2018 PRO thread

Questions about bike hire abroad and everything light bike related. No off-topic chat please

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Kjetil
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by Kjetil

That's fine. We're nearing silly season anyway.

BTW I like Pinot. A frenchman being an Italophile winning Lombardia is just right too.
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by Weenie


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Kjetil
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by Kjetil

Funny thing with Rapha; both hipster and mamil at the same time.
Bianchi-Campagnolo
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Gylne Gutuer, the UCI 1.2 bike race I invented.

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micky
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by micky

tymon_tm wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 2:24 pm
I for one don't love Bardet :lol: not only does he look weird with those kid-like skinny legs, his more hyped despite being less successful. perhaps people tend to value both of them through their TdF performances, which is why Bardet comes on top. but all in all, if I were a team manager, I'd rather have Pinot on my roster.
Bardet has been hanging on a team car while Pinot has a badass tatoo.

Bardet 0 - Pinot 1

thePrince
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by thePrince

So merely racing your bike in crits, ultra-endurance or mixed-terrain makes you wankily hipsterish? Is there something about these events that makes you feel this way? Basically classic road racing or nothing? Or is it the Rapha bit that's doing it for you?

A professional cycling team should be able to compete in bicycle races without prejudice. And say what you want about Rapha (perhaps it's too expensive or the styling doesn't fit your fancy or it's too mainstream or whatever) they still make pretty decent stuff and they have a goal to make cycling more accessible to more people.

Don't have any attachment to fixed-gear crits, ultra endurance, mixed terrain, EF Drapac, nor Rapha, but as far as I'm concerned we need more of this. More exposure to pro atheletes is a great for getting younger kids excited about riding bikes. Especially in the US.

Rondje
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by Rondje

Ivan Cortina from Bahrein Merida did a Red Hook Crit last year.


On other news, I just saw a post that AG2R will be riding on Merckx bikes next year.

mentok
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by mentok

Kjetil wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 4:27 pm
Funny thing with Rapha; both hipster and mamil at the same time.
Right? It's almost as though, by encompassing all things they cannot be labelled as either one or the other.

They just make decent bibs that hug my junk just right and I'm neither hipster, nor mamil. I don't know what to believe.

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tymon_tm
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by tymon_tm

thePrince wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 9:28 pm
So merely racing your bike in crits, ultra-endurance or mixed-terrain makes you wankily hipsterish? Is there something about these events that makes you feel this way? Basically classic road racing or nothing? Or is it the Rapha bit that's doing it for you?

A professional cycling team should be able to compete in bicycle races without prejudice.

Don't have any attachment to fixed-gear crits, ultra endurance, mixed terrain, EF Drapac, nor Rapha, but as far as I'm concerned we need more of this. More exposure to pro atheletes is a great for getting younger kids excited about riding bikes. Especially in the US.
I agree on the expanding the habitat bit, but this:
And say what you want about Rapha (perhaps it's too expensive or the styling doesn't fit your fancy or it's too mainstream or whatever) they still make pretty decent stuff and they have a goal to make cycling more accessible to more people.
I dont think I'm poor by any standards (ok, save for Swiss or Monaco perpective) but how does a company, whose full outfit (jersey+bibs+tights+jacket+some few bits) costs more than a base level road bike, get to be perceived as "making cycling more accessible"? :lol:

to the contrary, if Rapha aims to become sorta benchmark, they hang the bar a lil bit too high, creating a false impression that this level is an absolute neccessity. and TBH I think it kinda works, as there's a number for cyclists who'd rather look good and wear expensive gear (which brings close to none benefit) than invest in better bike or components - and I strongly believe they're growing in numbers. yeah, I'm on the other end of the scale, riding great (IMHO) bike and wearing plain regular clothing (basically the cheapest I can get that works for me), so that makes me biased, I know. but then take a look at the broader picture - what are the costs of entering cycling, even at the amateur level? because with every novelty they increase rapidly - first there were carbon bits, then electronic groupsets, now discs... and when arguably 'regular' bikes get cheaper (1k euro gets you far better bike today than 10-20 years ago) those pricetags on pro rigs are getting just ridiculous! now imagine you want to sponsor some junior team, nothing fancy right? wrong! because even if you secure all the latest bling regarding bike tech (and we all know that's how you gotta roll these days) you won't make them wear some cheap-ass rags, will you now. esp if your mamil butt is wrapped with a few hundred dollar worth of lycra!

so when I see or read how uber premium is painted as the new base line, I recall that pic posted here some years back from kids "race" - with that 6? maybe 7 y.o. kid all dressed up with aero helmet, sitting on a bike with LWs... it really freaks me out!
kkibbler wrote: WW remembers.

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DOUG
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by DOUG

You know you dont have to buy the Pro Team range? Their Core range is pretty decent value and uses the same styling and similar cuts as their more expensive offerings. Its good quality even if it doesnt use the same level of technical fabrics as the Pro team stuff.

REGICYCLE
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by REGICYCLE

“All the big champions that were there, Marco Pantani, now Lance Armstrong. Yeah, I don’t want to say all. I really don’t know. There has been so much controversy about that sport. I’m sure that there are many cyclists in the world who are training very hard and trying to not use any enhancing drugs for their competition,”

“But I think it’s not acceptable that they have physically so many races in a short period of the time. I think basically every single day, day and a half, they have to go through 200 miles. Uphill, downhill in Giro D’Italia, Tour de France, that’s inhuman effort."

Novak Djokovic seems a little out of touch... How many of you racers struggle to stay off the EPO? :lol:

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tymon_tm
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by tymon_tm

...wow. just wow.

actually I've changed my mind, open up those Puerto files and bring all those names from tennis into light. Federer's a living legend? so is Valverde, I heard they even shared a sofa in the waiting room. or if someone doesn't wanna wait for that - just compare tennis from 80's, 90's even to what Djokovic plays :roll:
kkibbler wrote: WW remembers.

Nefarious86
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by Nefarious86

DOUG wrote:You know you dont have to buy the Pro Team range? Their Core range is pretty decent value and uses the same styling and similar cuts as their more expensive offerings. Its good quality even if it doesnt use the same level of technical fabrics as the Pro team stuff.
Just wait till Wiggle start selling it at 50% rrp
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kkibbler
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by kkibbler

Re. Pinot vs Bardet

Bardet is the guy that would rather suck wheels and scuttle a 2-man break 4km from summit than work together to fight for 1st and 2nd. Every. Single. Time.

I used to dislike Pinot for his tantrums but last weekend and the recent ‘mortality’ piece on CT sum up why he’s growing on me more and more.

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DOUG
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by DOUG

Nefarious86 wrote:
Tue Oct 16, 2018 1:24 am
DOUG wrote:You know you dont have to buy the Pro Team range? Their Core range is pretty decent value and uses the same styling and similar cuts as their more expensive offerings. Its good quality even if it doesnt use the same level of technical fabrics as the Pro team stuff.
Just wait till Wiggle start selling it at 50% rrp
:lol: if you're paying full retail for Rapha gear then you're doing it wrong anyway!

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Willier
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by Willier

Rondje wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 9:47 pm
Ivan Cortina from Bahrein Merida did a Red Hook Crit last year.


On other news, I just saw a post that AG2R will be riding on Merckx bikes next year.
Where did you saw that?

by Weenie


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