Aluminium Frames

paulcuthbert

When was the last time Aluminium frames were ridden in the Tour?

Buckled_Rims

The Mavic spare bikes being carried are CAAD 9 in todays TdF are Aluminum.

Stuy-b

last year skil shimano were riding koga alu frames.

inseine

The Mavic spare bikes being carried are CAAD 9 in todays TdF are Aluminum.

Slighlty unrelated, but has anyone actually seen someone on a Mavic neutral bike? What's the chances they'd have the right size, pedal system?

Kléber

Some of the Lotto riders use Canyon alu frames. I think Gilbert rode one in the classics, only it was "disguised" as a carbon frame.

daviesee

inseine wrote:

The Mavic spare bikes being carried are CAAD 9 in todays TdF are Aluminum.

Slighlty unrelated, but has anyone actually seen someone on a Mavic neutral bike? What's the chances they'd have the right size, pedal system?

I suppose they must have a couple of sizes but I do know that they still use cages & straps to avoid the pedal issue.

Kléber

The Mavic spares are almost never used. It's just a crafty way to associate Mavic with racing, that it supports the sport and offers technical support for the biggest races, including pedal cages and toe straps.

cougie

I've never seen a mavic bike used in all my years watching the tour. How hard would it be to use clips when you have a look plate under the shoe ?

PeteinSQ

I'm sure a Mavic bike was used a couple of years ago; I can't remember when and by who though.

I was wondering if anyone got in a break and had to use a Mavic bike but still went on to win a stage. I assume that the answer is no on the grounds that no one other than me can remember anyone ever having to use one!

On a slightly related note there are some really nice special edition Mavic bikes in Condor's window at the moment.

tomb8555

I'm pretty sure I saw a mavic bike being taken off the roof of the car after that HUGE pileup on stage 1 (i think) where the entire road was blocked just before the sprint. Don't know if anyone used it or if they were just getting it down in case.

PeteinSQ

Here's a video of Chavenel on a Mavic bike at Paris Roubaix http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y7yIVZfKYM

daviesee

tomb8555 wrote:

I'm pretty sure I saw a mavic bike being taken off the roof of the car after that HUGE pileup on stage 1 (i think) where the entire road was blocked just before the sprint. Don't know if anyone used it or if they were just getting it down in case.

Ditto. Stage 2 though.

redddraggon

Jens Voigt rode on a CAAD9 yesterday:

Snorebens

Looks like it was a 52 ! :shock:

http://www.bicycling.com/tour-de-france ... -sag-wagon

proto

I think I read some time back that a rider borrowed a spectator's bike in an Australian race when his own had failed.

Has this ever happened in one of the big tours? And if so, did he do any good on it?

neeb

I think I read some time back that a rider borrowed a spectator's bike in an Australian race when his own had failed.

That's one of my slightly sad fantasies, that I'm a spectator on one of the big mountain stages of the tour and one of the main contenders has a mechanical, borrows my bike, and wins the stage and/or the leader's jersey on it. It has the advantage of being in the realms of remote possibility, unlike fantasies of competing in the tour myself..

Buckled_Rims

proto wrote:

I think I read some time back that a rider borrowed a spectator's bike in an Australian race when his own had failed.

Has this ever happened in one of the big tours? And if so, did he do any good on it?

The rider would be disqualified AFAIK. The bikes need to be approved by UCI scrutiny.

ratsbeyfus

redddraggon wrote:

Jens Voigt rode on a CAAD9 yesterday:

That's not Jens... its NapD... last seen boarding the Calais-Dover ferry with a massive grin on his chops!

rick_chasey

Tend to get more neutral bikes used at the back, where the team cars aren't.

You're unlikely to ever see Contador on a neutral bike, because the team car is never likely to be THAT far away.

neeb

The rider would be disqualified AFAIK. The bikes need to be approved by UCI scrutiny.

But do the bikes need to be approved before the event? Might it be allowable if the bike was inspected at the stage finish and found to conform to UCI regulations?

knedlicky

neeb wrote:

I think I read some time back that a rider borrowed a spectator's bike in an Australian race when his own had failed.

That's one of my slightly sad fantasies, that I'm a spectator on one of the big mountain stages of the tour and one of the main contenders has a mechanical, borrows my bike, and wins the stage and/or the leader's jersey on it. It has the advantage of being in the realms of remote possibility, unlike fantasies of competing in the tour myself..

A long way from professional cycling I know, but about 18 years ago, during a small continental mass-start cyclosportive, my chain snapped on a small steep climb way out in the countryside. The people I was with, but slightly ahead of at the time, sped by, thinking (I heard later) that I was just taking a natural break.

Determined not to abandon after the planning and travelling involved to take part, I went to a nearby farmhouse and asked if I could borrow a bike, saying they could hold on to my moderately-expensive road bike until I returned theirs - I didn’t know in those (for-me early) days that a mechanic’s car would have eventually come along the cyclosportive route. I was given a women’s sit-up-&-beg bike! It only had 5 gears (one crank ring and a 5-ring cassette) and felt as flexible as rubber when at any speed.

We hadn’t yet reached the divide point between two offered distances, and although I’d registered for the longer route (about 130 km), I then opted for the shorter (about 80 km), which meant I had about 40 km to go, which I then did on the borrowed bike.

Birillo

Some of the Lotto riders use Canyon alu frames. I think Gilbert rode one in the classics, only it was "disguised" as a carbon frame.

Correct. Gilbert won Paris-Tours and the Giro di Lombardia in 2009 on an aluminium frame.

paulcuthbert

Birillo wrote:

Some of the Lotto riders use Canyon alu frames. I think Gilbert rode one in the classics, only it was "disguised" as a carbon frame.

Correct. Gilbert won Paris-Tours and the Giro di Lombardia in 2009 on an aluminium frame.

What's the advantage over carbon fiber?

Pokerface

paulcuthbert wrote:

Birillo wrote:

Some of the Lotto riders use Canyon alu frames. I think Gilbert rode one in the classics, only it was "disguised" as a carbon frame.

Correct. Gilbert won Paris-Tours and the Giro di Lombardia in 2009 on an aluminium frame.

What's the advantage over carbon fiber?

It won't melt in the rain.

Buckled_Rims

neeb wrote:

The rider would be disqualified AFAIK. The bikes need to be approved by UCI scrutiny.

But do the bikes need to be approved before the event? Might it be allowable if the bike was inspected at the stage finish and found to conform to UCI regulations?

Before the event and probably after the event/stage to avoid cheating. Remember the uproar over the "hidden" motor in Cancellara's bike and the scrutineers saying they didn't see anything during the inspection

FJS

redddraggon wrote:

Jens Voigt rode on a CAAD9 yesterday:

The story is much better than that. Mavic uses proper road bikes with decent wheels, and clipless pedals for the spare bikes:

.


What Jens Voigt rode on, was according to himself in an interview with Sporza, one of the bikes of a charity organization that lets children ride part of the TdF route. The Mavic cars and DS car was already long gone, and just when the broom wagon was about to pick him up, this car with kiddie bikes came past. It's probably a 16 kg decathlon kid's road bike, or something similar. Jens did 20 km on it, until he could pick up a Saxo bike left for him by Riis.