Cycling thread


Tom Pidcock had a good win yesterday - mountain bike world cup in Albstadt.
Not been riding off-road much and he said the efforts challenged him, but he still blew up the field half way round and just rode away from them all. Intends to ride the World Champs later in the year.
Good to see him winning as his Classics season seemed a bit frustrating - looked like he had big legs throughout, but didn't have the best luck with illness and crashes. Was up front for the majority but rarely looked like he could make the decisive move.

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Black Belt Jones said:
Tom Pidcock had a good win yesterday - mountain bike world cup in Albstadt.
Not been riding off-road much and he said the efforts challenged him, but he still blew up the field half way round and just rode away from them all. Intends to ride the World Champs later in the year.
Good to see him winning as his Classics season seemed a bit frustrating - looked like he had big legs throughout, but didn't have the best luck with illness and crashes. Was up front for the majority but rarely looked like he could make the decisive move.

p6pb22544428.jpg
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Hard to shake the feeling that he's gone off to be a big fish in a small pond after a lacklustre classics campaign.
 
Bruce Wayne said:
Hard to shake the feeling that he's gone off to be a big fish in a small pond after a lacklustre classics campaign.
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He is a big fish on the dirt - he's a clear level above everyone else, absent vdP.
That is not normal, though - you can't just drop a WT cyclist into a MTB race and expect them to do well, most would get lapped. Even cyclocross riders don't typically dominate - e.g. Sven Nys rode a couple of Olympic MTBs iirc and couldn't do anything. So it's worth Pidcock doing all that he can on the MTB imho as it's generational talent stuff.

He looks even more natural than vdP, which is saying something. vdP can podium WT TT stages, despite not owning a TT bike, but has said he finds MTB the hardest discipline of all to prepare for. Loads of adaptation necessary for the bike and the race efforts.
 

Black Belt Jones said:
He is a big fish on the dirt - he's a clear level above everyone else, absent vdP.
That is not normal, though - you can't just drop a WT cyclist into a MTB race and expect them to do well, most would get lapped. Even cyclocross riders don't typically dominate - e.g. Sven Nys rode a couple of Olympic MTBs iirc and couldn't do anything. So it's worth Pidcock doing all that he can on the MTB imho as it's generational talent stuff.

He looks even more natural than vdP, which is saying something. vdP can podium WT TT stages, despite not owning a TT bike, but has said he finds MTB the hardest discipline of all to prepare for. Loads of adaptation necessary for the bike and the race efforts.
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I suppose the question is whether anyone really cares? MvdP winning Flanders is surely worth all of his cross career combined? It's a bit like Ganna, as outside of track officianados I doubt anyone would know that he's a World and Olympic champion in the pursuit, and yet if he won Roubaix it would be totally different. Should he sacrifice his road career to do track? It would be a bit of a waste if he turned into a glorified Cam Wurth.
 
Bruce Wayne said:
I suppose the question is whether anyone really cares? MvdP winning Flanders is surely worth all of his cross career combined? It's a bit like Ganna, as outside of track officianados I doubt anyone would know that he's a World and Olympic champion in the pursuit, and yet if he won Roubaix it would be totally different. Should he sacrifice his road career to do track? It would be a bit of a waste if he turned into a glorified Cam Wurth.
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Obv people care - off road riding is a huge participation sport, even if few people would follow pro XC racing. But it's not a question of sacrifice - multi-discipline racing makes you stronger. WvA and MvdP have just proven that unequivocally - vdP has dominated Flanders because, not in spite of, being the greatest cyclocross rider of all time. His giro stage win at the weekend was absolute signature vdP cross power.

You have to move onto the road full time eventually, that is the big show. But if Pidcock can win the MTB world champs at his age I think it will make him more competitive.
 
So I must be getting stronger on the bike because today I broke a spoke on my rear wheel due to my massive watts on a strava segment...

I know I can get the wheel rebuilt, but since the bike was 10+ years when I bought it and I've owned it ~ 2 years, and since these are original wheels, I'm thinking replacing the wheels entirely isn't a bad option. That said, my head is spinning and I'm hoping someone can help clarify wheel building for me... I'm riding a CAAD 10 with Shimano 105 (10 speed) and plan to keep it simple: I am looking at aluminum rim clincher wheels but after that I get a little confused. I know I need Shimano/SRAM hub fit for the rear, but do I need to match 10-sp as well? And what about axles, does it matter how these disengage vs my dropouts?

I've found a fulcrum set that I like for ~ $300 so I'm eager to hit the buy button, but I know buying the wrong wheels is a huge headache and I don't want that. Any tips on how to sort through which information is material and which is superfluous?
 

SerenityNigh said:
So I must be getting stronger on the bike because today I broke a spoke on my rear wheel due to my massive watts on a strava segment...

I know I can get the wheel rebuilt, but since the bike was 10+ years when I bought it and I've owned it ~ 2 years, and since these are original wheels, I'm thinking replacing the wheels entirely isn't a bad option. That said, my head is spinning and I'm hoping someone can help clarify wheel building for me... I'm riding a CAAD 10 with Shimano 105 (10 speed) and plan to keep it simple: I am looking at aluminum rim clincher wheels but after that I get a little confused. I know I need Shimano/SRAM hub fit for the rear, but do I need to match 10-sp as well? And what about axles, does it matter how these disengage vs my dropouts?

I've found a fulcrum set that I like for ~ $300 so I'm eager to hit the buy button, but I know buying the wrong wheels is a huge headache and I don't want that. Any tips on how to sort through which information is material and which is superfluous?
Click to expand...

Ok, found 1 answer--apparently I can run a 10 speed cassette on an 11 speed hub with a spacer--not sure if that is all of my issue or not but that's a start.
 
What's your guys thoughts on Inoes in this upcoming tour de france. Do they have any leaders that could win? Adam Yates is a bit inconsistent to be a leader imo.
 

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