Bicyclettes

[dubcbadass]

it was a local pro cat 1s n 2s and i also saw the masters 35+

it was a course called mothballs by my school

im racing a crit sunday, any pointers???

wanna talk the talk? call the "pro cat 1s n 2s" the "pro-one-twos," as in, "i just won my first pro-one-two race." pointers? don't poop yourself. lawl, no really, assuming that you have ridden in a group before, just don't get discouraged if you are at the back of the pack getting yo-yoed after the first lap or so. crits are always longer than the idiots at the beginning think. do your best to not see any wind (suck wheel) because it doesn't matter who is at the front the most. all that matters is who is at the frotn at the end.

So excited for the crit season here. We're just starting the road season and I've got a few months before crit series start up. I'm not sure if this is your first race/ crit or what, but be sure to get there early and warm up. Crits are so fast-paced, you have to be ready to go all out from the very beginning. Place yourself well when you line up- basically, just don't start yourself in the back of the pack. I actually like to start right in the middle.

If you happen to get lapped, don't get discouraged. It happens. Don't kill yourself trying to catch up with the pack (this depends on the length of the course though). you can save your energy and get back in the pack once they lap you. Just be sure to pick up speed before the group reaches you so you can more easily match their speed and hang on to a wheel.

more important than front to back position at the start is side to side position. if the first turn is a right and it comes up quickly, you wanna be as far left as possible so you can really bang on it wide open to get near to the front as possible. i cosign on jumping back in. just be safe about it and don't contests the primes and the field sprint at the end if it comes down to that.

How are they not pulling you from the course?

Should only be getting a free lap if you crash.

it's not a free lap, brah. it is just pity and letting a du get a workout in after he gets lapped.

I've never heard of a crit where they allow someone to get lapped and then sit in the pack.

happens at lower key races. most of the time the officials have their heads too far up their asses to even know, and if you are already lapped and get back in without them knowing it, what, are they gonna relegate you to the back of the women's cat 4?

Ah I see. Thanks!

I have another question.. I plan on racing this road season... I have about 1200~ to spend on a new bike..

Do you or anyone have any suggestions at what brand and model I should be looking at? (preferably used.. since this is after all my first road bike and I want to get the best "bang for the buck" out of my 1200..)

brand? i say cheap aluminum frame and decent groupset. others will disagree, but it takes a lot of time on a lot of bikes to really feel/appreciate the difference b/w frame quality levels and materials and the frame isn't a great place to save weight. all the crap you read in the bike mags are just press release from manufacturers that you are paying for. i am a big fan of sram for quality. i have a bike from '06 sram force on it and it took two years of salty winter and one season of a few cross races and other than swapping from road bike to cross bike, nothing on it has ever needed cables or adjustments. i don't know how, but it is true. sram rival is the best budget groupset out there. don't waste your time/money on tiagra or 105 or even ultegra (imho).

^^They let me in my first crit. Maybe because it was my first crit, first race. Maybe because it was a woman's race with a mixed field (we race woman's 2/3/4s together. the 1s race with one of the guys groups and I think 2s have that option as well). Maybe it was because they saw I had no warm up- I got left immediately in the first lap but stayed with the group after getting lapped. I'm not really sure. I just know they let me stay on the course after getting lapped in my first race and I really appreciated it, because it was a great learning experience. Its a good point to bring up that you may get pulled if you're lapped though so thanks because it slipped my mind.

you might get pulled depending on course safety, but my experience is usually if the course isn't too dangerous and the field is small, people aren't total assholes for the sake of it.

You should see if your local club does a weekly TT series. Great for new racers to get information from experienced riders and see how they warm up, they are often free or $5, and can ease you into racing without the dicey, dicey danger of an industrial park after-work crit with >90º corners and sand everywhere and a pack of jittery 4's.

disagree, the only good way to get good at racing heads up is doing it, even if against jittery 4s. most 4s don't really even suck that bad if you don't suck.

[the Repeater]

False yourself. If a few riders go down, it's a 'no contest lap' and whomever's bloody bike still works gets to hop back in.

For better or for worse, all your advice sounds like collegiate racing, big time.

Just don't hit your brakes or make any sudden movements. Causing a crash by being all over is horseshit. Don't freak out when you're getting elbows and knees, just pretend you don't care and it's the train.

Also, warm up really, really hard, eat a little, drink a bunch, race, cool down, drink booze.

[(10chars)]

new bike day. this thing is so much fun!

[albeeeezy]

My bike =)

[Guest kentmoney]

Real men ride 20 inches

[jaac]

Can anyone recommend some good cage pedals? Preferably in silver. Been scouting for a while and just haven't found many that i really like. Local store's have pretty limited ranges.

[Guest kentmoney]

bear traps!

[dubcbadass]

False yourself. If a few riders go down, it's a 'no contest lap' and whomever's bloody bike still works gets to hop back in.

For better or for worse, all your advice sounds like collegiate racing, big time.

Just don't hit your brakes or make any sudden movements. Causing a crash by being all over is horseshit. Don't freak out when you're getting elbows and knees, just pretend you don't care and it's the train.

Also, warm up really, really hard, eat a little, drink a bunch, race, cool down, drink booze.

what i am saying, and maybe i wasn't clear, re: free laps was that if a du is slow and the course is relatively safe, officials often either a) don't know or don't care if you get dropped and will let you jump back into the race without pulling you. they do this to be nice. i wouldn't call that a legitimate free lap due to mishap. would you?

also, i did race collegiate a, but i also raced juniors on the national level since i was a wee one (started racing road in 1998 maybe), and always raced category along with it. did a couple local pro 1, 2 races before i took 'early retirement' (haha, due to partying in high school) and lots of pro 1, 2, 3s in my time, so i think i can speak pretty well for many of the skill and intensity levels of road racing (especially ones average folks will attain) in the states short of like nrc pro races or uci shit.

i dig the advice in your last two paragraphs. that stuff is well put.

[(10chars)]

Real men ride 20 inches

is that even you?? im wayy to tall for a 20 incher and for dirt jumping, 26 is just so comfortable. im not planning on learning double whips and shit anyways.

[Guest kentmoney]

Yah, it is me. Granted it is like two or three years old..

[k1d.]

brand? i say cheap aluminum frame and decent groupset. others will disagree, but it takes a lot of time on a lot of bikes to really feel/appreciate the difference b/w frame quality levels and materials and the frame isn't a great place to save weight. all the crap you read in the bike mags are just press release from manufacturers that you are paying for. i am a big fan of sram for quality. i have a bike from '06 sram force on it and it took two years of salty winter and one season of a few cross races and other than swapping from road bike to cross bike, nothing on it has ever needed cables or adjustments. i don't know how, but it is true. sram rival is the best budget groupset out there. don't waste your time/money on tiagra or 105 or even ultegra (imho).

I looked into what you said.. and I'm definitely liking the idea.. SRAM Rival groupset new goes for about 700~ shipped.. But it also gives me all these options on length and etc... do you know how I should go on deciding what length and etc?

That leaves me with about another 500~ for the rest...

[dubcbadass]

False yourself. If a few riders go down, it's a 'no contest lap' and whomever's bloody bike still works gets to hop back in.

For better or for worse, all your advice sounds like collegiate racing, big time.

Just don't hit your brakes or make any sudden movements. Causing a crash by being all over is horseshit. Don't freak out when you're getting elbows and knees, just pretend you don't care and it's the train.

Also, warm up really, really hard, eat a little, drink a bunch, race, cool down, drink booze.

I looked into what you said.. and I'm definitely liking the idea.. SRAM Rival groupset new goes for about 700~ shipped.. But it also gives me all these options on length and etc... do you know how I should go on deciding what length and etc?

That leaves me with about another 500~ for the rest...

what are you getting as part of the groupset? is it a full build kit or just transmission, levers and brakes (aka an 8 piece group)? if so, you might need a hair more than 500 to finish the job if you don't have shit lying around. find a bike shop friend who can get pro deal on qbp stuff is a great option (this might require blow jobs or pay off in cases of beer).

[k1d.]

what are you getting as part of the groupset? is it a full build kit or just transmission, levers and brakes (aka an 8 piece group)? if so, you might need a hair more than 500 to finish the job if you don't have shit lying around. find a bike shop friend who can get pro deal on qbp stuff is a great option (this might require blow jobs or pay off in cases of beer).

I was looking at

http://www.lickbike.com/productpage.aspx?PART_NUM_SUB='7189-00'

As far as discount goes.. I know I can get 15%~ at the bike shop due to being on the university's cycling team.

Also I can get Specialized bikes at a huge discount (think 50%) but only on the high end bikes.. so I'll still have to shell out at least 2 grand +

[tylortakahisa]

bout to leave and have my first race tomorrow

then my first crit sunday!!!!

:D:D:D

thnx for all the pointers

[the Repeater]

Don't buy a groupset and a frame and wheels. You'll never make budget with a passable bike.

You're gonna need a new chain every month or so and cassettes and this and that. Get a complete, used bike. 105 will do, Ultegra or SRAM will be better. Probably best to not get Campy on your first bike. Don't feel like 9-speed is obsolete, it's not, it's sweet. Bike swaps are usually the most legit way to get a used bike if you don't know what to check out or have parts around since they've all been checked by a mechanic.

I cannot emphasize enough joining a club as well, they will hook you up w/ used stuff and point you in the right direction.

[redX]

dunno if this has been posted yet but here goes

BoLKvWf4Fd0

[ndmhxc]

got myself a new b17 saddle in black yesterday. its already so much more comfy than my old stock saddle that came with my frame. stoked!

[mlproject]

that vid's pretty old, but its definitely funny to watch big pete ride around williamsburg and cp.

[zissou]

Have any of you guys tried removing anodizing from parts? I've heard that oven cleaner works ok, but I am wondering if there are any better solutions out there. I'd love to have straight polished aluminum rims, but I am guessing I'll need to either seal them or polish often.

[skeetinmynose]

Oven cleaner is readily accessible and works well as long as you watch your parts carefully. If you keep the oven cleaner on too long it will start pitting the aluminum. There's some places online that sell an industrial stripping powder mixture that acts only to remove anodization - it's about $16 for a bottle. I'll look for the link.

And yeah, you'll need to put a clear coat or hit em with Mother's often to keep em bling blingin'

[wild style]

Oven cleaner works well. Make sure it's the heavy duty kind that contains lye. I polished some old Shimano cranks a few years ago this way. They've held up great, just hit them with some mothers every once in a while.

before:

wetsanding

polishing

lots more elbow grease and a few blisters after

[zissou]

Woah, nice job on the cranks. I'll give that a try once it warms up a bit.

Skeet- if you can find the link, I'll check that out. Polished aluminum rims are the last thing I need to do to get my bike where I want it. I'm thinking I'll use a drill attachment to do the actual polishing.

[dubcbadass]

nice pseudo-photo tutorial, wild style! must spread, but i had full 600 on my first road rig.

[zissou]

Just bought some new Chorus brake calipers for cheap. Last part I needed. I'll get the rims stripped and polished and then finally post up some photos...

[mlproject]

its surprisingly easy to do. prolly had a tutorial up on his blog for some parts as well if you guys want some more shots.

[zissou]

How long did you leave the oven cleaner on the parts?

[tylortakahisa]

race weekend was brutal!!!!

had to race at 730 in the cold ass rain and mist:(

i didn do too hot this weekend

got lapped in my crit which had a small killer hill in it

racing was REALLY fun though, if this weekend taught me one thing its that i gotta be trainin a lot harder n im lookin forward to that:)

[skeetinmynose]

10 minutes is long enough to strip the coating depending on how strong the oven cleaner is. You can pretty much use anything with lye/NaOH in it like Drain-O as well as all you need to strip it is lye.

Buffing wheel/drill attachment will save you so much time and make it look a lot better than a rag job

Found the industrial stuff, $12

[Rob060]

haven't actually ridden in a long time and the bike is pretty old news now, but this is it. i miss having dirt jumps and northshore trails to go to. :/

bmx isn't mine

[zissou]

Awesome. Thanks, Skeet.