Hermes

This is the place to show bikes, wheel sets, cockpits and any noteworthy equipment.

Hermes

I pulled the trigger on a new wheel set for track - Fast Forward rear disc and 5 spoke front. The Fast Forward are different from Zipps in that the rear disc has a conical shape, stiffer and heavier. Here is my Felt TK2 set up with the new wheels and Shimano Pro Missile pursuit cockpit. The seat to bar drop is 14 cm. I will use this setup in the kilo.









Here is the boss with them set up on her Cervelo. I tried to convince her that there was too much red but unfortunately Cleave was there and in his opinion a bike cannot have too much red.



I rode them in the 500 and set a new PR by .5 seconds. I was in a win win situation. If I did well it was me and if I sucked it was the wheels. However, I noticed the difference in the stiffness between the Zipp 900 and HED tri spoke and Fast Forwards. When I was accelerating at full power in the turn the bike was more stable than with the other wheelset which IMO facilitates me putting in more power.

lhbernhardt

Well, the bikes are all very impressive. I really like looking at fancy cutting edge bikes, imagining how much of an advantage they would confer. But allow me to interject a contrarian view: that too much time spent on a really fast bike actually makes you slower! (You can probably figure out why.)

Yes, even though our sport is geared towards finding the greatest technical advantage thru various technologies, I really think that most racers - beginning racers in particular - focus far too much on the equipment. After having raced for over 35 years, and with over 40 years of serious cycling experience, I would conclude that unless you are at the national or international level, equipment just does not matter! It just needs to be in the same balllpark and it needs to be reliable. After that, it's just showing off for no good reason.

My first good racing bike was a Peugeot PX10. I sold it and got a Schwinn Paramount, followed by better and better bikes and equipment. But I'm sure that if I had just kept racing that same Peugeot, my results would have been no different. Yes, I would have got rid of the fragile French components (the Simplex rear derailleur packed it in at Nevada City in my first year, and I've broken just about every Lyotard pedal I've owned) and upgraded the wheels with the Normandy hubs to wheels with Campag hubs, but the basic frame was really all I needed.

When I raced in Masters stage races in Guatemala and Mexico, I'd be chasing guys up the climbs on the cheapest equipment they'd stopped making years ago. Old Weinmann sidepulls didn't slow these guys down. The cheap frames did suffere in crashes, though. I remember untangling my Masi from a pileup. It had remained intact while the frame I untangled it from had bent tubes! But the guy kept riding.

I think that if I were a young guy and just starting off in racing, I'd get a decent, not expensive bike to race on, but I would do most of my training on a steel fixed-gear bike. I've found that on my training rides where I'm the only one on the fixie, I always get the best workout of anybody on the ride because I'm working harder than everybody else. Sometimes I'm the only one working! I also have to pay the most attention to what's happening so I don't get caught at the back if a gap opens. It's harder to bridge a gap with a limited gear. A guy I know who used to be on the former East German national team said that they would spend the early season on fixed gears. The coach would make them go up impossible climbs until they fell over!

But what I enjoy most about riding the steel fixie now is going on the big organized rides, climbing the hills in 44x17, and dropping guys on expensive carbon fiber bikes with 11-spd Di2 and cf race wheels, and quietly chuckling to myself: " you have just been dropped by a 61-year-old dude on a steel fixed gear bike."

For younger riders, when the time comes that you need the really expensive lightweight aero equipment, your team will give it to you. And if that never happens, well, sorry, like me, you just weren't good enough. I guess once you're racing Masters, you can go out and buy it yourself. You really do need to ride carbon fiber just so you'll know it's nice, but it really doesn't make much difference!

Luis

Racer Ex 

I would disagree. Speed comes from training and genetics. You can train just as poorly on a Wal Mart bike as a Pinerrello. Or just as well. Where it would matter is if you were spending money on bling vs. coaching or training tools, in which case it's a poor investment. Or waiting for an auction to close on Ebay instead of training.

I think riding a fixed gear or a simulation thereof has it's place and has great value, but there are limiters that might make this a poor choice. If they could ride a fixed gear I'd put every new racer no matter what their age out on the track for the first two seasons.

The bling vs. Wal Mart issue has been done to death over in the 41. A faster bike is a faster bike. A lighter bike is a lighter bike. Physics doesn't go away in bike racing because we wish it would. And it's not a zero sum game...you can have an expensive bike with all the trimmings and still train and race your ass off. The question is simply an allocation of resources and the amount of improvement you might expect. "Worth" is an entirely subjective measure. Personally I'm a gear head because it engages my intellect and I like creativity.

And I'll ask...when the guy with the Colnago with Di2 and Lightweight wheels leaves you for dust, what's the internal dialogue

chasm54

Agree with everything you say, Ex, but my internal dialogue is usually more about my need to train more effectively than my lack of Di2. The best equipment is the best equipment, no argument. But cycling is full of people who remind me of the 24-handicapper golfers I used to play with. Every year they'd buy a new set of the latest Taylomades, or Pings, or whatever, certain it would make them better golfers. They never bothered with practicing much, though...

Racer Ex 

Agreed. It was either Jack Nicholas or Arnold Palmer who said "The more I practice, the luckier I get"

Maybe the guy/gal bought Di2 because he/she thought it would make them faster. On the other hand maybe they bought it because the stuff is the absolute **** and they admire really good engineering. Dunno. Their choice. I'm sure when I'm out doing tempo or a recovery ride someone's going "I just totally dropped that old dude with the SRM and fancy bike on my fixie"

VanceMac

Someone post some bikes already!

lhbernhardt

Hey, I'm 61 and on a steel fixie. Waddya expect? The advantage of a fixie: it's always a win-win (except maybe on the fast descents). Also the advantage of being over 50 - far less pressure to perform. Besides, I'm quite used to getting dusted on the hills; climbing was my great weakness during my racing days. But when you're wearing the sprinters jersey (or riding the fixie), you've got a good excuse!

Luis

Racer Ex 

When Amber Neben beat me in a TT I defaulted to "I'm 51 and she's an Olympian"

AzTallRider

Okay, here are my race bikes:

For road races and crit's:

I absolutely love my Madone. It's light, stiff, comfortable, fits, and handles well. I'd love to put together a pure crit bike: aero frame, Di2 with sprinter-shifters, etc.

TT (with training wheels mounted, and position has been tweaked a bit since this was taken):


I agree it's mostly the rider, and I did okay riding this in a stage race last year, but I'm not as fast on it, especially when climbing:

Hermes

This thread is about posting equipment, sharing information and getting fast. I am deleting my irrelevant comments. If we want to debate the advantage of lenticular shaped disc wheels versus flat discs at the track and front discs versus five spoke front wheels, I am up for that. Steel fixie versus carbon fiber geared bikes on the road is 41 material at best.

chasm54

AZT, I know you're a big guy, but you're less than 4" taller than me and that is one of the tallest headtubes I have ever seen. How freaking big is that bike?

AzTallRider

68cm frame - 29cm HT. Hey, it was my first road bike, I was ignorant, not yet in shape, and I listened to the bike shop guys. I can't decide between selling it and giving it to my 6'7" stepson when he gets out of college (knowing him, it would be quickly stolen if I gave it to him now).

Hermes

Cervelo P2C Time Trial BIke with D/A components. The crank was changed to a Quarq power meter.



Cervel R5 Road bike with SRAM Red and Quarq power meter.



Planet X Carbon Fiber Track bike. I keep this in a locker at VSC for racing when I go down there. I cannot find a pic against the garage door but here is one from the LAVRA team sprint with me on it. I am in the pole lane.

chasm54

Hermes, how are you finding the PlanetX? I am mulling over whether I should buy one of their TT bikes.

Hermes

The frame is okay but a little whippy for the track in the 500 meters but fine for pursuit. It is not the most aero frame.

nashcommguy

I think Shaq may be looking for something to do now that his playing days are over. You'd need beefier tires, though.

Racer Ex 

Hermes

I like this a lot. I thought about the Forza but at the time, Dolan did not any stock.

Allegheny Jet

That bike looks fast just sitting against the door. What kind of wheels are those?

shovelhd

Looks like Mavic in the back and HED in the front. Nice bike.

PeregrineA1 

My race bike:

2007 Turner 5 Spot. Continuous tuning and parts replacement since new.

This and the motor were good for 2nd overall in age group for the spring '12 CORCC season. Podium at Huck-A-Buck in Raleigh and can't remember what in years past. Next up is Swank 65 on 11-4-12.

My other race bike:

Good for a mid-pack finish at Boone-Roubaix this year and some fantastic second looks on the road.

I race for fun...........

AzTallRider

Sweet... and about time!

sarals 

Ex, that Dolan looks like it should have down force wings...

Cleave

I am pretty sure they are the same wheels that I have; Zipp 900 on the back and Hed 3c on the front. I bought the Zipp 900 disc because you can use it on the road and on the track. All you have to do is make a very simple axle swap.

Racer Ex, looking forward to seeing that bike in person. I am guessing the Rotor crank is new since I thought you had some kind of Shimano-based SRM on the Fuji.