Who here races on their 'backup' or 'training' bike?
#26
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 3,888
Mentioned: 32 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 417 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times
in
3 Posts
@tmonk. Why don’t you tell us how you really feel about your Venge.
I was considering getting one until I started to read your stuff and talked with another friend who owned an early version and hated it. Then I learned how hard it was to make fit changes and that clinched the no deal. I guess I dodged that bullet.
I was considering getting one until I started to read your stuff and talked with another friend who owned an early version and hated it. Then I learned how hard it was to make fit changes and that clinched the no deal. I guess I dodged that bullet.
#27
Not actually Tmonk
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 14,124
Bikes: road, track, mtb
Mentioned: 140 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2632 Post(s)
Liked 3,147 Times
in
1,656 Posts
@Hermes I'm sure the modern Venge's ride at least a little better. IIRC he raced the caad with some deep wheels, but we can let him verify.
-Tmonk
-Tmonk
__________________
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
#28
Senior Member
@wktmeow. I love the deep section wheels on the training bike. Which bike did you race in Valley of the Sun where you won? Did you use the deep section wheels at VOS?
I didn't have any 11 speed deep sections most of the season. I used 10 speed zipps a couple times with the caad, but the tires are 24mm which was my mistake, as that's not at all ideal for the width of the rim (but cornered great!)
Can't help but wonder if some of my break aways may have stuck if I had the HEDs earlier
Last edited by wktmeow; 10-05-18 at 02:20 PM.
#29
Version 7.0
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 13,127
Bikes: Too Many
Mentioned: 297 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1340 Post(s)
Liked 2,482 Times
in
1,457 Posts
I train and race hill climbs on my R5 with SRM power meter. It is pretty much set up this way for both training and racing except currently, without the Q rings and I have SRAM electronic 11 speed shifting versus the SRAM red 10 speed mechanical. Tires are GP4000 and the wheels 45 mm. IMO, electronic shifting is the bomb for fast shifting.
Last edited by Hermes; 10-05-18 at 03:55 PM.
#30
commu*ist spy
Thread Starter
my caad9 :'(
ironically enough, this happened on a training ride... and i've never broken a frame before, despite plenty of crashes. wtf
ironically enough, this happened on a training ride... and i've never broken a frame before, despite plenty of crashes. wtf
#31
commu*ist spy
Thread Starter
so what's up with the venge?.. why no like it? I had it for a little while. It wasn't spectacular, but I didn't hate it.
#32
Not actually Tmonk
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 14,124
Bikes: road, track, mtb
Mentioned: 140 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2632 Post(s)
Liked 3,147 Times
in
1,656 Posts
Mine just handles really poorly compared to my TCR or caad. It is simultaneously less stable and less responsive. For some reason I feel like a newer venge or allez sprint should ride a little better, but maybe that's just wishful thinking.
__________________
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
#33
neo-poster
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: the Ozarks
Posts: 48
Bikes: 2018 Specialized Allez Sprint, 2018 Specialized Tarmac SL6 Pro; Cannondale Slice RS
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 23 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
1 Post
I learned the importance of having a backup bike last year when I put a crack in the top tube of my Tarmac in a seemingly innocent crash in the first crit of a big weekend of racing. Now I have an Allez Sprint for crits, Tuesday night worlds, and flat road races, and a repaired Tarmac SL6 for hillier road races and the majority of my training rides. Almost the exact same build for both of them except one is mechanical and one is Di2.
#34
Banned
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Providence
Posts: 732
Bikes: Specialized tarmac sl2 giant tcx zero
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 319 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times
in
3 Posts
im interested to know who trains on their race bike , also do you have a dedicated race day set up that would make this hard to do , maybe you dont run grease in your bearings or have to change up bars and undo all cables to swap an aero set up for tt .
i personally if i had the money would like tp set up a race day only bike and wheels , with the highest of parts , and then get an aluminum or older version with medium parts and run that for daily , weekly training miles , ..
i personally if i had the money would like tp set up a race day only bike and wheels , with the highest of parts , and then get an aluminum or older version with medium parts and run that for daily , weekly training miles , ..
#35
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,840
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 31 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I have always raced and trained on the same bike.
I had race day wheels (several sets accumulated), which were either carbon tubulars or a carbon clincher with al brake surface that had a race tire and latex tube setup; and training wheels (several sets accumulated), which were heavier aluminum clinchers with thicker butyl tubes to mitigate flats or whatever during training miles, which are substantially higher volume than racing miles.
The switching I would do from training to race set up was generally changing out brake pads from al to carbon and changing the wheel setups.
Years ago I used to change out cassettes to best fit the race at hand, i.e. 11x21 for flat crits, 11x23 for a crit with a hill, 11x25 for RRs, but I got tired of doing this so when the 11x28 came out and shifting worked, I just put that on everything.
For stage races, I started by putting clip on aerobars onto my road bike, but then bought a TT bike so the training/racing strategy is same as described above with race day v. training ride wheels.
It's never made sense to me to train on a different bike than I would race, to race on a bike that I don't train on, or to race on something less than my training bike, but everyone has their own rationale for how they do things.
I had race day wheels (several sets accumulated), which were either carbon tubulars or a carbon clincher with al brake surface that had a race tire and latex tube setup; and training wheels (several sets accumulated), which were heavier aluminum clinchers with thicker butyl tubes to mitigate flats or whatever during training miles, which are substantially higher volume than racing miles.
The switching I would do from training to race set up was generally changing out brake pads from al to carbon and changing the wheel setups.
Years ago I used to change out cassettes to best fit the race at hand, i.e. 11x21 for flat crits, 11x23 for a crit with a hill, 11x25 for RRs, but I got tired of doing this so when the 11x28 came out and shifting worked, I just put that on everything.
For stage races, I started by putting clip on aerobars onto my road bike, but then bought a TT bike so the training/racing strategy is same as described above with race day v. training ride wheels.
It's never made sense to me to train on a different bike than I would race, to race on a bike that I don't train on, or to race on something less than my training bike, but everyone has their own rationale for how they do things.
#36
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
I race on my race bike and do most of my training on it. Same deal as MDcatV: switching from training to race mode mostly involves switching wheels and brake pads (a 5 min job). Although this fall I built up a FG to most of my base-building on. If I crashed my race bike, I could use my son's bike as an emergency backup, since it's my old race bike. Just need to put a longer stem on it, probably.
#37
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 2,910
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 140 Post(s)
Liked 327 Times
in
161 Posts
I train on my racing bike through the summer, only changing to carbon wheels and brake pads for racing. I have a rain bike with fenders that I train on through most of the winter, only riding my race bike on the rare dry days. I also have a fendered fixed gear bike that I do some of my training on during the winter.
#39
commu*ist spy
Thread Starter
as mentioned, we probably don't need to have 2. I just saw this tcr disc that seemed like a really good deal, so I bought it, and now, I'm trying to justify to myself that it was the right thing to do. I mean the disc road bike is definitely a pleasure to ride on. It allows me to use carbon clinchers without the stigma associated with carbon braking surfaces. yes, I know the newest carbon rim brake surfaces are awesome, but the money it would've cost to buy them got me a new bike, so it's a no brainer.
Last edited by spectastic; 10-13-18 at 05:40 PM.