Road Bike Racing - Attaching my race number to my bike.

I just received my race number from the Washington State Bicycling Association and I've no clue as to how I should attach it to my bike for a race I'll be in this Saturday. Can anybody give me some insight as to a good way to attach my race number to my bike?

I'd prefer it on my seat tube, I know I could twisty tie it to my frame pretty easily.

Thanks in advance,
-Neo

Hi,

Take a look at some photos from any of the Grand Tours (Giro, Le Tour, Vuelta) and you'll see numbers attached using brackets on the rear brake bolt or around the seatpost. I have no idea where to buy these kinds of bracket but I'm guessing you could fabricate something from scratch or modify a reflector bracket pretty easily.

Hope this helps.

If you want to attach the number to the seat post because it won't fit in the frame, go for it. If it's because you think it'll look cooler or, that putting it in the frame will require you to always pull your water bottle from the same side of the bike, PLEASE do your results people a favor and put it in the frame. The frame numbers used by amateurs are a lot floppier than the ones used in professional races in Europe. They tend to flop around, and the seat tube is a great place to put your number if you want it to be obscured by another rider. In professional racing, there's a lot of money and sporting interest in getting the results right, so they are VERY good at sorting them out. They also have lots of cameras. In a silly little amateur race, if they can't figure out who you are, you get a ??? and no official placing on the results sheet. Since your post is indicating that you want it at the back of your bike for vanity reasons, please reconsider. There's a reason that they ask you to put it in the frame.

I just received my race number from the Washington State Bicycling Association and I've no clue as to how I should attach it to my bike for a race I'll be in this Saturday. Can anybody give me some insight as to a good way to attach my race number to my bike?

I'd prefer it on my seat tube, I know I could twisty tie it to my frame pretty easily.

Thanks in advance,
-Neo

check the flyer for the race or its web page for a "race bible", which will instruct where you're required to put your # on your bike. it'll either be frame at the HT/TT/DT junction (which will not get in the way of your bottle unless your frame is smaller than size 50-ish - I know this because I'm on a small frame and have never had this problem); or it'll be on your seat post. put it on using twist ties, which are typically provided with the # from the promoter/organizer.

For a cleaner look, you can use black zip ties to attach the number to the seatpost and seat. You can also use zip ties to attach it to the front triangle. I prefer the seat post because the ties always seem to scuff my frame paint. From what I've seen and heard at WSBA races, the officials don't seem to have a preference for one or the other location. I'd like to fabricate or buy a bracket like the pros use, but have been too lazy to find one so far.

Thanks everybody. The majority of the riders I've been watching at the local crits had their numbers on the seatpost, so I thought that was the norm. I went ahead and fastened it to the HT/TT/DT junction with some zip ties because It seemed to be the easiest, but I'm also a bit concerned about the paint scuffing issue. They didn't specify where they wanted the number to go so I'm sure I'll be okay. Just in case I'll bring some extra zip ties with me. Wish me luck :)

A spare seat tube bracket from a reflector or a tail light should work.

Thanks Curiouskid55. I was looking at some of the seatpost configs at the race this morning and I think I can whip up something from a spare reflector bracket. I also saw an inventive use of zip ties to hold the number on the seatpost but the bracket could be easily removed after a race so I like that idea. The number being on the frame did interfere with my water bottle slightly, but since I pull it from the left, I just cocked the number to the right a bit. Plus I was way off the back so getting my water bottle out wasn't a worry.