverting back to normal tubes he has had three flats in one month'
its too hard trying to type while he speaks...I wasn't made for dictation!
ps he has ridden 100ks plus tubeless in that time... any other questions? I have the red wine here handy! LOL
I used to pinch flat regularly (read: at least every other ride) despite putting high pressures in.
I have never had a flat on the trail running tubeless (over 2 years?). Which now dooms me to one
That said - I have had slow leaks that are only apparent once your bike has been sitting for a few days. Also seen other people 'burp' and rip holes in some of the thinner walled tires around. For your first time, go a 'proper' UST tire (not a standard one filled with sealant) - Maxxis LUST is good stuff
Sorry guys, I think you've misunderstood me a little.
I'm enquiring about putting sealant inside my inner tubes and NOT the tires themselves - ie not UST.
Like a Dr Sludge Self Sealing Tube: http://sports.ciao.co.uk/Dr_Sludge_Self_Sealing_...
Has anyone used self sealing tubes or put sealant in their tubes before?
(The country) before tubeless took off.
Not sure what the tube vs tubeless situation in SA is now, but SA has alot more thorns than Aus (well in the riding I have done here in Aus, there's been close to bugger all thorns) so it made sense to have sealant inside the tube for the non-tubeless riders. Problem is that tube sealant will do nothing for 'snake bites' or pinch flats and that would be the biggest concern for the Fling's terrain (along with side wall damage which would be an issue for both tubes and tubeless setups).
I would forgo the tube sealant and ensure that you keep the psi up.