Noob crash likelihood?
I hear a LOT of "crash replacement" stories online. If I've never raced anything in my life, how likely is it that I'm going to crash in my first year or two of doing crits? I imagine a lot of it has to do with how aggressive I want to be and how well I can stay off someone's wheel, but I'm trying to get a bit of an idea because:
1. An AL race bike like a Teammachine ALR One with the same groupset is half the price ($2k for an AXS Rival drivetrain) of a comparably-equipped carbon bike.
2. I'm 52, and crashes will hurt a lot more (honestly, might be a one-and-done).
Should I go for cheap frames?
Alternately, in the spirit of "only ride what you can afford to replace," if that applies to my aging body, should I avoid crits entirely and stick to long, less-logjammy endurance races, slow-mo SSCX, and TTs?
Last edited by cormacf; 09-09-23 at 11:12 AM.