Flanders Sportive - Road or X-bike advice

ratsbeyfus

Hello

I've entered the Flanders sportive which is on the Saturday before the race. I've not done it before, and a clubmate was advising I ride it on my commuter/X-bike (heavy Dolan jobby) rather than my road bike (light CAAD9) as he says the cobbled sections can be a bit of a bike wrecker. My road bike has kysyrium equipe wheels, and I don't think there's enough clearance for anything bigger than 23mm tyres, but if possible I'd prefer to do the sportive on it. Thoghts or suggestions from any who've ridden the sportive before would be appreciated.

prawny

I'd have thought you could get 25s in there, I can just about get a 25 in the back of my Rhigos and there's no room for crud road racers in there.

That said, you might be better off on Dolan, I'm sure someone with some actual useful advise will be along shortly.

Rodrego Hernandez

A road bike with 23mm tyres is fine for Flanders.

Don't stick too much air in your tyres and you'll be fine.

Whilst 24 or 25mm tyres won't hurt and may indeed be more comfortable, they aren't essential.

kilo

Did it last year on a road bike with 23mm tyres (and i think on Ksyrium Equipes) no problems, I'd advise you to make sure you have a relatively tight bottle cage - lots of ejected bottles lying around

ratsbeyfus

Many thanks for comments. Sounds like I can get away with riding my favourite bike (no offence trusty Dolan steed!).

Tacx tao bottle cages on my bike are pretty good holders so they should be fine.

Usually run my 23mm tyres at 110psi (I'm 82Kg) for 3-4 hour rides. Imagine this would be uncomfortable on cobbles and for such a long ride, but don't wanna go too low as worried about pinch flats on pave - any suggestions?

Also, did any of you double up bar-tape or have any advice/observations about vibration effects of riding on cobbles?

blim

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

A road bike with 23mm tyres is fine for Flanders.

Don't stick too much air in your tyres and you'll be fine."

Agree completely: i ran just that setup in 2010 and intend to do so this year, and would stress that alu bottle cages are needed to keep those bidons in.

I didn't double up the bar tape. However, the Paddestraat cobbles completely shredded the padding in my mitts, and gave me a nasty blister at the same time. All in about 5 minutes! Now i see why Boonen rarely wears gloves: less friction.

Face it, it's going to be uncomfortable at best, sore at worst, but that's why we do it

durhamwasp

ratsbeyfus wrote:

Usually run my 23mm tyres at 110psi (I'm 82Kg) for 3-4 hour rides. Imagine this would be uncomfortable on cobbles and for such a long ride, but don't wanna go too low as worried about pinch flats on pave - any suggestions?

Also, did any of you double up bar-tape or have any advice/observations about vibration effects of riding on cobbles?

Im 81kg and did the Flanders route (not the sportive though) on 23's at 100psi, no problem at all.

I cant say that the cobbles are that horrifying to be honest and i didnt double up on bar tape, tho a couple in our group did. A lot of the cobbled sections are uphill so you are going slower anywhere and need to concentrate on keeping the bike upright!

Enjoy

ratsbeyfus

Many thanks - looks like all I have to do MTFU!

Monty Dog

Run the fattest tyres you can fit - a narrower tyre can get trapped between the stones and rip the sidewall. Bigger air pocket of the fatter tyre means less chance of pinch-punctures too. I've seen people ride 20mm tyres at Flanders, but doesn't mean it was a good idea. It's not such a bike wrecker, more of a rider-wrecker if you've not ridden cobbles before.

ratsbeyfus

Thanks Monty - my clubmate did mention the gaps being an issue. Not sure if 25mm tyres will fit on a CAAD9 f/f... I'll pop a question in 'Workshop' forum.

Rodrego Hernandez

Generally the cobbles in Flanders are in good condition so don't worry too much about them. Agree that anything less than 23mm would be a bad move in most circumstances, especially there. Be aware that if you knock the wheel out of true slightly a 23/24 mm tyre will rub less than a 25 mm one but any tyre from 23 mm will be fine. Worry more about the distance or the climbs than about the cobbles!

TheStone

I used the Vittoria Pave tyres the first time I did Flanders and I felt they helped a lot (I wasn't that confident on the cobbles).

Otherwise, set-up as normal (except bottle cages as mentioned above).