During my interview today on the
Mountain Bike Race Minute online, host Ben Welnak asked me about my
Dirty Kanza 200 setup, and I told him I'd post it up here on the Dirtblog for all to see. For while I've thought long and hard about everything here, I'm not above letting you see how I'm rolling this year. Here it is...
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| Frame is my Ti Salsa Bike With No Name (BWNN) -- a prototype of the Ti Fargo, but with a couple notable differences. I'm going with big tires this year - a Kenda Kommando 2.2 on the front and a WTB Vulpine 2.1 on the rear, both tubeless with my own "getto" sealant. A 2x9 drivetrain -- 30x44 Salsa chainrings on a vintage 58/94 BCD Deore XT crank with a low-mount XT front derailleur driving a 11-34 Deore XT cassette via an XTR (M950) rear derailleur on the "business" end. WTB saddle, Ti Moots seatpost. Lots of bottle cages. (I may ditch the seatpost bottle mount and use the fork mounts -- we'll see.) |
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| In the Jandd frame bag, I'll run a 50oz Camelbak bladder, which will increase my water carrying capacity significantly without requiring me to carry a bag on my body. The Salsa Woodchipper handlebar is a super comfortable choice for long days in the drops. PRO Silicone tape was added at the recommendation of Nate Woodman, and was a fantastic choice... It's the most comfortable tape I've ever ridden, hands down. |
Feel free to ask questions. Thanks for reading, and for listening to the Mountain Bike Race Minute online!
6 comments:
Matt,
What a beautiful rig. Two questions that I have for you.
1.) Why the big wheels?
2.) How much does she weigh? (sans h2o)
Dave Tyler
those 35c tires beat the hell out of me on the fresh gravel in Iowa. Last year I think I went through 5 gallons of water in just over 200 miles. I also shut the air off in the hotel as to not get shocked in the morning. Thank you for the awesome time and memories at this years transiowa. I hope to ride with you next time.
best,
Ari
Thanks Ari. You basically answered Bigdave's question, in a nutshell. The big tires will give me a much smoother ride over the rough flint rock we'll be riding over. I have done the DK200 on 38c tires (I finished 5th overall in '08 on 38c Schwalbe Marathon Cross'), but won't do it again. Not only did I trash both the tires and rims, my body took an unholy beating.
The bike weighs 24 lbs with no bag, but cages, pedals and computer. Pretty good for what it is...
Thanks to you both for your comments and questions.
Ari, we will definitely ride together at some point soon, my friend... Safe travels to you.
Cheers,
MG
Dave, hope to see you on the road or trail sometime soon too! Thanks again for checking in!
Big wide tires are a good choice. I'm running 40c Marathons on my La Cruz this year (tubeless as well). Still working on dialing in pressures. Looking forward to sharing some great gravel miles with you next Saturday MG.
Thanks Steve,
I can't wait. It's gonna be a great time. I actually just put my Reba back on the front, believe it or not. I kind of had a realization last night that the suspension fork gave me the ability to eliminate my desire to ride the line on tire pressure in the front to enhance ride quality, as I can get it from the fork. With all the mountain bike racing I've been doing lately, my upper body has been taking a beating, so having the fork on there will be good for me.
See you soon, my friend. Safe travels.
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