merlinextraligh

^ Replaceable aluminum derailleur hanger?

I'd bend it back myself, check the adjustment, make sure it hits all the gears and doesn't go into the spokes or the stays.

Admittedly getting it precise with the correct tool would be best. But DIY, worst thing is you're going to break the derailleur hanger, and have to replace it, which you should do anyway.

revchuck 

It could be worse. At the shop where I work, a customer brought in a 2008(?) Scott CR1 with a bent RD hangar, which on that bike is integral with the dropout. We're not a Scott dealer, so we called the closest one (Houston) and were told it's not a dealer-replaceable part, the frame has to be sent to Scott. That shop gave us the email for the POC at Scott - Scott apparently doesn't do phones - and we're still waiting for an answer. Glad we're not a Scott dealer.

miyata man

So I was mostly complaining about the first world problem of having to wait a couple days and wasn't going to follow up. RD cage is smashed. Should have clocked him after all.

topflightpro

Paid off my car and my track bike this week.

TMonk

sweet

Doge

This sounds a little 41ish, but I want to hear from those with 105/Ultegra racing experience.

College team is going to be getting about 3-5 groups of 105 or Ultegra for racing for new recruited riders. They will go on some rather heavy alloy aero frames. I expect builds to be about 20lbs. These kids do not have their own bikes and will be loaned this team bike. These are for racing and training. But the purpose is racing.
My opinion is 105 is fine for racing. That the difference is small. If I'm wrong, then the Ultegra should be purchased. No point in buying economical stuff if it is not really usable, but I think it is fine. Am I wrong?

miyata man

The traditional answer is shifters one level higher are money well spent. Not sure how apt this is for the just released a few days ago Ultegra update v. current 105.

Sales on 6800 could make this a non-issue.

globecanvas

105 is a-ok for racing. Nobody's going to lose because they are on 105 vs Ultegra.

miyata man

This is how you drum up interest in your women's event as the final lap bell rings. Welcome break from the commentating but still.

caloso

105 seems perfect for this purpose.

revchuck 

I've been running 5800 105 on two bikes for the last two years with no problems over >10k miles.

carpediemracing 

105 should be fine.

From a teammate that was a Cat 3. He raced on an alum frame with 105 (Felt), upgraded to 4 then to 3. Rewarded himself with carbon/Ultegra when he upgraded to 3 (Trek). Similar fit etc. Said it was a waste of money.

Bought 50mm carbon tubulars. Raved about them every time we raced. He sold the carbon/Ultegra bike when he quite, kept the 105 bike.

rubiksoval

I use 105. My stuff shifts on a dime (with ultegra derailleurs, though. My 105 front never shifted well).

And not only do I have 105 shifters on my bike, but I've also had 6800 shifters sitting on the shelf for the last year and a half that I don't put on because I notice zero difference.

So, my experience.

Doge

Good input. Might look into Ultegra shifters. Is that RD AND levers, or just RD?

rubiksoval

Nashville Predators are in game 6 of the Stanley Cup. It's in Nashville tonight. Who the **** cares about hockey in the south?!! Now, it seems like everybody.

10,000 people dressed in cowboy boots and drinking bud light out in the streets. For game 5 they sold out the arena...and it was an away game. People just came in to watch it on the jumbotron! Such a crazy city. Hahaha. It's cool, though. Funny/exciting to witness the spectacle.

rubiksoval

Me? I use 105 shifters and ultegra derailleurs. My 105 rear derailleur was perfect until it basically exploded due to some aftermarket ebay pulleys. I'd still be using the rear derailleur if not for that. My only issues with 105 was the front derailleur.

Also have the rear brake. Front brake was great, too, just swapped it out for a tririg.

Doge

That was helpful. Thanks all.
@rubiksoval - I have a front Tririg on my kid's front road TT bike. So simple.

globecanvas

MV of CRCA continues his interesting (to me) series of articles on the health status of bicycle racing:

https://www.tobedetermined.cc/journa...ics-of-cycling

The interesting graph shows a representative group of new racing members and how they are extremely not retained over a short period of time:



There is some proxy data and assumptions in here but in short, the graph suggests that half of new racers are out of the sport within 2 years, and 90% are out within 7 years.

miyata man

I'd be curious to see that same study ran on ORBA membership since inception. To say the least Oregon's population is equally transient. Which should introduce a similar rate of decay.

USAC/UCI contributions to the sport stateside v. American energy

rubiksoval

I wonder if this trend is significantly different than in past decades? It'd be interesting to see.

A lot of our race results list license numbers as well and there never seem to be a lot of 5 digit numbers outside of the 40 and 50+ categories. I have a license number in the 17xxxxs and there aren't an overwhelming number of people I race against in the 1xxxxxx, either. Seems like even masters have lots of 3xxxxxs and 4xxxxxxs.

Bike racing is hard. I can see not continuing on after 2-3 years if you're not having or feeling much success. I know a few guys who spent 3-4 years as a cat 4 with no progress and they finally just stopped and moved on to other areas.

I imagine that's the case in most sports/hobbies, though.

hubcyclist

Just thinking of myself, I raced one season and haven't raced in two years (although I hang around here and act like I do!). In my instance I just feel I'm not trained enough to be competitive enough, I realize it's a flimsy excuse but with the cost and time of going to a lot of events I have to be realistic with myself. I'd love to get back into it, and am ok with mediocrity, but I can't say I'm even close to my best self.

I do follow the local races, mostly to see how folks from this forum do, and I do notice the fields seem a lot smaller than what I remember seeing. Hopefully I can get back into it and become more involved, it's fun and I love the challenge

wktmeow

With the smaller turnouts the past couple of years, risk of crashing, and various costs, I'm wondering if I want to keep doing it myself. Or at least if I want to keep doing it to the same extent. Maybe my competitive urges would be satisfied by just trying to crush on local group rides or against strong friends. The part of me that resists this change is also the part of me that makes 'bike racer' an important piece of my identity though. Not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

topflightpro

I get that report from USAC every year during our annual promoters meeting. It's been like that awhile. That is one of the reasons USAC is trying to get more into the Gravel/Gran Fondo game. As we've discussed, folks won't race, but they will "race" in a cookie ride/fondo/gravel ride.

TheKillerPenguin

I am curious how those retention numbers compare to other high(er)-cost high-risk sports like auto racing, moto gp, and the like.

mattm

Very interesting.

Is that a new thing? What does the class of say 2000 look like?