Don’t let the podcasts get you down! Not every amateur needs a brand new Venge, all the Enve aero goodies and a $1k trip to the wind tunnel to jump in the breakaway at a local crit. Hell, 99% of racers don’t need DEXA scans, blood testing, or half the high tech, high dollar, marginal gains stuff they talk about on the podcast. But, they are entertaining.
A CAAD12 isn’t a limiter in any crit or road race. Stack is pretty low, even in relation to most aero bikes assuming you’ve replaced or removed that giant abomination of a headset top bearing cap… That 1cm right there. And you better have narrow bars;)
I think this mindset greatly limits a ton of people who race and keeps even more from racing. You don’t need to be the most aero or the lightest weight or the strongest to win a race.
Race what you’ve got - I’ve gotten crushed by guys running 20 year old bikes and done some similar crushing on a CAAD12 in breakaways where an aero bike would’ve helped.
Racing is much more about the rider than it is the equipment
Fitter made me leave that extra 10mm, told me to get real and stop hunching my back over, will never get my chin on the stem because I don’t have the flex in my hibs; saw the power improve significantly. I’m simply not built for road and crit racing and riding so I gave up on it, not an issue in CX.
Right but when you don’t have a team and aren’t a sprinter, you’re hoping for break aways and the cards are stacked against you. If that’s fine, go out there and kill. For me, I realized I will never have a chance in crits.
I guess all I’m trying to say is that the cards are what the cards are - but if you decide they are already stacked against you and you don’t try because you think your hardware isn’t aero enough or light enough then you definitely won’t win.
It’s a cliche but you have to be willing to lose before you can win. If you are already convinced you can’t win then you won’t race to win and then you definitely won’t win.
Yeah. Wow. Agreed. Race tactics and smarts trumps aero and lightest everyday of the week. i really didn’t want this to get into the whole aero vs regular bike debate because it’s played out. I was just trying to help get my undecided mine to sway one way or the other. And, it has. Thank you all.
I found myself with this same dilemma, after starting to race crits last season and being caught behind crashes multiple times( I have to work on positioning). So I built up a used Cervelo S3 1x Di2 as a crit bike for about half the cost of replacing my current road bike. If your current budget allows, I would suggest building a budget dedicated crit bike.
I have the budget to do so, but, I could use that money towards more race fees and maybe do another travel race or put it towards credit… There’s an allez sprint for a ridiculous price right now already set up 1x and with my race wheels will probably be a blast. Only problem is that is a small ding on the chain stay. Not sure how long til it cracks if it ever will.
Its a personal decision, my line of thinking was that a investment up front to build a “disposable hero” crit dedicated bike would cost less than having to replace my road bike, if there were a crash and sustained critical damage, a insurance policy of sorts. But with any financial decision you have to ask how will this benefit me long term, paying off credit is always a good idea.
Sorry IME = in my experience. The only frame that has ever failed me has been alloy due to a dent. Just seems like a lot of money for a pretty big unknown with no warranty when you have a perfectly killer bike to race already. It would be one thing if you owned the frame and it had a dent vs. buying a frame with a dent in it.
One thing to consider…buying a defective piece of equipment with the intent of riding it solo is one thing. But, riding something defective in a fast group/race is another. You’re not only putting yourself in harms way but, many other people as well. Just something to think about. I fully understand all dents aren’t equal.
Wow. Blast from the past. So, I did buy an Allez Sprint. Someone local had a brand new frame with barely used components for a steal. Had to. With my race wheels I bet it’s under 16 pounds.
I barely ride my Emonda SLR anymore.
