SBT GRVL gearing

#1

Hi everyone. Happy 4th! I’m new to the forum, recovered from DK200, and wondering about what gearing to use for SBT GRVL.

I’m currently running 1X, 38 x 11-46, which was perfect for me at DK- I never spun out, and was able to ride up the climbs where people were hiking. Here in Boulder, I’m still really liking it, and I’ve only found one spot where I start to spin out for about 30 seconds (at the flatish part of the very bottom of Sunshine). I should mention: I coast down lots of descents and recover from the climbs.

I know SBT has a significant amount of pavement- is it going to be like at the Crusher, where you need to be able to pedal hard to hang with a group on the pavement, or will we be mostly coasting (or soft pedaling) on the pavement?

Lastly, while I ran size 42 tires at DK, I’m thinking 38 for SBT.

Thanks,
Steve

#2

Hi Steven - I guess that depends on if you are hauling ass with a group and drafting OR or your own at your own pace. Since this is a new race - this is where course recon becomes super important in your preparation if you want to get down to this level of detail.

I just did a quick analysis of max grades from the GPS file here https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28585573

And most climbs & descents are between 3-5 % with the longest ‘descent’ being 3.1 miles @ -4.3% starting at mile 42.7

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We did a podcast with the promoter of the race in November and he was saying 35mm ought to be fine. Its that CO gucci gravel we have not nearly as tough as DK!

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#3

I run 1x 44x10-42 on my gravel bike (bike i ride for everything) for everything. It was perfect at DK and all the riding I do here on the Front Range. I don’t think any of the climbs at SBTGRVL will be too steep with the exception of the corkscrew. I would think 38x11 would be a bit small for some of the long, rather shallow descents… if you plan on pedaling. I think the climbing will break things up a lot quicker than DK so it will probably be necessary to hammer some of the flats/descents to stay with a group or chase back on. Just my thoughts.

I ran 40c tires and DK and am going to run 36s in Steamboat.

Looking forward to race day!!

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#4

Thanks guys! One thing the Di2 folks may want to check out is Di2stats.com, which tells you all kinds of detailed stats about how much you’ve used each gear (plus all kinds of cool/geeky stuff like avg. power/gradient/cadence in each gear, etc.). This can be used to help figure out what gearing works best for you.