BIKE CHECK: MURU IDITAROD SE
What bike would you take to tackle 1000 miles across slush, snow and ice in Alaska?
As much as bike racing is about going fast and battling competitors, it can also be about going far and battling conditions and your own internal naysayers. We took a look at the Muru Iditarod LE that Troy Szczurkowski raced at Iditarod this year. Covering 1000 miles from Anchorage to Nome in Alaska, the race attracts a small but hardened list of riders. And Szczurkowski is quickly becoming one of the regulars.
“I’ve ridden four times to Nome, which is the
1000 mile race,” said Szczurkowski. “2015 was the first year that I raced on the 350 mile race. It’s the only race I do each year.” And that’s not surprising given how the race runs. The 1000 miles, or about 1600km, is covered in one hit, in all conditions. “The gun goes off at the start and the decision is on you for when you stop. No matter what comes along, they don’t stop the race. It’s up to the racer when they stop, when they eat, when they sleep. Some racers make good decisions, some make bad ones. We had 20% of the field scratch in the first night - it was -25C on the 90 mile river section of the course and a few people got burnt.”
With those sorts of requirements, and conditions that Australians can barely imagine, it’s no surprise that Szczurkowski has spent time refining his bike, his equipment, his strategies and his mental focus. “It’s very easy to fall into the trap of waking up, feeling tired and riding slow – and then touring off pace. I ride a rigid race plan that is always at the back of my mind, so it means I am always strategising. People often ask that if you’re on the bike all day and night, what am I thinking about, it must be boring? But no, every 15 minutes you’re doing a self diagnostic check of your body and bike - everything. You’re always thinking of something, planning out your food, melting snow for your water and adjusting your strategy for peak efficiency and performance.”
With so much to think about, there is also the need to learn the ropes so you can actually race the thing, says Szczurkowski. “When you first race it, you’re very green and other people have an advantage over you thanks to their trail intel. To go out as a rookie and think you’re going to smash the field is the wrong mental state to be in. Each time you race it you get a little bit smarter, and you refine your systems a whole lot better too. That enables you to race it a lot more efficiently and you gain confidence in that, as you can shave times off transitions at different check points. You’re totally focussed on racing as efficiently as you can. Not necessarily as fast as you can, but efficiently. I see speed as different to efficiency. If you ride hard and fast, get to a checkpoint, need a heap of recovery time and you’re fumbling getting your stove out, overall you’re not racing efficiently.”
THE 2019 BIKE
The frame is a Muru Iditarod LE, something developed by Muru and Szczurkowski. The idea was to get the weight better distributed over the bike, especially towards the back, for greater stability.
“In previous years my setup was front loaded. I wanted to have the front lighter and have gear better distributed. Pushing the bike in snow can be 30% of the race, so rear mounted loading and lower COG helps with that. In 2018 I pushed
the last 250 miles to Nome, so gains in pushing efficiency certainly pay out. Moving everything further back on the bike was crucial for weight balance and handling. I also improved more on my systems, for example I always had my cooking kit in a pannier on the front, I wanted to have better access and on the back closer to my food.”
Szczurkowski has also made his own custom kit bags to suit the frame, including an insulated bag for water behind the seat tube. “Being able to keep more water warmer for longer in an insulated frame bag, out of the wind meant I could keep it drinkable for over 24hrs. It extends the time between stops to melt snow. My lightweight stove and Ti pots are in their own dedicated bag mounted behind the seatpost, with food in the ironic pizza slice shaped panniers, the bag on the underside of the downtube carries spares and tools.”
“We wanted to make the bike lower, so we dropped the bottom bracket a significant amount to get the seat height lower. It is then easier to dab or stop and start in marginal conditions. You don’t need to get off the seat as much to put a foot down. We added 200mm to the chainstays, but it still fits in my standard EVOC travel bag with the fork removed. It has huge tyre clearance and geo suited for 27++.”
While admitting it handles like a barge on trails, Szczurkowski said the Muru is exactly what he was after in Alaska. “You have a lot more high speed straight line stability, and if the back end does kick out it tends to self correct a lot better. That’s what you want on a long distance endurance race in sand or snow - stability on fast descents when your mind is dulled by sleep deprivation. Slow speed stability and control is incredible, just don’t expect tight radius turns on singletrack.” With a SRAM 11-speed drivetrain and RaceFace NEXT R cranks to suit the 87mm chainline needed to clear the tyres, E13 TRS+ cassette, Avid BB7r cable disc brakes, 100mm wide HED carbon fat bike rims laced to DT Swiss 350 fat bike hubs – everything is pretty straight forward once you take the longer frame out of the picture. But Szczurkowski pointed out the finer details.
“The headset is a Cane Creek Viscoset. It gives you a lot more control when your tyres are deflated. I run cable operated brakes on the snow, as you don’t have hydraulic issues. I used Nokon cables and the road disc calipers as they have Ti hardware, light 160mm/140mm Ashima rotors with Ti bolts - haha I’m bit of a weight weenie.”
Bearings got special treatment due to the conditions to make sure they kept moving. “I winterised every high speed bearing in the bike. Hubs, bottom bracket, jockey wheels, pedals, freehub all get a winter specific grease that is good to 60C below.” His seat is a well-padded SMP saddle, and the bars have lots of sweep and extra taping for comfort.
Szczurkowski says that he learns something each time he does Iditarod – so what did he put into place for 2019? “From a bike side of things, making system access more efficient. By stitching my own bags I have specific areas for food, puffy clothing, spares and gear . From a personal side you sleep less and shiver bivvy, stop less for hot meals and fuel up on cold race food, I didn’t shower for the whole race. More recovery, less showering - some people get it and accept that’s what you do, but of course I have a dedicated daily hygiene regime for contact points. I only took two pairs of shorts, the first pair for the first half of the race, then I put the new pair on and went double chamois with the 2nd pair on top. It was luxury!”
And the results? Szczurkowski was 3rd in 2019, just a few hours behind the winners with a race time of 19 days and 16 hours – a huge achievement.