Professional Cycling For the Fans - Tour De France should be done on fixed gear again

All the dopers and wussies can climb on multi geared bikes but lets see them try to beat the old records even on modern composite frames. I would like to see the fixed gear return to Tour De France. Imagine what a friendly sport it would become if the riders would take a break to change cogs and adjust chains.

It could work for select stages...kind of like how they do "classic" and "skating" sections of XC ski courses. Gotta keep the geared bikes for the mountains though, or all of the riders will be needing knee replacements in a couple of years.

They did Paris-Tours that way for a few years in the early 70's (?) to try to make the race harder. Paris-Tours is a one-day race that's basically flat, with no cobblestones, and is called the "Sprinters' Classic".

Making everybody ride a fixed gear meant that, if a rider wanted a 52 x 12 for the sprint, he had to ride that the whole way (or risk a bike change towards the end). Not sure what gears the pros ended up choosing, but it was probably smaller than that. All that really happened is a lot of the top pros skipped the race, and the biggest sprinters still won.

I disagree that making the Tour de France even harder would help solve the doping problem. It might have the opposite effect. It would be cool if they did a stage that way, though.

Maybe we should make them carry their own spare wheels on their backs, too! Support teams are for big wusses and lesser wimps. (http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail80.html) ;)

I have to say though, I've seen some older photos of the "convicts of the road" from the 30s, and back then they had a pair of water bottles fastened to the front of the handlebars. I'm sure it's nowhere near aero enough for modern use, but that kind of struck me as a good place for the bottles, much easier to reach than on the downtube....

Y'know, the other day I was thinking about how put out I am with the whole drugs/cycling thing, and thought, y'know, if they did it on fixies, with no support vehicles, I'd watch. Got a flat? Fix it yourself. Didn't bring levers or a wrench. Bummer. Gonna be a long walk.

Yeah, I might even get cable again to see that.

'course maybe I'll just keep tabs on the GDMBR instead.

All the dopers and wussies can climb on multi geared bikes but lets see them try to beat the old records even on modern composite frames.
They would be faster now, of course. Roads are better and the riders are better.

Y'know, the other day I was thinking about how put out I am with the whole drugs/cycling thing, and thought, y'know, if they did it on fixies, with no support vehicles, I'd watch. Got a flat? Fix it yourself. Didn't bring levers or a wrench. Bummer. Gonna be a long walk.

+1

They would be faster now, of course. Roads are better and the riders are better.
hi euro, the vacation is over on that u/n so you can post as yourself once again. tho the flattery is very becoming. please, keep it up it feels soooo good knowing someone loves me as much as you do. :love:

Y'know, the other day I was thinking about how put out I am with the whole drugs/cycling thing, and thought, y'know, if they did it on fixies, with no support vehicles, I'd watch. Got a flat? Fix it yourself. Didn't bring levers or a wrench. Bummer. Gonna be a long walk.

Yeah, I might even get cable again to see that.

'course maybe I'll just keep tabs on the GDMBR instead.


If a rider breaks a fork will he be DQ'd if someone pumps the bellows on hte forge while the rider fixes it?

If a rider breaks a fork will he be DQ'd if someone pumps the bellows on hte forge while the rider fixes it?
Oh, let's not be ridiculous :-)
Well... as long as the rider doesn't pay the kid on the bellows, I think it'd be OK.

hi euro, the vacation is over on that u/n so you can post as yourself once again. tho the flattery is very becoming. please, keep it up it feels soooo good knowing someone loves me as much as you do. :love:

I don't love you. I actually really hate you as a person. Like if I met you, I'd spit in your face and punch you.

I don't love you. I actually really hate you as a person. Like if I met you, I'd spit in your face and punch you.

...I bet you're still wondering why you were so unjustly banned. Slow on the uptake? I'd say too many falls, head first, off the bike. Put those training wheels back on!

Oh, let's not be ridiculous :-)
Well... as long as the rider doesn't pay the kid on the bellows, I think it'd be OK.

Does giving him an autographed water bottle count as paying him? ;-)

Just for the record. Back in the days of single speed a rider who was leading the Tour (even after the time lost) was disqualified because when he fixed his broken fork (after carrying the bike to the next town) the Blacksmiths assistant pumped the bellows.

Does giving him an autographed water bottle count as paying him? ;-)

Just for the record. Back in the days of single speed a rider who was leading the Tour (even after the time lost) was disqualified because when he fixed his broken fork (after carrying the bike to the next town) the Blacksmiths assistant pumped the bellows.

Rider will now have to carry an oven,CF cloth,resin to fix and bake that carbon fork :)

+1


+2

New Age Yupsters could never do it..........:p

Y'know, the other day I was thinking about how put out I am with the whole drugs/cycling thing, and thought, y'know, if they did it on fixies, with no support vehicles, I'd watch. Got a flat? Fix it yourself. Didn't bring levers or a wrench. Bummer. Gonna be a long walk.

Yeah, I might even get cable again to see that.

'course maybe I'll just keep tabs on the GDMBR instead.


That's the way it used to be; derailleurs weren't allowed until 1937. Riders were allowed a flip-flop hub. If they had a flat or a tacoed wheel or even a busted fork, they had to fix it themselves. Riders got penalized for handing water bottles to each other, getting help fixing flats, and the infamous blacksmith shop incident.
They also had some crazy long stages back then, too. Not unusual for riders to take 15-17 hours to finish a stage. 400+ km stages on dirt roads; no wonder some riders took the train instead.

I believe in the 70's they tried doing 2 and even 3 stages in a day. And no rest days.

http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdfhistory.html

...I bet you're still wondering why you were so unjustly banned.
Nope. I was banned for baiting and baiting and baiting a mod in a private message. Of course you are gonna get banned for that. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.