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After plenty of fussin' and wonderin', I have settled on my tires for Leadville - the Maxxis Cross Mark UST. My Neighborhood Wrench, Matt, highly recommended them, so I used them in Laramie to see if I liked them. Once I dialed in the air pressure (I'm going to run them at about 28 psi) they were great - fast rolling, hooked up in the loose stuff without skidding on downhills and gave me plenty of bite when climbing. I'm running them tubeless, with Stan's tire sealant.One decision down - 327 more to go!
Competitive Cyclist did an extensive REVIEW entitled "Which tire is right for us?" The Continental Explorer UST, Kenda Nevegal UST, Maxxis Crossmark UST and Kenda Small Block 8 UST were evaluated.
We got turned on to the Maxxis Crossmark UST by its tread design. We’ve ridden some good tires from Maxxis before, so it was no surprise that we found a niche fairly quickly for the Crossmark. It is marketed as an all conditions / hardpack tire. One of the fundamental elements of the tread design is the nearly continuous center ridge. This makes the Crossmark ideal for hardpack trails, paved bike paths and forest roads. The lack of void space makes it roll easily and smoothly. The tread opens with ramped intermediate blocks. The shoulder blocks are an alternation of square and round shapes. They are tightly packed, and we felt like the lack of void space on the shoulder hampered the tire in loose conditions and off camber corners. Maxxis claimed weight of 690 grams was spot on with our readings.
I’m Out
Guest blog #3 by Phil Kriz
This is hard for me to write, let alone say out loud, but after 10 months of training I will not be doing Leadville this year.
My fall at the Laramie Enduro did break some ribs [jcm edit - at least 4 of them], so the doctor says no mountain biking for about 6 weeks for me.
I do not, however, concede the Lion to Joanne until she comes back with a belt buckle!
The Good News
The good news is no messed up joints (like a dislocated or separated shoulder/blown knee) that require surgery and a lot of rehab.
Six weeks will go by fast and I will only have to endure one long tough day watching everyone else suffer while wondering how I would have done this year.
Especially how I would have done against Joanne!
[From Outside Magazine (August 2009 edition)]
Tour de Suffer
This August, the 16th annual Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race kicks off in America's highest city. An expected record of 1,300 competitors will climb more than 14,000 vertical feet at an average elevation of two miles. Lance Armstrong says he's returning, and Levi Leipheimer has committed, too, both hoping to dethrone six-time winner Dave Wiens. But for most riders, the main goal is to not end up sucking air from one of eight oxygen bottles spread out along the course. [written by Kyle Dickman]
2,565
More vertical feet Leadville cyclists ride than Everest climbers ascend from Base Camp to Mount Everest.
2,500
People who applied for this year's entrance lottery, which fills the race's 1,400 slots, a 25% increase over last year.
[10,000, the number I heard in January was evidently highly exaggerated!]
$4,000
Twice offered to race director Ken Chlouber for a spot in the race (he declined)
25%
Portion of riders who do not finish
Eleven
Expected cases of post-race high-altitude pulmonary edema
Competitive Cyclist did an extensive REVIEW entitled "Which tire is right for us?" The Continental Explorer UST, Kenda Nevegal UST, Maxxis Crossmark UST and Kenda Small Block 8 UST were evaluated.
