Red Bull Road Race

cee

Seems Red Bull have completely fixed the image of road racing from now on....

check this nonsense out!

http://freecaster.tv/mtb/1008612/red-bull-road-rage-trailer

RealMan

WOW does that look fun and stupidly dangerous. Downhill road racing. Awsome.

I'd be useless at it though, only weigh 55kg.

Chaz.Harding

RealMan wrote:

I'd be useless at it though, only weigh 55kg.

Yeah, but you're from MANVILLE!!

MTFU!

RealMan

I suppose I could tie some bricks to my bike..

My road bike is one of these



Except much tattier, because I got it 2nd hand for £100. Its about 3 sizes too big for me, is mostly made of cardboard, has the worst french drivetrain youve ever seen, and heavy, flexy wheels. It also has spesh armadillo tyres, and although I've only had 2 punctures in about 4000 miles, they dont roll very fast.

However, being this size, I can get ridiculously low on it, to the point where I'm probably more aero then the guys on TT bikes with skin suits and pointy helmets.

Even so, its the weight you count on on the road to get you going on descents, and thats something I lack. Going back up is fun though.

cat_with_no_tail

Quick, someone fetch me a road bike and a full face helmet, I'm off to France.

I promise I'll bring them back possibly in lots of different bits though

benneally

Its road 'rage' not 'race'...that sort of describes it better.

but HOW much fun does that look?!? when can we watch it on freecaster/tv? anyone know?

cee

benneally wrote:

Its road 'rage' not 'race'...that sort of describes it better.

but HOW much fun does that look?!? when can we watch it on freecaster/tv? anyone know?

The event happens on the 12th September, so i assume they will have it there or there abouts.....apparently...you can still enter it :shock:

benneally

that cornering speed is not quite for me. I cant believe how fast they were going!

Also, is there anywhere i can watch tour de france highlights?

Anonymous

That looks like great fun.
We were talking about something similar whilst coming down some switchbacks in the alps on our DH rigs.

I'm wondering though, would the ultra-low rolling resistance of a road bike's annorexic tyres be ideal for such an event, OR, would a nice wide mountain-bike sized slick be better?
I can't help thinking that a MTB slick would offer way more grip, and the smaller frames might let you get your centre of gravity lower for more stable cornering.

But, the wind resistance would no doubt build up, and you have greater rolling resistance to get up to speed.

Hmm, interesting. There has to be a perfect middle-ground somewhere.

benneally

you'll be amazed at how much grip road tyres get. I reckon that would be the fastest bike down a tarmac-ed hill, just a normal road bike.

Anonymous

Ridden a road bike for several years in the 90s, I knew how much grip a road bike has. Not that impressed.

A bigger, fatter tyre must offer more grip, and some of those guys in the video are sliding out.

Gotta be a compromise, man.

benneally

Definitely in cornering a fatter tyre will make it harder to wash out. But for the race as a whole the road tyres will be faster.

biker1239

i would not like to be clipped in for that i can tell you!

2tired2ride

Or you could use a cyclocross bike with slicks on. Something like 28c maybe?

Anonymous

Yeah! cyclocross bike might be the perfect mid-point between road bike and mountain bike.

benneally

if it was, the people would be using them surely? But does sounds promising.

Anonymous

benneally wrote:

if it was, the people would be using them surely? But does sounds promising.

Not necesarrily. Disc brakes offer more consistent power, more control, and greater predictability than rim brakes. But only very recently have road bikes started using them.
Whereas mountain bikers will jump onto any passing bandwagon, road cyclists are, for the most part, the exact opposite. They'd try and puncture the tyres on the bandwagon, given the chance.