spitfirxe

Hi people,

let's imagine the scenario: you are planning to take part in a race (any kind, be it time trials, crits etc). you have been training for it pretty diligently. A day just before the race, you suddenly notice your race bike has some alarming issues that definitely cant be solved in time for that race (insert your choice of disaster here). what you are left with is your commuter bike. Sure, it is a road bike and all, but is it a very low end one, probably only one or two notches above wal-mart bikes.

what will you do? race the race with the commuter bike?

botto 

yes.

next question?

kinofaucet

as long as the wheel is true and nothing will fall off, its race-able.

ChrizzleDizzle6

i would go for it!
if you have been training for it for a while now you should still be able to accomplish your goals on another bike even if its lower quality. i have one of the walmart bikes that it at a garage sale for really cheap.
just cleaned the chain and tightened some cables and i have already ridden it 150 miles. pretty good for a newb!
anywho it depends on the rider not the bike so i say do it if your in that scenario!

Basil Moss

You ares. I was the bloke everyone assumed was using a crappy bike because no.1 bike was feeling poorly, for a long time, due to being financially challenged. So yes.

Guillotine007

i ride with my lousy legs, so why not

Thirstyman

as long as the shifting works. Nothing sucks more than having to spin higher than you want to close a gap because you can't get it to shift to the big ring under high load.

gfactor

Sure then blame your result on the bike.

Flaneur

Most of my contemporaries retired from competition years- decades- ago. Most cannot bring themselves to sell their bikes and some buy new ones, just to promenade around on.

I would borrow such a bike:-)

Many of my current opponents think my regular bike is lousy. This annoys the ones who cannot seem to beat me, with their 'cutting edge' advantages:-)

I have ridden time trials on mountain bikes and shoppers- once dressed in a Lion suit, complete with mane and tail..........

Cleave

Hi,

Now what's a lousy bike again?

I'll race on whatever is available but YMMV re: what's available.

Bianchigirll 

you need to be a bit more specific about a 'Lousy Bike" and Commuter bike. I see what some gents on here call commuters and they are nicer than some of my good bikes.

there are also some riders whose race bike is their commuter. also back when index DT shifters were the hot new thing, one of the best riders on our shop team rode a 2 or 3 year old Pinirello with modolo brake calipers, shimano aero levers, SR crank, campi derailleurs, friction shifters and mismatched wheels. he also rode this to class and anywhere he did not want to walk including the 20+ miles to and from the weekly training race. was his bike "lousy" compared to the rich freds with topshelf dura ace rides?

clausen

Why are you racing, for the competition or to show off your bike? If it's to show off your bike go hang out at starbucks, most people that race don't care what your on.

Thirstyman

I'll add also that I wouldn't if your beater is heavy and there is a lot of prolonged at-your-limit climbing. I wouldn't ride my 27 pound beater (+11 lbs. versus my race bike) in local races with all out 10 minute climbs. There is already so much suffering on the lighter bike to stay near the front group as it is. If I'm going to suffer that much only to get blown out the back on a heavy bike I might as well stay home. I'd ride it in flat crits though.

bismillah

Can't race on a lousy bike. A lousy bike doesn't have wheels.

El Diablo Rojo

What botto said.

carpediemracing 

Get a close ratio cassette, if it's geared wide ("wide" = 28 to 34T large cog). Tension the wheels (usually cheap bikes have loosely tensioned spokes since no one checks them). Try and replicate your race bike position (for me it involves 13 cm stem, remove or displace spacers, slide saddle all the way forward, tilt bars down a bit). Swap pedals. You're ready to go.

I said to someone that one year I want to go to some place and get all $800 road bikes. The geometry has to be right, but that's it. The rest of the bike can be whatever. I'd want to swap wheels since they're usually the heaviest things on a cheap bike, put clipless, and use the appropriate stem and post for fit (trying to stick with the stock bar, adj for width). Bikes that come to mind - a Scott, Jamis, may be an aluminum Giant or Specialized. And then go race them as a team.

First off, it would look totally pro to show up on identical bikes, even if they were cheap. Heck, you'd have to put your name on the bike so you could tell them apart.

Second, it would be fun to race with cheap bikes. Truly disposable. And built in "yeah whatever" factor - you can race with no reservations because, at the end of the day, you can always say, "Well, yeah, we're racing these fun as hell bikes." So failing doesn't matter. Hammer at the front. Chase breaks. Attack away. Huge leadouts for the sprint.

Booyah.

cdr

CrimsonKarter21

Yes.

mollusk

Until my last race last season all I have done is to race on lousy bikes. Then in my last race I had a good bike (with lousy wheels) but was coming down with the swine flu and raced with a lousy engine.

Just HTFU and race.

mollusk

Listen to this guy. He is long winded, though.

Matt2.8NJ

Run what ya brung, boyeeeee

veloboy971

That's why you have 2 good bikes as well as a crappy one

urbanknight

I would not race it in a house, I would not race it with a mouse.

I stopped racing because my legs are lousy, regardless of what bike I was on.