Dave Wiens’ Leadville 100 bike
- By Steve Frothingham
- Published Aug. 13, 2009
- Updated Aug. 14, 2009 at 4:47 PM UTC
Dave Wiens dropped Lance Armstrong in the last ten miles of last year’s Leadville 100, and cranked in to the finish in downtown Leadville with Armstrong breathing down his neck.
Making it worse was the creepy sensation of a squishy rear tire, which nursed into the finish. When he crossed the line less than two minutes ahead of Armstrong he was almost riding on the rim.
Last year Wiens made a last-week decision to run Stan’s NoTubes wheels with Stan’s sealant (Armstrong used almost identical wheels and tires last year) in regular (that is, non-UST) tires. It’s a super light and fast set up.
This year, seeking his seventh consecutive win, Wiens is using a bit heavier tire set up: a DT carbon-rimmed wheelset with Continental Race King UST tubeless tires.
“I figure the extra weight is a trade-off for sleeping better this week,” he said.
Otherwise Wiens’ bike is similar to his mount last year: a carbon-fiber hardtail from sponsor Rotwild, with Magura front suspension. Here are the specs:
- Frame: Rotwild full-carbon RR2 HT hardtail
- Fork: Magura MD80 SL
- Wheels: DT Swiss carbon
- Tires: Continental Race King 2.2 UST (with a “tiny bit of Stan’s sealant”)
- Cranks, chainrings and bottom bracket: Shimano XTR
- Chain, cassette, pedals and shifters: Shimano XTR
- Brakes: Magura Marta SL
- Stem and seatpost: Thomson
- Grips: Ergon GX-2 Team Series Carbon
- Handlebar: Control Tech aluminum riser
- Saddle: Terry Fly carbon rail
- Seat bag, mini pump and bottle cages: Topeak
VeloNews.com and Singletrack.com will have a big crew at Leadville Saturday – reporting, shooting pictures and video and, in a few cases, racing. Follow along at twitter.com/singletrack_com.
FILED UNDER: Mountain / News TAGS: Leadville Trail 100
Steve Frothingham
VeloNews.com editor Steve Frothingham joined the gang in bike-crazy Boulder in early 2008. He is the former executive editor of the trade magazine Bicycle Retailer & Industry News. He also was a reporter and editor for The Associated Press, where he covered three presidential primaries in politics-crazy New Hampshire. His racing career began on a BMX track in 1980 and reached its zenith with several miserable road races as a category 2 in the early 90s. He subsequently retreated to cat. 3, where he has had a consistently mediocre (at best) record ever since, in road, mountain bike and cyclocross events. Follow him on Twitter at @steve_froth