49
votes
Accepted
Why are puncture-resistant tires not used in professional races?
To a racer, rolling resistance and handling top the list; durability is far down the list. The coefficient of rolling resistance (Crr) for a racing tire on typical French or Italian roads used during ...
- 14.2k
44
votes
Do I stand any chance in a race?
Answer: reset your expectations and give it a go.
The first race I entered, my only goal was to finish. Second time I did it, the goal was to pace better and finish with a better time than my first ...
- 129k
37
votes
Accepted
Why do racers follow the leader in a curve rather than take the shortest path?
I have trouble imagining that the benefit of drafting is so high it outweighs the advantage of cutting it short and continuing straight.
Believe it. Drafting can reduce the power needed to maintain ...
- 10.8k
36
votes
Accepted
Is doping still a thing in pro cycling (2024)?
This is a good question. The problem is that we don't know for sure. Joe Lindsey, writing for the Escape Collective, said essentially this, that it is normal to want answers, but we simply aren't able ...
- 35.3k
30
votes
Which is faster, going all out then burning out, or steady pace all along?
I don't have the time to give a full answer at the moment, but I'll upvote a full answer and delete mine. The short incomplete answer is that you're better off pacing yourself relatively evenly. The ...
- 14.2k
22
votes
Why do racers follow the leader in a curve rather than take the shortest path?
The 'leader' creates this path because they don't want other people drafting them. They want to either break the draft and create a gap (probably to attack) OR have others come around them and take ...
- 18.4k
20
votes
Why are puncture-resistant tires not used in professional races?
Puncture resistant tires are heavier relative to non-puncture resistant tires. They also have sloppier handling/less control/higher rolling resistance, and are typically harder to change (though ...
- 46.4k
20
votes
How can I reach upto Olympic level competitions?
There's no way we can answer this question for you. The people who reach elite-level competition in cycling have extraordinary natural gifts, dedicate enormous time and effort to training (20+ hours ...
- 30.4k
19
votes
Accepted
Why does the Tour de France have a minimum weight limit on the bicycles?
The 6.8 kg limit is due to UCI regulation 1.3.019, which you can find here, and thus applies to all races sanctioned by the UCI. It was originally instituted in 2000 in order to ensure that ...
- 14.2k
18
votes
Which is faster, going all out then burning out, or steady pace all along?
There is an article on Runners World that asked somewhat the same question, do you start fast or do an even pace? The general conclusion is that elite runners tend to start faster than their eventual ...
- 3,323
16
votes
Accepted
Win TdF without winning any stages?
Yes it has in fact happened several times, the most recent ones being 2017 (Chris Froome), 2006 (Óscar Pereiro after Floyd Landis was disqualified) and 1990 (Greg LeMond). Before that, the TdF was ...
- 438
15
votes
Why are puncture-resistant tires not used in professional races?
If you have set of identical riders, and one rider puts a slower tyre on, they will lose if no-one gets a puncture (let's simplify and assume a time trial so we can ignore effects of the peloton). ...
- 61.4k
15
votes
Accepted
How come pairs are slower than solo riders at the Transcontinental Race?
I expect that the three main contributors are:
The solo riders are just stronger. There's more glory in the solo win so, if you are strong enough to, say, come in the top five on your own, it's ...
- 17k
15
votes
Why the backwards fork?
As already said in the title of the Wikipedia page, these bikes are intended for motorpaced racing on track. The backwards fork allows the rider to stay closer to the derny motorcycle for more ...
- 22.3k
15
votes
Why do racers follow the leader in a curve rather than take the shortest path?
The shortest path isn't all that much shorter. Your original calculation of 57% more distance in the curve assumes that the lead rider does semicircle loops, actually moving perpendicular to the road ...
- 758
15
votes
Accepted
Is it allowed to push a bicycle during a race?
There are many bicycle racing disciplines.
In cyclocross you often carry the bicycle in steep slopes. There are even obstacles like stairs designed to make riding impossible. And planks that can be ...
- 16.7k
15
votes
Accepted
Why are responses to an attack in a cycling race immediate?
This answer considers only General Classification (GC) contestants in a stage race, like Tour de France. If you want to win the GC, for every other rider finishing the race, you must beat them in at ...
- 451
14
votes
Why are endurance bikes so bulky or wide nowadays?
Second moment of area increases with distance to the power of 4.
This means a tube with a wide diameter and thin walls is much stronger against bending or torsion than a narrow tube with thick walls ...
- 28.8k
14
votes
Accepted
Is there a difference between truing a bike wheel and balancing it?
balancing a wheel: making sure there's some weight symmetry
trueing a wheel: making sure that the geometry of the wheel described a (near) perfect circle. This includes the radial and lateral ...
- 22.8k
13
votes
Do I stand any chance in a race?
I doubt it - at the moment - but we don't know how trained you are, and proper training will work wonders. This is likely to mean finding either a club or a coach.
If your goal is to race, you really ...
- 61.4k
13
votes
How can I reach upto Olympic level competitions?
It is mostly too late indeed, unless you are already a world class or at least national-level athlete in a different sport - like Primož Roglič who was a ski jumper. Human bodies need the right level ...
- 16.7k
12
votes
Tour de Trump/Tour DuPont routes?
Are you still looking for stage maps? I have the Tour DuPont program books from 1993, 1995 & 1996. They include a map and a profile of each stage. Also have Lance Armstrong's signature in the ...
- 121
12
votes
Touring vs race bike
Don't buy a €3K first bike! Instead, split your budget and get one for <1K. There are plenty of good advice here already (my vote goes to randonneur-type bike), and each of the suggested types can ...
- 1,038
12
votes
Accepted
Jan Ullrich's TT bike in la Vuelta 1999: why the bigger rear wheel?
The rear wheel is normal size (700), the front wheel is smaller (650). It was for aerodynamic reasons. By lowering the torso of the rider, the frontal surface of the rider became smaller.
The ...
- 8,349
12
votes
Why are endurance bikes so bulky or wide nowadays?
I disagree that Endurance bikes look "huge". Taking your example of Canyon, the current model of the endurance has very slender tubes by modern standards.
However there are a number of ...
- 18.4k
11
votes
Accepted
Disc brake equipped time trial bikes in grand tour
The main reason is the 2020 Specialized Shiv provided by their sponsor is only produced in a disc version.
You can see an article about the bike here:
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/specialized-...
- 18.4k
11
votes
Accepted
Minimize puncture risk during race. Should I change the tyres?
Those small cuts in the rubber tread are normal and you get them quickly after a few kilometers. I just regularly make sure that no objects are embedded in the tyre since they can dig deeper over time....
- 28.8k
11
votes
Why are responses to an attack in a cycling race immediate?
One element of physics favors an immediate response, all else equal: the draft behind a cyclist declines very rapidly with distance. If you want to catch on to an attack, an immediate response is ...
- 35.3k
10
votes
Tour de Trump/Tour DuPont routes?
This is not a proper answer. Its more a collection of notes gleaned from different sources. Feel free to add more if you find other things.
1989
The first Tour de Trump, a 10-day, 837-mile bicycle ...
- 129k
10
votes
Do pros ride with 1X configuration on some courses?
Yes, they sometimes do (or at least announce/intend to), here are two examples:
This is the 3T Strada that Aqua Blue Sport will ride in 2018, making
the Irish-based squad the first pro cycling ...
- 5,708
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible