^ climbing and slowly go together for me.. I'd probably opt for the prevail in the heat... Doing a sportive this weekend.. Only supposed to be mid 70s.. Evade it is.

anyone know where i can find replacement ratchet/buckle things for my specialized shoes? I crashed like 3-4 times on these shoes, and the right buckle has finally **** the bed. I'm in Austin. Would bike shops normally have them?

and do they make stuff to cover up your elbow and knees? because I'm tired of busting my ass and losing skin.

The Feed is currently giving away a Cannondale Super Six Evo High-Mod for those interested.

Btw, what are you guys favorite on the bike bars and gels? I tried a Clif Bar energy gel the other day, and upset my stomach pretty bad..

Preferences for 11 speed chains? My bike's original KMC is about done at ~1100 miles, which I attribute to a bunch of riding in the rain. Planning on Ultegra unless someone has a better idea.

5800. $17. KMC Missing Link. $6.

yup, 5800 will be fine.

Yes, but it makes you look dumb.

Scabs and scrapes are part of the game!

Boa ratchets? Depending on the shoe they may be easy or hard to replace. Any specialized shop should stock them and they should also have the tool to replace the tougher version if that's what you have.

you can get them direct from BOA as well.

wait, you can use missing link with shimano chains?

yeah, for those that don't know, boa does free life-time replacement w/no questions. Order yourselves a spare and keep it in your race bag for the day you show up and your **** breaks.

Yup. SRAM and Campy chains too.

^really?! I don't need to keep on setting and removing that pin each time I tinker with the chain?

Thanks for this. Just ordered some.

it sort of makes sense. 10s/11s is about chain width and chains have uniform link length... I considered it but was never brave enough.

Works great. Get the 11sp Campy or Shimano version.

FYI, the 11sp KMC Missing Links aren't reusable if that matters to you.

I reuse them. No issues.

no issues until they fail. Same as the rest.

I think though they mean, don't use them beyond the life of a single chain. But taking a chain on/off once a week or something shouldn't kill it.

indeed.

And to extrapolate a larger point -
If you are a dedicated enough racer to train a bunch, (espcially stage racers where you've got a small number of dates circled on your calendar), I'd advise going through the points of basic failure - defined as, "can't race because of this part's failure", and carry spares.
Between racing and working in a shop that a ton of racers went to, I've got plenty of stories of someone who trained for 5 months and then couldn't race, or had to try to scrounge up a bike to borrow and all the ensuing stress.
On "Hida's List of Things" (a non-complete list):
BOA cable/Laces
Cleats
Spare RD Hanger

Slightly more expensive things (more of a stage-race focus): never know what may or may not be available after a Sat night crit for Sunday am RR start
Spare chain
Pedals
Saddle (get a used whatever is currently on your bike)
Rear Derailleur

Beyond this, there's lots of stuff - any mechanical item can & will be a point of failure - and I'm not advocating carrying spare handlebars to crits. But, having a plan and trying to cover the most basic stuff that tends to not live through crashes (such as say, carbon railed saddles?) is a pretty decent scheme for people who have a limited amount of time to play lycra-pants-hero. There have been plenty of times in my live where I didn't have an extra 4-5 hours in a week to make multiple LBS visits, scour the internet for spare parts, and then get it all installed before the next workout/race day.

Crashes happen. Fact.
If your bike uses a wonky RD hanger and you don't already have one, ordering can easily take a couple days to get it - and you'll be off the bike. No backup bike? No training.
If your shoe buckle/cable/cleats are destroyed in a crash - it's much easier to have a spare on hand, and likely cheaper than scrambling to buy whatever you can get the most expediently in the moment.
Oh, and add some tegaderm to your order - if you need more than one or two of the things on this list, you just might need some of that as well.

It'll take any reasonable person 15' to get almost everything on that list rounded up (aka ordered from online or phone in to your LBS), and once you get all the stuff, another 10' to put it in your race bag and carry it around with you.
Presto, peace of mind if you go down in a crash-
You will save money because you can go w/ the best price around, and you'll need all those items over the next year or so anyway- wear and tear most likely - but if stuff gets sideways, you'll be back up and running in no time at all - with no stress of sourcing parts.

oh - and if you rely on your local shop folks to do repairs for you, occasionally hooking them up means that when service quues are crazy over the summer, they may be more likely to get up you and running sooner instead of later.

No - I'm not an obsessive over-preparer, but I've never not started a race because of gear failure - even after getting my stuff smashed up.
cc: tetonrider / RacerEX - thoughts on gear prep for races?

there's not much you can't fix with an innertube and scissors.

A KMC rep posted here that non-reusable = no taking the chain off to clean it. I don't do that anyways so it's not an issue for me.

absolutely -
and hypothetically one could could podium the Devil's Punchbowl RR in LLBean loafers - but having a handy spare pair of shoes (that one already owns) is easier.

Thats why I reuse them. One per chain. You'll know when they get too loose, you can feel it when you reinstall it.