Originally Posted by Hida Yanra

no doubt it would surprise many... I still like my odds on a true climb
(while admitting you'd be rather likely to out-power me on hills and leave me for dead)

Originally Posted by rkwaki

You are correct - if it is short (less than 2 miles) I am good, the longer climbs hurt.
Rollers - entirely different story

Originally Posted by TMonk

It's on the downtube .

I'll take it in to a couple shops for opinions but I'm pretty sure it's only a (small) matter of time before it fails due to the beer-can effect.

Originally Posted by Hida Yanra

it was a learning experience the first time I raced a course full of rollers against a bunch of big guys.
I had thoughts of making them hurt on the hills... but it was 29F, snowing, & there was a vicious cross wind.

I quickly realized why the prototypical Belgian racers look the way they do.

hardest race of my life.
It was the first SR early in the year, and there were a couple of guys up front that are cat2 trackies, and a bunch of other super-strong guys that cat'd up within the next month... I learned more about racing that day than I had in the previous year, put together.

Originally Posted by rkwaki

my experience has been when racing with big guys is that on hills you don't want to simply put distance between yourself and them but you have to destroy them

Originally Posted by topflightpro

If it is only dented and there are no cracks, you should be fine for a little while.

I put a nice dent in my 03 Spec. S-Works aluminum frame last year. It was in the top tube, not the downtube. My LBS said that it was fine to continue riding and racing it for a little while - it would not fail catastrophically, but it would fail.

I raced it a half dozen more times before a crack started forming across the top of the top tube. That's when they said to stop riding it.

Originally Posted by rkwaki

You fuggers are tough today.

BTW my climbing 'prowess' surprises most

Originally Posted by jrennie

temp race rig till my super six comes in

Originally Posted by techlogik

Why is it that every bike pretty much seems to be a frame 2 sizes too small, the stem is slammed, and the seat post is about to fall out of the seat tube making the seat about 4" higher than the stem/handlebars? Is that because all the pros do it on TV, or there is some better aerodynamic advantage to this?

Sorry, off topic....but can't help but notice the trend in most photos posted.

Originally Posted by Hida Yanra

good question really -
there are usually aerodynamic savings associated with a lower position, even as there are physiological costs associated with a lower position... savings in one area engender costs in another area... everyone has to balance these issues against each other.

It seems like many guys are copying the pros - but for many of us, that is because the pros tend to know more stuff about ideal ways to race bikes than the average bike racer. By leveraging the knowledge from someone who is very well versed in something, there are almost always gains to be made in the margins.

For example me:
I have long legs, but a shorter torso.
My BB-saddle height is longer than most of my team mates
My saddle to handlebars length tends to be average, even though I am very flexible and ride with a rather flat back.

Thus, my seat-bars vertical drop isn't all that impressive, even though, given a longer torso&arms, I'd easily have my handlebars at the level of the front tyre.

it depends...
hope that is helpful.

Originally Posted by ridethecliche

Or maybe it's because people work on flexibility and core strength so that they can work into a more aggressive position where they are comfortable, but you may not be.

At the end of the day whatever works for you works. Worry about yourself.

Also, you haven't seen most of the owners on their respective bikes. They might have really long legs and long arms or some other such combination. Can't tell from the images of the bikes now can you?

Originally Posted by stevejaz

The new pig is lighter, too bad the old pig riding it isn't!

Originally Posted by techlogik

Settle down numb nuts....it was a serious question.

Originally Posted by botto

man, those are some fat ass cat 5s.

Originally Posted by rkwaki

What's even funnier is you guys rode my a$$ about riding on the hoods and half that field is sprinting on the hoods.

Originally Posted by ravenmore

Nothing as exotic and some of the bikes posted but here's my latest ride:



Excuse the small chain ring. I'd just finished a 76 mile ride on an unseasonably hot 80 degree humid day here in ATX yesterday. I was cramping big time the last 13 miles or so.