teamtrinity

Anyone doing Cone-Azalia in Milan, MI this Sunday? It's my first time doing this race. Wondering what a wise tire choice would be? And would it be a bad idea to use my 20lbs steel bike? I've just heard of so many people breaking wheels, forks, and frames in this race...

Input appreciated!

wens

I raced it last year. I wouldn't do it on anything narrower than 25s, preferably 28s for clinchers. I wished I had tubulars so I could have run them lower, it would have been a lot more comfortable.

Last year the dirt sections were actually smoother than the paved sections Fwiw. I can't make it this year but I would race my tarmac. I'd use a set of cross wheels (32 spoke box section tubulars) with vittoria paves or similar instead of my normal wheels though.

Spartannia

I'll be there, also for my first time. Planning on using some beefy 32-spoke DT Swiss RR465 wheels and Gatorskins, and just hoping that's good enough.

Any interest in joining me for some course recon on Saturday? Shoot me a PM if you are.

octaneTom

I'll be there as well - my first time also. I'm planning on racing the 'cross bike - Salsa Las Cruces w/ 28-spoke Mavic Open Pros that I've got a pair of 28c Conti Grand Prix 4Seasons on. Only issue is I run that bike 1x10...hope the 42t up front won't spin out too much. I figure I should do OK since the course looks so flat.

wens

I had a junior in front of me almost open a gap on the backstretch where we were guttered with a cross/tailwind because he was out of gear. 42/11 is bigger than junior gears are allowed though, so as long as you can spin you should be fine.

teamtrinity

Those are the tires I was looking at. I wonder...do you guys think Conti Grand Prix 4-Seasons 25c would be ok?

octaneTom

I have teammate who has rode w/ people that pre-rode the route and they told her they're running maxxis re-fuse 700x25s, FWIW.

teamtrinity

Good to know! Thanks!

I did notice that it's supposed to rain on Sunday, not sure what time though. Would wet roads change your tire recommendation?

Spartannia

Chance of rain seems to be dropping, looks like we might have nice-ish weather.

BTW, I don't have enough posts to respond to your PM. I think I'm going to be at Milan HS by about 11AM on Saturday to do 2-3 laps of the course.

teamtrinity

Didn't make it out with the local people yesterday! Planning on riding myself after work today. But may join you on Saturday as well...I'll let you know in this thread if I'll be there by 11am by later tonight!

Spartannia

If another time might work better for you, I can be flexible. Absolutely zero things to do on Saturday.

teamtrinity

Decided against another pre-ride of the course. Instead, went on a short ride to just keep the legs loose.

Here are some impressions from my course pre-ride yesterday...

Platt was windy...Dennson was windy...Redman was SOOOO windy!!!!! At one point, I couldn't move any faster than 12 mph on Redman. Wind is bad for me...I'm not strong enough to fight through it.

Sections of Platt had some bad potholes. Paved Dennson was actually pretty awful over some sections. Riding solo...it's very very easy to avoid all the potholes. But...if you get unlucky enough to get railroaded by adjacent riders into potholes? Well...at worst, you'll flat and maybe crash. And at best, those bumps really take a toll on your strength. Overall...not a ton of potholes...but many of them can be pretty gnarly.

Cone Rd, Petersburg, and Welch are FAST!!!! The winded is at your back on Cone and Welch...and the crosswinds were very weak on Welch. BUT...Petersburg has the potential to be a DISASTER!!!!! The road has a bunch of surprise sandy patches. I hit a couple sandy patches and almost lost it. You can see them...but once you see them, at the rate the bike is traveling, it's hard to avoid them.

The corners that transition from dirt to paved (and vice versa) all also have the potential to be disasters. Loose rock/gravel/sand. Almost lost it on a couple corners. I'm going to take them slow and safe. And hope another rider doesn't wipe me out.

Good luck!

Spartannia

Looks like we'll avoid the rain and the very worst of the wind tomorrow. Still should be 10+ MPH blowing straight out of the east, which makes the finishing straight rough if you're not on a wheel.

Fastest stretches from the recon ride this morning were definitely Cone and Welch. There are a couple of nice, relatively pothole-free lines down the middle of Welch. The turn from Platt onto Cone is the most worrying part of the course for me...lots of holes and loose gravel no matter where you are on the road. And yeah, Petersburg was very sketchy. Almost went down 5-6 times on one lap.

Good luck to you tomorrow.