UAE On Rim Brakes
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First off, factories can build bikes below the limit easily, and do, because they'd rather add lead to the bottom bracket than have to explain to the other sponsors that the team didn't win a stage--or a stage race--because their competitors had lighter and thus more efficient climbing bikes .... or even sprint bikes, because those sprinters still have to get up the hills.
As for discs and wheel changes .... some bikes need special wrenches to pull the skewers (and I guarantee you the riders are not carrying wrenches.) Some mechanics use electric drills with the proper tool head to get the wheels off faster---and in a lot of cases I have seen, the teams just give the rider a new bike instead of a new wheel.
People (particularly those who actually know stuff (unlike myself)) talked a lot about how disc brakes could cause teams to lose critical mountain stages---often where Grands Tours are won or lost---because the neutral service car might not have the right wheels, or the right tools, and because, since it takes longer for a wheel change, the group might get too far ahead of a rider while the wheel was being changed, ending that rider's chances for yellow (red, pink, whatever) overall. When I saw teams swapping bikes instead of wheels, I felt those others (and myself to whatever degree) were vindicated--wheel changes have now become make-or-break moments, where they used to take instants---a rider could remove his/her own wheel and be ready for the mechanic.
Of course, since there are support vehicles ......
But yes, the idea that a team mate could save the race by swapping wheels when the team cars might be ten minutes behind the group on a narrow steep mountain .... would be a good reason to use rim brakes on the bikes of the team whose leader had a five-minute lead.
As for discs and wheel changes .... some bikes need special wrenches to pull the skewers (and I guarantee you the riders are not carrying wrenches.) Some mechanics use electric drills with the proper tool head to get the wheels off faster---and in a lot of cases I have seen, the teams just give the rider a new bike instead of a new wheel.
People (particularly those who actually know stuff (unlike myself)) talked a lot about how disc brakes could cause teams to lose critical mountain stages---often where Grands Tours are won or lost---because the neutral service car might not have the right wheels, or the right tools, and because, since it takes longer for a wheel change, the group might get too far ahead of a rider while the wheel was being changed, ending that rider's chances for yellow (red, pink, whatever) overall. When I saw teams swapping bikes instead of wheels, I felt those others (and myself to whatever degree) were vindicated--wheel changes have now become make-or-break moments, where they used to take instants---a rider could remove his/her own wheel and be ready for the mechanic.
Of course, since there are support vehicles ......
But yes, the idea that a team mate could save the race by swapping wheels when the team cars might be ten minutes behind the group on a narrow steep mountain .... would be a good reason to use rim brakes on the bikes of the team whose leader had a five-minute lead.
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Sweet sweet bike, but I thought that the challenge, voiced up-thread, was getting under UCI limits with a *disc brake* bike. A little harder, but definitely doable.
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If they made a 1st Gen Emonda with disc brakes i'm sure it would still be under if I went with a lighter set of wheels.
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They could just as easily use thru axles that do not require a wrench.
Last edited by tomato coupe; 07-14-21 at 09:58 PM. Reason: missing "could"
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Have you been watching the race? Have you not seen the mechanics running up to the bikes with a wheel in one hand and a drill in the other? Have you not seen the mechanics doing bike swaps instead of wheel changes? I suggest you rewatch the Tour and see what you apparently missed the first time.
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Have you been watching the race? Have you not seen the mechanics running up to the bikes with a wheel in one hand and a drill in the other? Have you not seen the mechanics doing bike swaps instead of wheel changes? I suggest you rewatch the Tour and see what you apparently missed the first time.
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That might true in general, but in this particular situation, UAE was riding disc bikes in previous stages. I don’t think it was because the riders didn’t trust discs, they had other reasons.
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It is a very slow wheel change. Even flats where the team car is right there, you will see them get the spare bike out. Perfect example of that is when Cavendish flatted close to the finish, the mechanic grabbed a bike instead of trying to change the wheel.
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They Could attach the wheels with bubble gum and rubber bands. They Could use the same sort of skewers they use on rim-brake wheels (I have these on my disc-equipped Fuji.) They Could do almost anything.
However, the team is racing In Reality, and wants to win In Reality ... and if you had bothered to learn about the topic, you would have learned that what I am saying is what is actually happening In Reality.
Yes, we can all imagine any sorts of scenarios. But if we are going to be discussing Cycling Fiction, that is a different page I think.
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It doesn't take any longer to swap a disc-brake wheel with a wrench-free thru axle than it does to swap a rim-brake wheel.
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What they Could do is pretty much irrelevant. The Reality is what wins the race.
They Could attach the wheels with bubble gum and rubber bands. They Could use the same sort of skewers they use on rim-brake wheels (I have these on my disc-equipped Fuji.) They Could do almost anything.
However, the team is racing In Reality, and wants to win In Reality ... and if you had bothered to learn about the topic, you would have learned that what I am saying is what is actually happening In Reality.
Yes, we can all imagine any sorts of scenarios. But if we are going to be discussing Cycling Fiction, that is a different page I think.
They Could attach the wheels with bubble gum and rubber bands. They Could use the same sort of skewers they use on rim-brake wheels (I have these on my disc-equipped Fuji.) They Could do almost anything.
However, the team is racing In Reality, and wants to win In Reality ... and if you had bothered to learn about the topic, you would have learned that what I am saying is what is actually happening In Reality.
Yes, we can all imagine any sorts of scenarios. But if we are going to be discussing Cycling Fiction, that is a different page I think.
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Presumably there are reasons most of the teams either aren't using through axles that don't require a wrench, or they're not as fast at you at swapping wheels. I've seen an awful lot of slow wheel changes this year and not one fast one.
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4 or 5 rotations is all it takes to remove one of those. That takes 1 or 2 seconds.
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I own one bike with wrench-free thru axles. I own more than one bike with thru axles that require wrenches, and I own more than one bike with quick releases. My experience is that it takes no more time to remove and install a wheel with wrench-free thru axles than it does to remove and install a wheel with quick releases. There is no deliberate ignorance -- it's my experience.
Last edited by tomato coupe; 07-14-21 at 08:45 PM. Reason: typo
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