When it comes to the Leadville Trail 100 MTB Race, tires are the most hotly debated tech topic. The participants' page and other forums are littered with discussions on what tire to run, what tire is best, what tire is the lightest, and so on. These discussions can be somewhat beneficial but what most of them lack is real data. Well we found one tech head who is putting XC tires to the test to come up with actual numbers that characterize a tires' rolling performance.
John Karrasch of Cahaba Cycles is our guest and expert for this episode. John has been on a quest to find the fastest off-road tires. Some of the tires he's been testing are gravel tires but most are the kinds of tires a Leadville Racer would run: XC mountain bike tires. The Vittoria Peyote, the Continental Race King and Dubnital, and the Maxxis Aspen and Aspen ST are all tires John has tested in the field. He's been feeding GPS, power, speed, weight, and wind resistance data into a program to come up with rolling resistance figures.
We're not gonna lie, this is pretty heady stuff. But by the end of the interview we boil it down to the tires that roll the fastest and hopefully point Leadville racers to a handful that will do best at Leadville.
Mentions in this episode:
John's Instagram - flexfitbyjohn
Rolling resistance effect on power and speed - gribble.org
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.