Bob Dopolina 

eeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww!

tjallen

Ha! Yeah, yeah, I know. I've lurked enough to know I'd get raked for that comment.

And at risk of inviting more, I'll counter. If one were to be concerned about the cleanliness of the shot blocks stuck to a top tube, imagine the nozzles on your water bottles that spend their time festering in the e-coli laden wind, picking up all that spinning wheel debris with a fresh sheen of saliva coating for the whole race-- mmm.

Actually, maybe that pepto mix isn't such a bad idea.

Racer Ex 

Shot block is a petri dish. Literally. A nice, sticky petri dish. With a lot of surface area.

I don't know how you handle your bottles but I don't lick them, and I wipe/squirt my nozzles clean when I switch them over from front to rear.

tjallen

Thanks for the image of a rider licking his bottle nozzle. I'm glad you don't do that. It would be distracting.

Admittedly though, I have yet to master either opening the valve without using my teeth or the squirt-my-drink-into-my-mouth-without-touching-my-lips-to-the-nozzle-without-getting-it-elsewhere trick, so my saliva does end up on the nozzle.

Bob Dopolina 

Honestly, If I saw some dweeb beside me with stuff stuck on his top tube I'd probably reach over, tear it off and stick it in my jersey pocket.

I survived two stages of Tour of Korea by pilfering the pockets of kids with more food than sense...

rkwaki

Bob I think you are one on here that can vouch that guys do this. I have said before, if that musette comes out too early I'm taking it even if it isn't mine.

Bob Dopolina 

I love a buffet!

rkwaki

But it's like a surprise buffet when you grab someone else's musette - you never know what you are getting.

tjallen

Wow, sorry some dude's food choices cause you to get all emotionally fired up and start slingin' insults. I was trying to keep it a bit lighthearted here, but perhaps I should have known better.

Nice work driving away a potential customer who was getting ready to buy some novatec hubs. But then I imagine you don't care to sell to dweebs who stick shot blocks to their top tube.

Bob Dopolina 

Kind of related but I was once in a 4 man break that became a 2 man break that stayed away for almost 100km. At about 80km in my buddy was out of water and asked for a swig from the near full bottle I had. i gave it to him.

He took a long swig and then 'dropped' the bottle as he handed it back to me. I was instantly pissed at him for being a dick but then I realized I should be pissed at myself for being so stupid.

Karma then took over and he flated a few km later. A group of six bridged up to me and I got 4th in the sprint.

I don't think the bottle mattered but that stuck with me.

Bob Dopolina 

Stick around a bit. It's a RACING forum so a thick skin is needed and most posts are a bit tongue in cheek.

But seriously, if you show up at a RR with food on your TT I wouldn't be the only one calling you a dweeb. It's just not appropriate for the event.

Don't be so sure. We have sold a lot of different products to a lot of different people and we didn't need to be friends.

You may not like me or what I have to say but It's pretty rare that someone calls BS. Our retail arm is a SMALL part of what we do so we decided to play it straight up, skip they marketing speak, back up what we sell with parts and service and let the products speak for themselves.

If this doesn't work for you there are other sites out there that I'm sure could help you find products that would meet your needs and who would welcome your business.

Could I suggest:

1.eBay. You might need to do a bit of work and some of the OE hubs will use cheaper Chinese bearings but there are values to be found.

2.The Bike Hub Store. If you're not committed to the Novatec brand.

3. Or a basic Google search that might yield something that fits your needs.

Good luck and keep your food in your pockets so some ******* like me doesn't eat your lunch.

rkwaki

Beautiful...

dnuzzomueller

Wow, it was funny but during my race where I attacked when everyone was eating I noticed that one of the guys had lost both his bottles and I offered to give him one of mine, he politely declined and said he would get another at the next feed. I guess it is something to keep in mind though. Good insight there bdop.

tjallen

Yeah, in retrospect, being called a dweeb for violating some yet-unknown-to-me road racing aesthetic... I can handle that. What i bristle at is the implication of lacking any sense.

How so, more than the aesthetic aspect? Is that where the watt dial is supposed to go and the shot blocks there keep me from being able to turn it up?

It's supremely convenient and I'd argue safer than futzing around in a jersey pocket and ripping open some package with your teeth. Are you concerned that they would fall off, endangering other racers? Unused ones have survived the trip home from races with the bike on top of my car cruising at 80mph. The best part about that is that I can save them for the next ride! (kidding!, but I'll let the trolling comment remain). But that sticky resilience actually scares me more about the composition of the shot blocks and what they do in my stomach that anything else. RacerEx was concerned about the cleanliness of it, but as indicated I feel it's no different than water bottle nozzles exposed to the elements.

Eh, it works for me, which is why I posted the original comment.

Thanks! But I think I'll remain a dweeb for now just to cause *******s like you so much consternation. Maybe it distracts you just enough to allow me to get past.

shovelhd

Are you talking about a bento box? They are not allowed at USAC races.

Bob Dopolina 

Welcome to the program.


What you need to do is to open, unwrap and rewrap your food before you put it in your pocket. I do this with powerbars because of how hard they are to open. After I do this they are easy to pull out and eat.

Also, you should get used to digging around in your pockets during a race. You won't need it for crits (you can put a gel under the leg band of your shorts) but in longer RR you'll need to eat.

Sticking stuff on your TT is 'just not done'.

I'd only be distracted long enough to chew down a free snack and then it's game on.

tjallen

Nope, I'm apparently talking about an invisible bento box.

Bob Dopolina 

Ok. Now you're talking some voodoo ****.

shovelhd

Sounds like an advantage. Don't tell the UCI or they'll ban it.

Bob Dopolina 

Or try to standardize it and charge a certification fee.

crapweasel

Does this fall under the general "items which may present a danger" clause? Not advocating their use; the ridicule should be enough disincentive.

I did find this, which could be relevant to some people:

" The pilfering of supplies from another rider
shall be severely punished [disqualification]"

AzTallRider

Or in the case of powershots/gels, save money by buying in bulk, then put it in a flask. You can open the flask in advance without causing a mess, and it is easy to pull from a pocket and squirt into your mouth. It's even easier to mix it in a water bottle, and you then know you are getting the calories consistently when drinking, but around here there is an advantage to being able to use plain water in all your bottles.

I know guys who stick stuff to their TT's and just say eff you to the Fredliness of it.

dnuzzomueller

Fredliness == godliness