SKYs increible attention to detail

frenchfighter

Now I am not a fan of Sky's way of doing things but I have to say that the level they go to is pretty amazing. I can understand how riders would be very keen to join.

Here are a few things that I read in a Sunday Times article recently. Have you heard any others?

- Only 25% of the bikes are painted in order to save 50g
- Each piece of team kiot has been wind tunnel tested
- The jersey collars are tapered to prevent rubbing the Adam's apple
- They are working on a scrample device to ensure their radio is secure
- They have enlisted military help to improve communication clarity
- They are looking at having the PTT button located on the bars to improve safety at high speeds
- There is a telescopic contraption that falshes a powerful strobe light so the riders can find the bus quicker after finishing
- Different colours were tested for the team kit (by riding Richmond park laps and being filmed) to find the most visible
- Mood lighting in the team bus is hoped to help recovery
- On important stages or races, someone wll ride a moped filming the course so that it can be replyed in the bus before the ride

disgruntledgoat

Mood lighting... Arf.

"Dave Brailsford wants you to be comfortable so he can do his thaaaaaaaang, baby!"

I do wonder how much of this is true, how much of it other teams don't do and how much is you-know-who style self-mythologising.

markwalker

disgruntledgoat wrote:

Mood lighting... Arf.

"Dave Brailsford wants you to be comfortable so he can do his thaaaaaaaang, baby!"

I do wonder how much of this is true, how much of it other teams don't do and how much is you-know-who style self-mythologising.

If its all true and i see no reason why it wouldnt be, Brailsford must be a salesmans wet dream. a little suggestion here a little suggestion there next thing strobe lights, becasue a sky pennant does the job but this better and will get loads more colum inches which means more for the sponsor.

Thing is though it is! great stuff, i hope the team get some sporting success too to keep it going. Good luck to them all.

Pross

I disagree with their kit being easy to spot in the bunch. I've been struggling on the TdU to pick them out. Maybe it will work better in races with more aerial shots? Looks too similar to Saxo from the front. I also suspect they aren't the only team doing some of these things.

Kléber

frenchfighter wrote:

I read in a Sunday Times article recently

Associating the Sky brand with high technology and performance in a Murdoch-owned newspaper? Just fancy that!

markwalker

Kléber wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

I read in a Sunday Times article recently

Associating the Sky brand with high technology and performance in a Murdoch-owned newspaper? Just fancy that!

It was still a good read.

teagar

Kléber wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

I read in a Sunday Times article recently

Associating the Sky brand with high technology and performance in a Murdoch-owned newspaper? Just fancy that!

In fairness ,an article in a similar vein in the guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/1 ... ing-rowing


aggregation of marginal gains and all that.

eh

Some of this is rubbish and some of it is just plain old common sense. e.g.

1) So they save 50g in paint, big deal when there is a UCI weight limit that most bike manufacturers are under anyway.

2) Wow pre-examining the course, not new is it :roll: I've got pics of riders pre-riding courses in the 50's and I suspect if you dig around you can find this practise goes back almost as long as the existence of bike racing.

calvjones

"- There is a telescopic contraption that falshes a powerful strobe light so the riders can find the bus quicker after finishing
- Different colours were tested for the team kit (by riding Richmond park laps and being filmed) to find the most visible "

Why didn't they just paint the team bus in team colours?

pedro118118

Aren't the UCI trying to get radios banned?!

Much of it seems to be a mix of common sense and general good practice - would imagine other teams are doing similar things.

I suppose the message for riders is an interesting one. They cannot blame lack of support, preperation or equipment for under-performance, so nowhere to hide!

frenchfighter

Pross wrote:

I disagree with their kit being easy to spot in the bunch. I've been struggling on the TdU to pick them out. Maybe it will work better in races with more aerial shots? Looks too similar to Saxo from the front. I also suspect they aren't the only team doing some of these things.

Agreed. Viewed from above, definitely identifiable but that is due to the design (stripe) more than the colour.

pat1cp

eh wrote:

Some of this is rubbish and some of it is just plain old common sense. e.g.

1) So they save 50g in paint, big deal when there is a UCI weight limit that most bike manufacturers are under anyway.

2) Wow pre-examining the course, not new is it :roll: I've got pics of riders pre-riding courses in the 50's and I suspect if you dig around you can find this practise goes back almost as long as the existence of bike racing.

I think the dogma is a bit of, errr, ummmm, dog when it comes to weight. Bradlee twittered a few weeks back that they were trying to shave a bit of weight them.

disgruntledgoat

pat1cp wrote:

eh wrote:

Some of this is rubbish and some of it is just plain old common sense. e.g.

1) So they save 50g in paint, big deal when there is a UCI weight limit that most bike manufacturers are under anyway.

2) Wow pre-examining the course, not new is it :roll: I've got pics of riders pre-riding courses in the 50's and I suspect if you dig around you can find this practise goes back almost as long as the existence of bike racing.

I think the dogma is a bit of, errr, ummmm, dog when it comes to weight. Bradlee twittered a few weeks back that they were trying to shave a bit of weight them.

Does signing a deal to ride a bike that's markedly heavier than they would like not give the lie to this obsession with detail?

hammerite

Pross wrote:

I disagree with their kit being easy to spot in the bunch. I've been struggling on the TdU to pick them out. Maybe it will work better in races with more aerial shots? Looks too similar to Saxo from the front. I also suspect they aren't the only team doing some of these things.

As the article is about attention to detail (to aid winning) perhaps they mean that the colour of the kit is makes it easier to spot your fellow team mates in the pack? Or that it makes it easier to spot their riders from the team car etc...

I dunno it may just be b*llocks, but on this I doubt they're bothererd too much about the commentators and spectators. I'm sure after a few weeks training together or racing you can tell every kit apart anyway - if you're a rider or in the team car.

Like you've said I don't think I'll be able to spot them apart from Saxo Bank all season!

blazing_saddles

It certainly is paying dividends in the, round the houses, sub 100km crits.

Doobz

pat1cp wrote:

eh wrote:

Some of this is rubbish and some of it is just plain old common sense. e.g.

1) So they save 50g in paint, big deal when there is a UCI weight limit that most bike manufacturers are under anyway.

2) Wow pre-examining the course, not new is it :roll: I've got pics of riders pre-riding courses in the 50's and I suspect if you dig around you can find this practise goes back almost as long as the existence of bike racing.

I think the dogma is a bit of, errr, ummmm, dog when it comes to weight. Bradlee twittered a few weeks back that they were trying to shave a bit of weight them.

your right - they are tying to loose 200g from the frameset

Moomaloid

What the hell is a PTT button?

iainf72

Moomaloid wrote:

What the hell is a PTT button?

Push to talk

stagehopper

A lot of these articles are just spiel regurgitated from the launch. Partially a mix of journalists new to cycling unaware of what other teams already do, and cycling journalists tasked with selling the sport (and Team Sky) to a UK audience unfamiliar with the sport.

mrushton

Makes you wonder what Merckx,Hinault etc would have achieved instead of just having the ability to outride the competition

disgruntledgoat

mrushton wrote:

Makes you wonder what Merckx,Hinault etc would have achieved instead of just having the ability to outride the competition

Hinault's inner chimp was one of those ones you see on Natural World beating monkeys to death with a rock.

Ironman595

stagehopper wrote:

A lot of these articles are just spiel regurgitated from the launch. Partially a mix of journalists new to cycling unaware of what other teams already do, and cycling journalists tasked with selling the sport (and Team Sky) to a UK audience unfamiliar with the sport.

+1 nothing new here..

I'm more interested in what Henderson had to say midweek about having his sprints analysed and interpreted for further development and speed. This is where sky's support have the right approach/experience and attention to detail.

How many times do you think they replayed the last 5km/1km/200m? And how would they translate what improvements they found into coaching/ delivery to the riders?

eh

Makes you wonder what Merckx,Hinault etc would have achieved instead of just having the ability to outride the competition

Not much I guess as both of them were big users of the latest ideas of the time, e.g. Merckx hour record bike or Hinault using clipless, aero hats and full disk wheels.

Kléber

frenchfighter wrote:

The jersey collars are tapered to prevent rubbing the Adam's apple

Finally. The amount of races I've lost because of a sore Adam's apple caused by pesky clothing!

Sorry for being sarky but like I say, this is a nice advert promoting Sky as a high tech outfit, perfect for shifting HD subscriptions.

Many other teams are doing similar things when it comes to gaining every legal advantage possible, after all many teams have been searching so hard for marginal gains that they've been breaking the anti-doping rules and even flouting criminal law at times.

teagar

Having 50g shaved off isn't going to make a bit of a difference when you find yourself the wrong side of a split.

I think they know that too.

They get extra coverage and mileage out of stuff people know, in this case, the old formula one style aggregate gains hooha.

Talking about having rider who may not chuck out all the necessary watts but know how to read a race probably doesn't mean sh!t to your average times reader.

cal_stewart

as long as its not the british military helping with the radios or they'll not be talking to anyone.

Ben6899

Kléber wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

The jersey collars are tapered to prevent rubbing the Adam's apple

Finally. The amount of races I've lost because of a sore Adam's apple caused by pesky clothing!

Haha, I agree it's not gonna be the difference between glory and failure, but it's nice to be comfortable. Strange thing to list in the innovations though; a lot of my jerseys have this 'amazing' tapered collar as well. It's not exactly a revelation.

Team Banana Spokesman

frenchfighter wrote:

- Only 25% of the bikes are painted in order to save 50g

but the bikes weigh 7.7kg

frenchfighter wrote:

- Each piece of team kiot has been wind tunnel tested

not new. especially for adidas. hence why teyh would test it because they have stuff to compare it to

frenchfighter wrote:

- The jersey collars are tapered to prevent rubbing the Adam's apple

also not new. if you get custom kit done you have this option

frenchfighter wrote:

- They are working on a scrample device to ensure their radio is secure

radio scrambling has been round for YEARS. just no teams use it cos they are expensive.

frenchfighter wrote:

- They have enlisted military help to improve communication clarity

explain? thats a bit vague. you mean how to talk properly? :roll: if you mean radio quality, the military are not at the forefront of audio broadcast tech.

frenchfighter wrote:

- They are looking at having the PTT button located on the bars to improve safety at high speeds

right. so they would have a cable attatching them to a bike. well safe that.

frenchfighter wrote:

- There is a telescopic contraption that falshes a powerful strobe light so the riders can find the bus quicker after finishing

'kin ell :shock: thwey have helpers at the finish for this. what if the bus is not in a line-of-sight range?

frenchfighter wrote:

- Different colours were tested for the team kit (by riding Richmond park laps and being filmed) to find the most visible

kept thinking they were saxobank on TV

frenchfighter wrote:

- Mood lighting in the team bus is hoped to help recovery

hoped yes. but its nonsense. might help eye fatigue but most cyclists ive seen on team busses use a normal eyepatch device when speelping

frenchfighter wrote:

- On important stages or races, someone wll ride a moped filming the course so that it can be replyed in the bus before the ride

might help. but seeing it in person is better.

Ben6899

Team Banana Spokesman wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

- Different colours were tested for the team kit (by riding Richmond park laps and being filmed) to find the most visible

kept thinking they were saxobank on TV

It's not for us; it's for them [the team members]

cal_stewart

the PTT could be bluetooth

cyclingtaz

read somewhere on the net yesterday that they the tdu without radios