Professional Cycling For the Fans - David Millar loves Mavic wheels! (semi spoiler)

Do you think David Millar will be doing any print ads for Mavic wheels anytime soon? TWO wheel failures in one TT? What's the deal?

what happened the 2nd time ? i only saw the first one

I didn't actually see it. The camera just caught the team replacing his bike again, not that much farther down the road. The announcers said that the rear wheel "folded" -- which, I'm guessing, just means that it broke. (How could a rear wheel literally fold?) Clearly, on the first wheel, the rim separated from the disk, or vice versa.

Now I understand why the car carries a whole roof full of replacement bikes. It took Millar three bikes to make the finish.

must of been a bad patch or something :/ that was really strange that a rim would separate from the disk like that. I would not be surprised that a disk wheel could fold, but the rider would crash if it did, i'm guessing the wheel became untrue with some carbon fiber panels separating or perhaps broke like the first one did

I thought the first time the chain snapped & that destroyed the wheel. Don't know about the 2nd time. Looked like the disc separated.

Whoever the VERSUS announcer was that said the chain snapped and came off the bike was clearly wrong. The first close shot of the bike, as they were replacing it, showed the chain intact and snug on the cogs. The chain wasn't tangled or off the run. Unlike what the announcer said, this wasn't a chain problem.

EDIT: Check out the shot they're using as they go to commercial -- the one with Millar throwing the bike. Hit pause. The chain is still on.

Do you think David Millar will be doing any print ads for Mavic wheels anytime soon? TWO wheel failures in one TT? What's the deal?

It's the Doping Gods telling him to Shut The F**k Up.

Whatever really happened...it sucked and after awhile, you just had to laugh...thought he was going to ask for a regular wheel just to get going.

Whoever the VERSUS announcer was that said the chain snapped and came off the bike was clearly wrong. The first close shot of the bike, as they were replacing it, showed the chain intact and snug on the cogs. The chain wasn't tangled or off the run. Unlike what the announcer said, this wasn't a chain problem.

EDIT: Check out the shot they're using as they go to commercial -- the one with Millar throwing the bike. Hit pause. The chain is still on.

I haevnt watched the replay...but when i first saw it it looked like his chain exploded or the rear derailure exploded...metal was certainley flying. Im not sure what was wrong with the 2nd TT bike...but #1 didnt last long.

Dave said that his mavic discs 'just exploded'. First one and then 300 meters later the other. He then got on Mayo's spare bike whilst the mechanic fixed his up. He said it was 'just bizarre.'

They showed it in the first 10 minutes of coverage this morning on Versus. It did look like his wheel components had exploded, they were literally flying everywhere.

I always amazed when "Bike Forum" members say "I'm gonna buy wheel X, because that is what so and so used in the Tour".

"So and So" has a spare wheel or a spare bike on the car behind him, so he can gamble as to whether his wheel will last for a hour or so. But, the average Forum member doesn't have a spare wheel or spare bike on a car behind him. If you want to FINISH a ride, a good way to do it is to have the word "Shimano" or the word "Campy" on your hubs.

I thought the first time the chain snapped & that destroyed the wheel. Don't know about the 2nd time. Looked like the disc separated.

That's what the announcers said but it looked to me like the chain was intact when Millar threw the bike to the ground.

there was no reason to throw the bike to the ground, he should have just used the kickstand... ;)

and i love how he almost forgot to take his water bottle from the second bike...

Well what else would you expect from carbon fiber, especially French carbon fiber....wait I ride a French carbon bike....dear god it's going to explode!!!!!

I always amazed when "Bike Forum" members say "I'm gonna buy wheel X, because that is what so and so used in the Tour".



Not me, but I can see your point. That's a decision a lot of people make, disregarding reliability and longevity to save a few grams, feel they are faster thru butt dyno, looks cool, etc etc. But it's their money and people can buy whatever makes them happy. I wouldn't ride on CF aero disc or tri-spoke wheels on a daily basis and they would attract thieves like crazy.

It's the Doping Gods telling him to Shut The F**k Up.

shut yer sanctimonious GU hole david :eek:!

ed rader

The ITV interviewers o'er here were laughing about how he explicitly says 'Mavic' in his post-race interview with them. They said it was the same thing both times - the rims coming off the disk. I'm sure Mavic is getting a nasty phone call this evening (and were watching it on TV with their heads in their hands).


If you want to FINISH a ride, a good way to do it is to have the word "Shimano" or the word "Campy" on your hubs.

I'll still take a hub that says 'Mavic' over one that says 'Shimano' well nigh any day. (or Zipp if any of you guys are buying...)
(says the boy with a rubbish pair of wheels with Shimano logos on the bike and another busted one lying in the back of the garage)

First time the rim exploded. Looks like the carbon disk separated completely from the rim. Maybe a hole/slit/unglued section came undone and with the air getting in between it separated quickly?

Second time they mentioned that Millar was pushing potentially too hard to get back up and going and the wheel got jacked into the frame. When you see the replay, they mechanic is trying to loosen or tighten the rear wheel but then someone else came with a new bike and Millar wisely took that and was off.

Horrible for him - sh*tty way to end his Tour.

Wonder if he was using tubular or clincher tires?

Wonder if he was using tubular or clincher tires?

do they ever use clinchers? i thot the pros only use sew-ups :eek:.

ed rader

Here's the video interview:

http://www.worldcycling.tv/2007-tour-de-france-david-millar-interview-stage-19-july-28

David Miller says the rim separated from the carbon.

do they ever use clinchers? i thot the pros only use sew-ups :eek:.

ed rader

They use both depending on the team. Michelin supplies both clinchers and tubulars to their sponsored teams. Picture of Michelin's Pro 3 clincher used in this years tour:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2007/tech/features/tour_tech_707/Michelin_Pro3_Race.jpg

Barloworld is running on prototype Vittoria tubulars made especially for the team at the request of team mechanic Giancarlo Bianchi.
The tires used to land wins on Stages 9 and 11 recycle an old tread design mated to Vittoria's newest compounds. According to Bianchi, the unique combination is better suited to today's "more polluted road conditions" that are typically littered with more debris and oil.

Some teams only use tubulars for TT. It's a debate (clinchers vs tubulars) that will probably go on for some time.

It's the Doping Gods telling him to Shut The F**k Up.

+1 Whenever I see a doper get the short end I start to believe.

And some tubulars in the TdF have clincher logos painted on their sides. (The better to sell tires to regular people, don't you know?)

Does anybody have a link to a video of the wheel failing the first time? I saw it during the stage but wasn't recording. Yes, I did look on youtube.

Here is his diary on bicycling.com where he talks about what happened.
http://www.bicycling.com/tourdefrance/article/0,6802,s1-7-123-16331-1-0-0-0-2392,00.html

Funny:


My team car was still back at the start sorting out the other bike so I took the opportunity to kick the living **** out of the rear wheel while waiting for the car to realize I was in trouble. In hind sight, I'm glad my foot didn't get stuck in the wheel because that would have been really embarrassing.

My first thought was that the mechanic was gonna catch hell that night...

Here is his diary on bicycling.com where he talks about what happened.
http://www.bicycling.com/tourdefrance/article/0,6802,s1-7-123-16331-1-0-0-0-2392,00.html


Hahaha, you gotta admit, the guy has a sense of humor.

Hahaha, you gotta admit, the guy has a sense of humor.

You know what would be really funny is if those were actually Zipps or some other wheel with Mavic stickers on them so Mavic gets the bad advertising with none of the blame.