Cylon

As others have mentioned, there’s very little adjustability with Brain suspension. The Specialized Suspension Calculator has worked pretty well for me though: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/suspension-calculator/app

It's in pretty poor shape on both sides. Washed out right down to the bedrock in many places with loose gravel that makes it difficult to get traction on the climbs. There's also no clear line anymore. It's definitely rideable on an MTB but you will need to be really careful if you're recovering from a broken collarbone.

I finished the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race in 2018 in a time of 8h:39m (163rd overall). I started in the White Corral which I qualified for after finishing the Silver Rush 50 MTB earlier that year. The race organizers are pretty strict with regards to seeding and won’t consider written motivations or proof of your SA results, so if you are serious about finishing in sub-9, you will need to enter one of the seeding events in the Leadville Race Series. As others have said, what makes the race so tough are the long climbs, the altitude which drains your energy and restricts your breathing, and the unpredictable weather conditions (rain, sleet, snow, heatwave etc are all possible in one day). It was a big one to tick off my bucket list and I highly recommend it to everyone. Just make sure that you put in some training at high altitude and arrive a week or two early to acclimatize if possible.

I suspect it's a reference to the Velo Life liquidation debacle as they were the distributors at the time but perhaps others might have more insight.

I'm selling a brand new 36t oval Cannondale Hollowgram Si compatible chainring for anyone that's interested as my new Scalpel purchase unfortunately didn't materialise. It's the perfect companion for an Eagle setup https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/239423-chainrings/

Very chuffed for Kent. He's a great talent. Hope Willie also gets his chance.

Apparently Racetec had a complete meltdown today so there won't be any official results ???? I'm sure that's going to please a lot of people and might lead to a new popcorn thread...

One of the toughest, best organised, most scenic races on the MTB calendar. I'll be back for more in 2017.

I've ordered a 36t oval chainring from a Ukranian company that makes both round and oval chainrings for the Cannondale Hollowgram crankset which are designed to work with the new AI frames (F-SI, Scalpel SI, Beast of the East, Bad Habit). It might take a couple of months to arrive via SAPO but it's worth the wait especially if you are running Eagle http://garbaruk.com

Nice to read an informative and creatively written race report for a change!

Don't celebrate until you cross the frikkin line!!!

I had the same problem. Ended up replacing the headset with a more durable one.

Cheap as chips for a fantastic event!

er... because it sounds very similar to the terrorist group ISIS? Regardless it's a really poor name.

They look impressive apart from the extremist name but let's be honest it's hard to beat Shimano on quality and reliability. As much as I want to like pedals made by other manufacturers, and I've tried many of them, I keep reverting back to good ol' XTs...