Aiming to participate in next L'etape, need clarification on interpreting equipment rule

[ninjasloth]

Hi guys,

Been a reader of this forum for some time but first time posting a thread.
I'm in the market for a new bike and wanting to participate in some amateur events from next year.
I was wondering, with the new regulations whether it is possible to interpret tri bike with a drop bar
considered UCi legal under certain conditions?
and be able to attend UCi events such as L'etape?

I want a flagship tribike purely for the look alone and really don't care whether its a pig to manoeuvre
or it is somewhat heavier than a compact road bike mainly because I suck.
I dont think I can afford road and a tri bike together and was thinking maybe ride tribike and be
flamed every weekend from the group mostly and convert it for events.

Thx.

[cyclespeed]

This is from the Etape du Tour website;

Pour assurer votre sécurité ainsi que celle des autres participants, il est formellement interdit de participer à l’Etape du Tour avec :

Un vélo équipé de quelque élément de prolongation que ce soit (cornes de guidon ou « guidon triathlète ») ;

Basically, it says that for safety, no kind of handlebar extension at all is permitted.

I've never seen a tri-bike doing the Etape, and it would be crazy to try, totally unsafe given the huge numbers of people and the fast, technical descents.

Just beg, borrow, steal a normal road bike, you'll be fine.

Check out my monthly training series for the Etape;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSywCCIIad0

[LouisN]

If you consider riding with any riding companion above the "1" number ( alone), ride a drop bar handlebar bike.
And try to use closest possible to a road frame geometry for balance between maneuverability and balance.
Louis

[Mr.Gib]

Hi guys,

Been a reader of this forum for some time but first time posting a thread.
I'm in the market for a new bike and wanting to participate in some amateur events from next year.
I was wondering, with the new regulations whether it is possible to interpret tri bike with a drop bar
considered UCi legal under certain conditions?
and be able to attend UCi events such as L'etape?

I want a flagship tribike purely for the look alone and really don't care whether its a pig to manoeuvre
or it is somewhat heavier than a compact road bike mainly because I suck.
I dont think I can afford road and a tri bike together and was thinking maybe ride tribike and be
flamed every weekend from the group mostly and convert it for events.

Thx.

How can a reader of this forum "for some time" even ask such a question? A little trolling perhaps?

When it come to tri bikes or any handlebar extension the answer is always no. It doesn't even matter what the question is.

The only applications are Iron Man type events, individual time trial, and team time trial (but I am guessing you ain't part of any team).

And if you didn't know, there are parts of the world where if you try to join a group on a TT bike you will quickly find yourself in a ditch.

As for just riding a TT rig to look bad ass, that is just the ultimate combo of fred and douche. It's a fair bet to assume you will set it up with the bars higher than the saddle.

And finally if you need a new bike i recommend you shop here: http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=77170


It's posts like this that make me think that cycling has become too popular.

[ninjasloth]

How can a reader of this forum "for some time" even ask such a question? A little trolling perhaps?

When it come to tri bikes or any handlebar extension the answer is always no. It doesn't even matter what the question is.

The only applications are Iron Man type events, individual time trial, and team time trial (but I am guessing you ain't part of any team).

And if you didn't know, there are parts of the world where if you try to join a group on a TT bike you will quickly find yourself in a ditch.

As for just riding a TT rig to look bad ass, that is just the ultimate combo of fred and douche. It's a fair bet to assume you will set it up with the bars higher than the saddle.

And finally if you need a new bike i recommend you shop here: http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=77170


It's posts like this that make me think that cycling has become too popular.

You obviously didn't read the word "drop bar."

My question was about saddle position, seat stay angle and fork width...



I do think it's fugly with that stem but this is where I am getting at.

[AJS914]

The steep seat tube angle and forward saddle position seems like it would be uncomfortable. The bike above doesn't look very useful. It looks like the rider can only really ride on the tops of the bars or the hoods. Using a -17 degree stem and then rotating the bars too far up to compensate makes no sense.

It seems like a road bike with a clip on bar that you could take on/off would be more versatile.

[wingguy]

You obviously didn't read the word "drop bar."
.
.
.
I do think it's fugly with that stem but this is where I am getting at.

The fact that bike is fugly is neither here nor there. The fact it's so *f##k* heavy it might as well be made of pig iron is. The Etape is a climbing event. This is a website for lightweight bikes. You want to take a bike to the Etape that is going to be potentially entire kilos heavier than it could or should be.

This is not the best place to get advice on your plan.

[Mr.Gib]

You obviously didn't read the word "drop bar."

Dang - sorry to the OP. Really woke up on the "wrong side of the bed this AM". Raining here so no training - sitting here all pissed off.

Still, it's a fabulous rant. And some points remain valid, ie the fred/douche comment. What the heck is wrong with just buying a nice aero bike

That last guy on weightweenies who made much of this type of setup was a porn star. Maybe the OP is another porn star. If so he gets a pass, otherwise....

[Frankie - B]

That last guy on weightweenies who made much of this type of setup was a porn star. Maybe the OP is another porn star. If so he gets a pass, otherwise....

Oh, I remember that...

[jih]

That saddle position does not look UCI legal. Nose of the saddle too far forwards.

Maybe if the saddle moved back a lot (like as far as it would go) it could be legal.

But, one bottle cage for a long ride? I'd go for two.

[jih]

Also, never thought I'd say this, but flip that stem to be 'upwards' and run those bars turned down at the front. It's a mountain ride, you want to be able to use the drops in the descents.

[Miller]

l'Etape isn't going to care about UCI bike rules overmuch, they just don't want to see anyone riding with aerobars and that's fair enough. A bike set up like the Felt IA pictured would be acceptable, I should think.

Let's look at the downsides of using a TT frame. The geometry will not be ideal for general road riding, seat tube angle too steep, etc. Rear dropouts likely to be rear facing which makes wheel removal for eg flat fixing a right faff and not what you want to be dealing with by the roadside in a fatigued state. Might lack multiple bottle cage positions, bit of a weight penalty, almost certainly a price penalty, possible tricky cable routing.

l'Etape is long and hot and technical and crowded. You'd be mad to attempt it on anything but the most suitable bike and that would be a standard endurance road machine.

[wingguy]

l'Etape is long and hot and technical and crowded. You'd be mad to attempt it on anything but the most suitable bike and that would be a standard endurance road machine.

Oh that doesn't matter. Because the OP sucks anyway he doesn't mind about making the ride physically harder and technically more difficult on one of the most demanding and dangerous sportives in the calendar.

Because that totally makes sense.

Right.

[liam7020]

It's posts like this that make me think that cycling has become too popular.

So true.

[jih]

Why not just hire a mid-range road bike in your size for the event? Something boring but good like a Synapse with Ultegra.

Pros:

Two bottle cages
A frame geometry that can handle twisty mountain descents
Drops that you can actually use to descend
Lighter for the climbs
100% reduction in weird comments