£2K to spend on bike - what would you get?

cougie

I've used a camelbak for 100 miile TT's, but we don't have the luxury of feeding stations like you tri-ponces.

Works OK, but if you do have feed stations, then its silly to carry 2kg of liquid on your back.

[Deleted User]

candy,do you mean you do all that training,spend all that cash to get the lightest bike you can afford and then you carried an extra 2 kg in a race with feed stations?why not just do it on a chopper?

cougie

Don't raise Candys chopper again - we'll get cazzed.

[Deleted User]

thats like schumaker carrying a spare wheel........just in case he gets a flat on the other side of the circuit....;-))

[Deleted User]

and as for lucozade sport....:-((

candy ollier

my plan was to dissolve lava salts and pro plus in half strength lucozade sport, so that i had a salinated caffeinated isotonic (with maxim bars) drink to hand and i didn't have to miss any aid stations

unfortunately, what i didn't realise was that dissolved lava salts and pro plus in half strength lucozade sport tastes like sh!te

but i'm still a firm believer in trying out radical new ideas for the first time in races. i think i might do ironman arizona on a unicycle or something, i'm just drawing up plans.

candy ollier

i don't the equinox is the lightest bike, there are plenty of marginally lighter ones (eg Rich's Felt). its more comfortable though.

candy ollier

i didn't have to miss any aid stations? i mean i didn't have to slow down for any aid stations.

cougie

My frame is about a kilo. Supposably.

[Deleted User]

Is there a website that compares the weights of bikes. Someone was telling me on the weekend that the Giant TCR weights in at about 16lbs compared to the Equinox at 20lbs. If correct (assuming similar components) that appears on paper a significant difference and would surely affect performance on hilly courses.

[Deleted User]

im afraid i only have a giant tcr once with dura ace,and a bianchi ml3 veloce as a winter work bike,and seeing as im about 2 stone overweight i will not be getting a new lighter bike with my 2 grand,i`ll get lipposucktion instead if thats ok.....

[Deleted User]

checkout the current cycling news site on u c i standards for weight.....

cougie

LFW - try googling for weightweenies.

This is a website populated mainly by crazy americans who reckon it's a *good* idea to run a bike without bar tape and end plugs to save the weight.

Dunno about 16lbs for the TCR - I think mine is about 18, but thats with standard DA groupset and cheapy Cosmos wheels.

And for hilly routes - yeah a lighter bike would help so long as its not that light that you lose power.

Candys bike would be the biz for nice flat routes. As Lance shows regularly in the tour.

[Deleted User]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/?id=2004/features/uci_weight

candy ollier

but the trek has tri geometry, i think the giant is a bike ponce machine isn't it? that's supposed to make quite a difference. i can certainly tell the difference between the equinox and my road bike when i run off them.

also the equinox comes with daft heavy bars. is the 16/20 lbs bars-inclusive? as i said, you want to take the stock bars off the trek and fit profile carbon x's.

candy ollier

lol... too much fuss about the chassis. its the engine that matters.

candy ollier

but if you do, beware, the carbon xs come with fixed stem lengths and no rise on the stem. it can take a while to get set up right on them if you got measured up for the stock set up. get them before the start of the season. i didn't!

[Deleted User]

and the fuel....

candy ollier

nah its the engine, you can eat more or less anything that doesn't have protein or fat.

for example at ironman austria this year i dont know anybody who tried either the drink, or the gel, or the bars before race day.

mind you, they were horrible.

candy ollier

admittedly that's because the organiser cocked up on the sponsorship and didn't announce what the drink/gel was until a few days before

candy ollier

and the bars didn't exist. it was impossible to find them on the interweb. peeroton bars or something. they were like fruit cake covered in icing sugar, and 1 inch square.

[Deleted User]

oh,so thats why im a fat slow bas**rd,i though you had to use guinness,curry and ice cream......

candy ollier

lol - you need more peeroton bars, that's the problem

[Deleted User]

Thanks all for the links....
and Candy for your (once again) invaluable advice.
90% certain that Equinox 11 (changing wheels and bars from spec) will be on my Winter/Spring shopping spree, but still keeping an eye on the Lucero and for certain the Kestrel Airfoil is one spooky machine. Felt...nice nice nice..Then there is titanium - Blade??, looks the dogs, but have heard the occasional murmur of discontent.

Absolute nightmare shopping for a bike - especially once you have the wifes permission. Oh the Painnnnn.....;0)

[Deleted User]

l f w,you lucky,lucky barstool.....i tried a litespeed siena a few weeks ago,and couldnt beleive how well it handled up hill and fast down hill on a really twisty road ,even with my fat belly swinging around ,superb bike

cougie

Candy - re the Tri geometry on your Trek - erm, dunno. But you're probably right.

candy ollier

gawd, the 'practice bike ride' picture on mellsy's ironman florida photo album thing has got a pretty mind blowing selection of bikes

felt, kestrel, javelin, litespeed....

mind you, the particularly handsome chap on the right (as viewed) appears, as far as i can see, to have the best bike in the world!!

candy ollier

i saw a cheetah. they are supposed to be dead fast, and they look like stealth bombers.

candy ollier

and loads of softrides, but softrides seem to have come out of the closet recently

[Deleted User]

Still think backpacking round Cambodia would be money better spent. Pass a tin round for me at the next social, stuff that folds not stuff that jingles (even if it is nearly Christmas).

Thankyou.