La Marmotte 2017 bike options

Balazsgal

Hi All!

Looking for some advice what would be your opinions or experiences on these bikes for Marmotte.Its actually three on my mind,explain in a bit.At the moment my only bime is a caad12 disc dura ace which i got on a fantastic reduced price.Love the bike,its really is amazing,but having disc brakes on them i cant enter sportives or club races.This leads me into starting to save up for a purchase this summer coming.
Opt 1:canyon ultimate cf slx 8.0 or 8.0 di2 2017
Opt 2:supersix evo himod dura ace 2 2016
Opt 3:supersiv evo ultegra 2017

Opt 1 would cost 3400 or 4000 for di2,not really keen on di2,but if i will have the money by then,its now or never for di2,again its not a must at all.

Opt2 would cost 3650 comes with ksyrium elites,all i need for that is a set of decent rubber.

Opt3 would cost approx 2000 if i leave the aksium what it comes with.thinking to put on this option fulcrum racing zeros,which would be 700,so with tyres comes in at 2800.

All prices are euro prices,thanx for all the opinions appreciated.

DeVlaeminck

I would hold fire in case you can use your disc bike - they are trialling discs again aren't they now and in any case do they actually enforce that rule in the marmotte ?

However if you aren't bothered about Di2 then I'd have thought the other two options wouldn't make a lot of difference - if you do buy prices are probably only going up so look now. Depending on your height cycledivision have got a cracking deal on Scott Solaces at the moment which would save you a bit of cash.

Rodrego Hernandez

Discs won't be OK for amateur races until at least 2018 I would guess.

Balazsgal

Yep,unfortunately i dont think its gonna happen before 2018 i can use on bigger sportives,national or international.thanx for responses guys

davidof

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

Discs won't be OK for amateur races until at least 2018 I would guess.

Disc is fine for the Marmotte, it is not a race, just a bunch of middle aged blokes pretending they are in the tour de France.

Rodrego Hernandez

davidof wrote:

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

Discs won't be OK for amateur races until at least 2018 I would guess.

Disc is fine for the Marmotte, it is not a race, just a bunch of middle aged blokes pretending they are in the tour de France.

Some of the french events are held under FFC regulations with have so far prohibited disc brakes. The OP asked about a bike that would be suitable for the Marmotte as well as some local races. QED - discs are not fine.

davidof

No problems using them in 2016

Rodrego Hernandez

davidof wrote:

No problems using them in 2016

I don't thing the restrictions are related to what year it is, but it's good to know that 2016 didn't affect their use. Thanks for that.

davidof

Honestly for a mountain sportif I would have thought they would improve safety. I don't have disc myself but my friends who rode did. There was an email a few weeks before the event saying they had gone back on their decision to ban them.

Rodrego Hernandez

How would having disc brakes make something safer?

Marcof11

all the bikes you mentioned are good choice.
points to consider are:
1) unless you are superfit - you will need a compact 50/34 and a 11-32 cassette
this will start to limit your choices
2) no full carbon wheels ( unless they are super-expensive)
3) a good light pair of wheels would help ... evans has at the moment a c24 set for 600,, or a Mavic sl etc
4)good tyres- new with only a week of previous use.. quite a few out there. my fav, are the vittoria 25mm corsa graphene G+, but others are good too .
disc brakes are allowed but not needed . the first descent is neutralised (glandon). then the Galibier has only the first 20 minutes steep.. then is fast and rolling.
make sure you get properly fitted to get the right size ..
and di2 is a luxury . you will be staying in the same gear for long time
finally you need a garmin with a heart monitor or possibly a power meter

itboffin

davidof wrote:

No problems using them in 2016

This ^

I rode it this year and plenty of people had disc, no issue at all and no one is checking

Rodrego Hernandez

Discs arent permitted in races, which is what the Op is interested in doing so all this talk of the marmotte allowing them isn't very helpful. Or useful.

gavinbay

Mmmmmm "GroundHog" Day, seem to remember same opinions re discs in the Marmotte 2016 thread last year or was it the Etape thread?

Discs are way safer for the average Joe descending who is not on the whole used to descending on mountain roads - and then if it's at all damp - then you could probably say 500% safer!!

Had my first disc brake bike in 2015 and check the times out - same picture for Izoard, Sarenne, Montgenevre etc etc

My last ten times on Galibier descent segment
1 28 Jun 2016 7:55 45.7km/h
2 7 Jul 2015 8:02 45.1km/h
3 21 Oct 2016 8:07 44.6km/h
4 13 Jul 2015 8:19 43.5km/h
5 20 Jun 2014 8:39 41.8km/h
6 3 Jul 2014 8:46 41.3km/h
7 23 Jul 2014 8:57 40.4km/h
8 1 Aug 2013 9:17 39.0km/h
9 11 Aug 2011 9:31 38.0km/h
10 6 Jul 2013 9:40 37.4km/h

May last ten times on Col de Granon descent - way more technical than Galibier IMO
1 27 Oct 2016 15:41 42.4km/h
2 9 Oct 2015 16:16 40.9km/h
3 25 Jun 2016 17:41 37.6km/h
4 21 Jun 2014 17:51 37.3km/h
5 24 Jul 2014 19:05 34.9km/h
6 4 Jul 2014 22:05 30.1km/h
7 23 Jul 2013 24:17 27.4km/h
8 9 Jul 2013 25:02 26.6km/h
9 8 Aug 2011 41:29 16.0km/h

itboffin

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

Discs arent permitted in races, which is what the Op is interested in doing so all this talk of the marmotte allowing them isn't very helpful. Or useful.

erm the thread title is Marmotte 2017 and its NOT a race

DeVlaeminck

Of course it's a race

nicklong

The Marmotte is a race and a sportive - there are age category prizes, as with most French sportives.

The OP also talked about club races so discs are out.

I'd go for a SuperSix Evo due to the matching geometry. For the Marmotte, you should aim for reliable alloy wheels (reliable as in, true and strong so you aren't working about them at 80kmh downhill with no barriers) and as said above, decent tyres. I've done it on a 34-25 and 34-28 but I'm 64 kgs and fit, if you're heavy a 32 cassette is good advice. But I wouldn't race on a 32.

No need for di2.

For reference, I've down the Marmotte twice on a Caad 10 and it was fantastically sharp on the descents, that's the main thing to worry about.

Rodrego Hernandez

itboffin wrote:

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

Discs arent permitted in races, which is what the Op is interested in doing so all this talk of the marmotte allowing them isn't very helpful. Or useful.

erm the thread title is Marmotte 2017 and its NOT a race

Have you read first post?

Rodrego Hernandez

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Of course it's a race

Is it? Where's the prize list and which race calendar is it in?

Rodrego Hernandez

nicklong wrote:

The Marmotte is a race and a sportive - there are age category prizes, as with most French sportives.

The OP also talked about club races so discs are out.

I'd go for a SuperSix Evo due to the matching geometry. For the Marmotte, you should aim for reliable alloy wheels (reliable as in, true and strong so you aren't working about them at 80kmh downhill with no barriers) and as said above, decent tyres. I've done it on a 34-25 and 34-28 but I'm 64 kgs and fit, if you're heavy a 32 cassette is good advice. But I wouldn't race on a 32.

No need for di2.

For reference, I've down the Marmotte twice on a Caad 10 and it was fantastically sharp on the descents, that's the main thing to worry about.

It's not a 'proper' race though. That's why people were able to use disc brakes in it this year. They might have fastest age group prizes but it isn't a real race.

As for what bike to ride. Ride any bike you like, and whatever gears you like. Ride carbon wheels if you like, but bear in mind they might not be the most sensible option is you aren't that experienced on alpine descents. Ride standard gearing if you like but you'll again need to know what you are letting yourself in for. Otherwise a compact with 12-27 should be fine, but again, you really need to know a bit more about your own limits so that you can select a sensible gear and also know how too pace yourself so that you aren't stuffed for the last hill.