xc racing bike questions

I have always wanted to race bikes, but until now I have been a competitive runner and recreational bicyclists. I am looking to race mtn. bikes this summer. I currently ride a blur lt, which i know isn't ideal for racing. What changes should I make to the bike for a more xc racing fit. The bike it pretty light, dropping the travel on the talus fork seems to get the geometry a little racier and I could put skinnier tires on. I plan in riding the blur and see how things go and how into racing i get before spending a bunch of money on a race specific bike, but what do people think is a good racing bike. I am thinking an epic? Any suggestions for getting into racing? I am leaning towards longer races, 50 and 100 milers.

keep what you have but go for a light, tubeless wheel set.

if that is not in budget, then getto stans the rims, and just light tires.

after tires/wheels the next best thing for $$$ spend vs weight saved = seat and post, bars/stem.

AM classic hubs on stans rims are light and not too bad $$$.

Ghetto tubeless I run this on my bike, it works great.

Who told you the Blur is not a great race bike? With some effort, you can get the bike sub 25lbs. I hope it was not a Specialized dealer that said the Epic was the XC race bike and the Blur was not. That would be very concerning....and if so, I would like to see his Epic keep up with my Blur.:cussing:

o.k....lets answer the questions.

1) leave the travel alone and use the lockout if needed on longer climbs.
2)Agreed with the above postings...wheels are key and tubeless is the way
3)Have the bike professionally fitted and focus the fit on riding posture, not a DH posture. Proper riding posture should have your back at a relaxed angle and straight (where you are not supporting your entire body weight with your arms) Many times I see XC racers WAY too stretched out on their bikes. Chances are they will play around with stem length and seat height. Before racing long distances...have the bike professionally fit.
4)Just do it. Try out some early races. See where some folks are faster. See what works best for the area you live. See where your body hurts...back, neck, knees. As you know from running, when you race, all of a sudden new "pains" come out that were not there when training.
5)Have fun! Mountain bike racing is so great and the people are so great.:cool:

Agreed w/ Nitro. The Blur would make a good race bike, and he has good advice being a true race/bike/fitness/gear freak :) I'm actually being serious :)

Get a star tattoo, a messenger bag, a pinnarello cap, a chain wallet, some man capris, and a steel single-speed fixed twenty-niner.

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Originally Posted by rideit

Get a star tattoo, a messenger bag, a pinnarello cap, a chain wallet, some man capris, and a steel single-speed fixed twenty-niner.

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Nah, get a 7 speed strumey archer fixed rear hub, you'd be way cooler.

Ride-it: That description is really funny. A ss steel 29er might be ok for me but just not the rest. Oh yeah and they are man-pris

Nitro pretty much summed it up. The Blur is a pretty sweet geometry for racing. Plus, a little extra weight won't kill you if you are just starting out, it will only make you stronger... and you won't sink a ton of money in a battle of diminishing returns before you are sure want to commit to racing. This is coming from a guy who used to spend $80 for a derailleur Ti bolt replacement kit, and now runs/occasionally races a SC Superlight with big heavy free ride tires and "gasp" a seat with a few grams of gel. Have fun!

Longer rides take awhile to build up to (at least for me)... pick a ride of reasonable distance, get strong on it, and then start adding miles. Based on your running background you already probably get the nutrition part. I find that the bonk wall sneaks up a lot faster on me than while running though. My favorite long ride foods are cheezits and a can of Ensure Old People Weight Gain Elixir.

Oh, and what Ride-it said will probably work also.

Like mntlion said, start with rotating mass, IOW, wheels/tires.
I'd stay away from UST, though.
The idea is to lose weight, UST still comes with a pretty good weight penalty.
Stan's is kind of a PITA but it works well when done right.
The nice thing about a super light wheelset is you can use your current one for everyday trail riding and keep the light set for raceday only. That keeps you from having to make compromises.
My race tire of choice was the Kenda Klimax Lite; loved that tire. Super lite yet gripped way better than it had any right to. They don't last long, though so, again, save them for race day.
I'm also a big fan of carbon fiber. Light, strong, with a coolness factor Ti can't touch, IMO.
Slowly, as $ allows, start putting it wherever you can. Cranks, bars, seatpost, saddle, stem, headset spacer (OK, headset spacer may be for coolness factor only).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rideit

Get a star tattoo, a messenger bag, a pinnarello cap, a chain wallet, some man capris, and a steel single-speed fixed twenty-niner.

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Fixed gear is the new single speed.:fm:

Screw it just race with what you have. Don't even worry about changing anything until you get a new bike.