{"id":2034349,"date":"2026-07-08T14:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T11:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2034349"},"modified":"2026-07-08T14:00:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T11:00:21","slug":"taking-on-350-muddy-miles-at-unbound-gravel-xl-with-the-gates-belt-drive-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2034349","title":{"rendered":"Taking on 350 Muddy Miles at Unbound Gravel XL with the Gates Belt Drive System"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Gates-Belt-Drive-at-Unbound-Thumbnail.png&#8221;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-wrap fp-contentTarget\">\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<div class=\"mb-base-loose flex flex-wrap gap-(--spacing-base)\">\n<div class=\"fp-remove flex items-center justify-start gap-(--spacing-base-tight)\"><span class=\"font-utility-2 font-bold text-primary\">The VELO Team<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pub-date font-utility-2 text-secondary\">Published July 8, 2026 08:00AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rain, rain, thunderstorms, and then more rain. That\u2019s what awaits ultra-endurance racer Chase McElroy at Unbound Gravel XL, a 350-mile test of mettle through the Flint Hills of Kansas.<\/p>\n<p>Unbound, the largest gravel race in the world, is already a challenge enough when dry, but every few years or so, the skies open up and turn an otherwise dry course into miles-long stretches of nearly impassable peanut butter\u2013consistency goop.<\/p>\n<p>More so than just about any cycling event in the world, what you ride here matters. Riders agonize over every single component, often up until the evening before. At the start line, nerves shoot through the roof. But the one thing Chase isn\u2019t sweating before the ride is their gear choice, highlighted by a Gates belt drive paired to a Pinion gearbox.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_991846\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Gates Belt Drive used at Unbound Gravel XL\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1180\" height=\"681\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-991846\" src=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Gates-Belt-Drive.png?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">Chase\u2019s bike paired with a Gates Carbon Drive system for Unbound Gravel.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This set-up makes for a far simpler drivetrain than a traditional chain-driven derailleur, one that keeps on running in tough conditions like the mud of Unbound. So while they ride through the night, the horizon illuminated by far-off lightning strikes, Chase isn\u2019t worried about the storm that awaits them.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_991250\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2878\" height=\"1620\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-991250\" src=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-03-at-11.33.15%E2%80%AFAM.png?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">Chase at Unbound Gravel<\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This is their story of taking on one of the toughest editions of Unbound Gravel XL in memory.<\/p>\n<p><em>Learn more about Gates Belt Drive systems.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<div class=\"mb-base-loose flex flex-wrap gap-(--spacing-base)\">\n<div class=\"fp-remove flex items-center justify-start gap-(--spacing-base-tight)\"><span class=\"font-utility-2 font-bold text-primary\">The VELO Team<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pub-date font-utility-2 text-secondary\">Published July 8, 2026 08:00AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-gear\/taking-on-350-muddy-miles-unbound-gravel-xl-gates-belt-drive-system\/&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Gates-Belt-Drive-at-Unbound-Thumbnail.png&#8221;] The VELO Team Published July 8, 2026 08:00AM Rain, rain, thunderstorms, and then more rain. That\u2019s what awaits ultra-endurance racer Chase McElroy at Unbound Gravel XL, a 350-mile test of mettle through the Flint Hills of Kansas. Unbound, the largest gravel race in the world, is already a challenge enough when dry, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2034349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2034349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034349\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2034349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2034349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2034349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}