asgelle

The rule is clear. Yes, many officials don't know or don't correctly apply the rules.

3D5. Free Lap Rule. Riders shall normally cover the distance of the race regardless of mishaps and must make up any distance lost on their own ability unless a free lap is granted for mishaps. Unless the official race announcement states that no free laps will be allowed, one free lap may be granted for each mishap subject to the following rules. On courses shorter than 1 km, two free laps may be allowed for a given mishap.

merlinextraligh

I’ll say this once. Listen to Psimet. He’s raced crits , and worked with supplying equipment to people racing crits at an elite level for years.

Psimet2001 

Yeeeeeeahhhh......
I'm intimately involved in application of free lap rules. Agreed: it is different depending on the official. Luckily when I am working NRS the officials almost always leave it up to me. If I say they need another lap for me to get something done then they usually get it. If I say the mechanical was their own fault then they don't get squat. That said I have told newer racers for years, "STOP RUNNING TO THE PITS! Walk with purpose but don't run and be all out of breath. You'll slip and hurt yourself or simply be worn out from the cyclocross workout you just did. Just get to the pit immediately and don't dawdle but Don't Run!"

I love our officials in this are and most of them are total class. They do what's right for the racers. If it's borderline they will extend some grace but then lecture afterwards.

I have a past employee though who has been a Cat 1/2 racer for decades around here. Great guy but he grew up racing locally and everyone has always known him. I put on a "crit" up the side of a ski hill locally. It's the only crit on the calendar with elevation and the closest comparison is Snake Alley in Iowa. This guy isn't exactly a climber. it's not a climb per se but slightly too long for sprinters to just stomp it. Inevitably he will have a "flat" a couple of laps in every year. I or whomever I have working will swap out a wheel without even second guessing it. One time a veteran official who has been a part of the scene for 40 years or so came over. "Rob, put 100 psi in that tire right now and I will come back and check it at the end of the race. If it's not below 80 then I'm taking back his free lap. I've known him since he was a junior." I did it and walked away from the situation after the race while they argued.

Psimet2001 

Another great memory - Tour of America's Dairyland one of the years right after Superweek died... I was at Downer Ave and enjoying one of the best crit scenes/atmospheres in the country. Pro race starts. So many wrecks but that's not the big part. In that race on that course it's so fast that they are simply strung out and single file pretty much from the gun. There's the "Super Prime" every year and that year it was something ridiculous like $20,000. United Healthcare was on the front and controlling everything and keeping the pace high to keep it clean(er). Couple laps in someone touches wheels about 25% back in the field. Only a couple of guys hit the deck but absolutely everyone from that point back put a foot down and lined up in the pits. If you weren't getting a free lap then your race was just over. It took something like 5 or 6 laps to get everyone back in. They had probably 10-15 people run over to help hold and launch people back in every lap.

Free Laps have their place in maintaining the integrity of the race and it's not always about flats or a wreck.

asgelle

As am I currently and formerly as an official. I'm not saying that the rule should be rigidly applied in the case of a mass pile-up; rather, that it's important to know and understand what the rules actually say.

I always make sure there's a pump in the pit and pump up supposedly flat tires. I've had to remove a free lap when the tire didn't go soft. On the other hand, at Tour of the Gila, I once got three free laps in a 15 lap crit (two flats, one crash).

asgelle

Without arguing if what happened was right or wrong, as officials we were trained that putting a foot down is not a mishap and doesn't qualify for a free lap. Many times I've seen free laps denied for people who were only held up by the crash. That's why as a racer, I was told by an experienced rider that if I'm ever held up by a crash, rub some dirt on my leg so it will look like I hit the deck.

Psimet2001 

It became like a drinking game in the pro women's fields a couple of years back to watch the USA Crits feeds and drink when someone was caught on camera doing the "slow fall" to get the free lap. There were some good ones. (Only saying women's field because those were the races we care about the most and watch anyways....but that year in particular a few tops racers we knew were actively complaining about the soccer/football like flop antics).

burnthesheep

I will only ever own one road bike, and it is what it is for now.

But, would you crit experts say that if it is going to be a crit bike only that it might be a good place for going 1x? Less hardware, less complexity, less weight, less maintenance marginally. This might impact training rides with hills, but let's ignore that aspect.

What are the opinions on that? I've only raced road. So would be curious of opinions of that from the experienced.

urbanknight

Downtube shifters may have lost me a sprint once, which made me switch to STI and never look back, but yes you don't need to shift much except for the very beginning and the very end.

Actually, once you become aware of the accordion effect, you learn how to modulate your speed and anticipate the speed change. If you need anything more than a light tap on your brake, you're wasting more energy than you have to. That being said, I was never one to loosen my front brakes or anything like that. When there is a crash or bonehead maneuver right in front of you, you want them to be there and fully functional.

urbanknight

Considering how many crits I've raced without ever leaving the big ring, the logic is sound. A weight weenie would especially like the opportunity to shed an entire chainring, derailleur, and cable. I have, however, been in crits with hills long enough to need the little ring. I suppose someone with two bikes would just go ahead and choose the road bike for those rare occasions. Alas, like you, I will probably only ever own one road bike.

Psimet2001 

Yeah a few guys around here have been running 1x and they love it for crits. I see the logic.

caloso

Wasn't that the logic of the Spec. Allez Sprint?

rubiksoval

Yeah? And? They're slowing down and speeding up, too. And shifting to do so.

rubiksoval

Not for me. Primarily, because I have to train. Doesn't matter what the actual race is, I can't train in 1x effectively where I live.

I also do one or two races where a little ring is mandatory, like Snake Alley.

rubiksoval

While I generally agree in theory, there are crits and times in crits where that just can't happen. Any 80+ person crit is likely going to involve some substantial braking from time to time (or a lot).

Plus crits with 180s and people that don't know how to ride them generally means you're hitting the brakes a lot harder than you would solo.

I don't think I've ever done a decently sized crit where I didn't go from 30 mph to 10 at least a few times...

urbanknight

Fair enough with the 180's (I hate those), and definitely Cat 5 races because everybody hits their brakes as a knee-jerk reaction. It just seems that the more experienced groups learned how to smoothen it out quite a bit, swinging wide for the turn rather than give up all of their momentum or backing off the pedals a tad early since they know the pack is about to slow down anyway. They also learn how to take the turns faster, but I agree that excludes sharp turns and 180s... ugh, this reminds me of the LA Circuit Race.

rubiksoval

Ah, for my own races, I'm talking about PRT and P/1/2 crits. Still lots of times when the group bunches and everybody slams on the brakes. Just inevitable.

colnago62

I have seen a lot of guys around here riding 1x at crits and flat circuit races. I don’t think it is their only bike though. Kenny Williams, who is a beast on the track and the crit. circuit rides a 1x. He is over fifty and can still pull off a win in the 1/2 category.

00752904mot

Thanks for the input! I should have included this in my initial post...
I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada, which will inevitably have many rainy race days. Because of this, I feel like disc brakes can be very beneficial, even if it'll save me from a crash just once. That ONE TIME can save me a lot of money and hours of rehabilitating any injury I may sustain.

Taking that into consideration, would you still recommend using rim brakes in the rain in a number crits? Let me know! Thanks

big john

How you doin'? Haven't seen you since I worked on your car. I'm retired now. Are you getting some miles in?

colnago62

okay I looked it up and it is not. Vancouver BC, but an area on Vancouver Island. According to the article, Vancouver, BC doesn’t make the top 10 of cities with most rainfall in the province.

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/c...merica-3094242

00752904mot

"a little to the north, at the base of Grouse Mountain on Redonda Drive in North Vancouver, rain gauges fill much higher. The North Vancouver weather station averages 2522 mm (99 inches)"
^from one of the top results I found on google. I live 2 minutes from the base of Grouse Mountain. Additionally, I was talking about major cities (ie where most of the crit races would occur). That small town that you found on Vancouver Island would not host a crit. I apologize if these stats offend you. I brought up that stat for a talking point in contribution to the general theme of the thread (crit bike build and a number of people are discussing rim vs disc brake). I do not want to dive into a rabbit hole of geographical weather so I will redact those incorrect statistics.

urbanknight

Hey there! Doing ok. Just about stopped exercising completely and gained a lot of weight after having a kid. Trying to get back in shape now. Not racing anymore, that's for sure. Hope you're enjoying retirement with a lot of miles.

big john

Riding 4 days per week. Actually rode with Vic last summer. Rarely see him.

gregf83 

It doesn't rain much in the summer during racing season and the weekly crits are normally cancelled if it's raining. The local crits are non-technical and braking is almost always light. Discs are a good idea for commuting in the winter as you'll save your rims but for racing or riding in the summer they aren't an advantage.