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  • Tour questions
  • cudubh
    Full Member

    Just two simple questions.

    On the Mavic cars, what frames are they carrying? I thought they were there just to provide wheels when your team car wasn’t nearby so you didn’t lose huge amounts of time but they look to have whole bikes too.

    The riders have radio to communicate with the team car so why do you still see them sitting up and waving to get the car to come up and then explain what their problem is?

    Cheers.

    RealMan
    Free Member

    On the Mavic cars, what frames are they carrying? I thought they were there just to provide wheels when your team car wasn’t nearby so you didn’t lose huge amounts of time but they look to have whole bikes too.

    Cannondales, as they have done for many years now.

    The riders have radio to communicate with the team car so why do you still see them sitting up and waving to get the car to come up and then explain what their problem is?

    Possibly because it’s easier to communicate face to face, and when you need the car to come up and sort something anyway you might as well.

    BigDummy
    Free Member

    1 – seem to be Canondales if you look at some pictures. One site claims CAAD3s.

    2 – I think the whole team is on one channel, so if the rider wants to have a private conversation with the car then he needs to actually go to it. Also I suppose if you don’t want rivals around you hearing what you’re shouting into the mic?

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Because you can’t send sticky bottles via radio.

    cudubh
    Full Member

    That’s great, thanks guys.

    soobalias
    Free Member

    can we do noddy questions?

    as the riders are in radio comms, how come the motorbike with the chalkboard and times, splits still exists?

    im all for it btw, just confused me.

    D0NK
    Full Member

    Because you can’t send sticky bottles via radio.

    Mr Voeckler was having issues with sticky gel wrappers yesterday, but then I guess they actually are sticky.

    ohnohesback
    Free Member

    Is everyone using Sh*mano? If not two sets of rear wheels compatible for either Campag or Sh*mano would have to be carried.

    D0NK
    Full Member

    W*at is this Sh*mano yo* speak *f? I’ve ne*er hea*d of it bef*re.

    dragon
    Free Member

    Radio comms don’t always work, so the motorbike is still useful.

    franki
    Free Member

    Plenty of Sram equipped bikes too, as well as Shimano & Campag.

    muddydwarf
    Free Member

    Why are some climbs called côte de Buttertubs for instance? I thought côte meant coast???

    johndoh
    Free Member

    une côte – hill, slope

    guess it’s just one of those words that has two meanings dependant on context.

    edhornby
    Full Member

    neutral service cars have shimano/sram and campag rear wheels – though it’s pretty rare to need them. I think the bikes are CAAD10s

    the chalkboard is useful for a quick look without having to take hands off bars and giving the other riders any psychological advantage of seeing you asking for team car

    40mpg
    Full Member

    The neutral Mavic cars/bikes appear to mainly be there to advertise Mavic now I think. If access to team cars is really difficult, teh team send runners up the road stood in prominent positions with their own spare wheels – I was stood next to the Tinkoff-Saxo guy on the cobbles a couple of weeks ago – thats his legs:

    [url=https://flic.kr/p/o1GtJP]P7096162[/url] by T*inbred, on Flickr

    Didnt Bradley Wiggins use one a while back, then comment on how shite it was?

    ps Contador was running Spec Roubaix 27mm tubs 😀

    [url=https://flic.kr/p/ohYVBE]P7096163[/url] by T*inbred, on Flickr

    jfletch
    Free Member

    Radios are notoriously crap.

    I think some people seem to think cycling with a radio is akin to F1 with the team car like the pit wall. I.e. Fully connected to everything going on in the race with telemetry, a map of where every car/rider is, linked to a supercomputer and back room full of people calculating every permutation in order to work out what to do and the communication it clearly to the riders.

    The reality is somewhat different.

    It’s a fuzzy connection to a car that has a fuzzy TV picture from the broadcaster and all the driver can see is the car in front.

    D0NK
    Full Member

    It’s a fuzzy connection to a car that has a fuzzy TV picture from the broadcaster and all the driver can see is the car in front.

    I did kind of assume the teams were a bit better kitted up than that

    Plenty of Sram equipped bikes too, as well as Shimano & Campag.

    Pretty sure sram use same cassette spacing as shimano (they are on MTB) so a sram wheel will work fine on shimano and vicky versa.

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    Can I ask a question too?

    Why do some of them use heart rate monitors and not others? Ok I know Pros are more interested in power output for training, but surely in a race what your heart is doing is a good indication of how knackered you are?

    Pyro
    Full Member

    I’d assume pretty much everyone is using power meters, so maybe some feel the HRM isn’t necessary as well?

    surroundedbyhills
    Free Member

    The Mavic cars and motorbikes (which only carry wheels) are also allowed to ride upfront with the commisaire. The team cars can be ordered to stay behind the peloton; e.g. in a situaiton where the yellow jersey may be out front in a breakaway and there is no opportunity or permission for the team car to go past the peloto,n then the Mavic bikes are what the riders can fall back on. Jens used one in the 2010 tour but because his team cars were up the road already.

    atlaz
    Free Member

    Jens used a kids bike then. There’d been a Mavic-sponsored kids ride and the neutral bikes proper had already gone past and this was all that was available.

    ps Contador was running Spec Roubaix 27mm tubs

    Sure those aren’t Dugast? 😉

    atlaz
    Free Member

    Why do some of them use heart rate monitors and not others? Ok I know Pros are more interested in power output for training, but surely in a race what your heart is doing is a good indication of how knackered you are?

    Simply, some riders don’t like it. Voeckler, for example, even takes his radio out when he’s on an attack as he prefers to “listen” to how he feels not read a computer or listen to a DS.

    whatnobeer
    Free Member

    ^ That’s not actually a Mavic neutral service bike. IIRC he it had been used in a kids race earlier in the day but he no support, so he jumped on. That’s why the thing is so bloody small.

    I did kind of assume the teams were a bit better kitted up than that

    I suspect that due to the ever changing landscape that feeds will drop out quite a bit. You can even see on the TV Coverage how shaky some of the shots are. If you’re in a car moving at 20-30mph behind trees, buildings, rocks etc then you’re picture and your radio comms are going to be flaky.

    soobalias
    Free Member

    ^^ my assumption was the radio link was all singing/dancing/

    thx.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    Jens wasnt on a neutral service bike in that pic. A car from a previous kids race gave him a bike as everyone else had gone. Hence its small.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    About 45 secs in
    [video]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GiNrMy0nxWw[/video]

    RealMan
    Free Member

    Why do some of them use heart rate monitors and not others? Ok I know Pros are more interested in power output for training, but surely in a race what your heart is doing is a good indication of how knackered you are?

    It’s a common misconception that all pro riders are like the riders you see from Sky and such – all decisions based on data and science. A lot of riders will go entirely on feel, not just in races, but in training as well. While some riders will have a fully planned training programme and coach, other riders just ride – they push however hard they want to, whenever they want to. It’s a bit weird.

    BIKES4LIFE
    Free Member

    This tour was pretty neutral,highlight being the first 3 stages! 😀

    taxi25
    Free Member

    Is everyone using Sh*mano? If not two sets of rear wheels compatible for either Campag or Sh*mano would have to be carried.

    As said they carry Campag and shimano/Sram wheels, but the spacing on 11spd is so similar you’d get away with a one size fits all wheel now.

    oldnick
    Full Member

    Numpty question, but given how fussy some are about their seat height, how is this addressed with the spare bikes on the team cars?

    I wouldn’t like to ride far with a seat height that wasn’t spot on, and I’m crap 🙂

Viewing 30 posts - 1 through 30 (of 30 total)

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