Anyone ridden the BWR? Bike prep help.

[velomateo]

A friend and I registered to do the Belgian Waffle Ride, in San Diego. In truth, we're doing the "Wafer" Ride. At 140 miles, the "Waffle" is a bit too much for me at this time. I hope to use it as a sampler though, and return next year for the full event.

I'm going to ride my Colnago C40. My other bikes are not viable choices for one reason or another, and I feel the C40 is robust enough for the job. This years "Wafer" will offer 14 miles of dirt roads/trails/single-track, so I have some choices to make.

The bike is currently running a Record/Centaur 10 group, 52/39 with 12-26 cassette. Would it be better to run a compact crank with my current cassette or switch my cassette out to a 12-28? Or do I really need to change anything?

I have a set of Campagnolo Protons with 25mm Continental Grand Prix Classics. It doesn't look like I have clearance for a larger tire.
Are these wheels an adequate choice?

Any advice is welcome.

[Ken Robb]

I must be totally out of the loop--I have never heard of this ride. :o

[Lanternrouge]

It's a local ride to me and I know what kind of riding I like and that's why I haven't done it. I would go with the biggest road tires you can fit on your bike. The rock sections are pretty nasty. I would also err on the side of lower gears since the odds are good that you will more likely be wishing that your lowest gear were lower than your biggest bigger. People have a really great time on this ride, but you will have some fairly nasty rocky stuff by Lake Hodges.

[beeatnik]

A friend and I registered to do the Belgian Waffle Ride, in San Diego. In truth, we're doing the "Wafer" Ride. At 140 miles, the "Waffle" is a bit too much for me at this time. I hope to use it as a sampler though, and return next year for the full event.

I'm going to ride my Colnago C40. My other bikes are not viable choices for one reason or another, and I feel the C40 is robust enough for the job. This years "Wafer" will offer 14 miles of dirt roads/trails/single-track, so I have some choices to make.

The bike is currently running a Record/Centaur 10 group, 52/39 with 12-26 cassette. Would it be better to run a compact crank with my current cassette or switch my cassette out to a 12-28? Or do I really need to change anything?

I have a set of Campagnolo Protons with 25mm Continental Grand Prix Classics. It doesn't look like I have clearance for a larger tire.
Are these wheels an adequate choice?

Any advice is welcome.

Did it a few years ago and they keep changing the course but be ready for 2 hallmarks:

1. Endless rollers. I don't like compacts but for this ride to keep my sanity, I wouldn't run anything less than 50/34 11-28

2. One rock garden type section where you'll see a more hikers than cyclists. Bring a ton of tubes.

[DrSpoke]

I rode it last year and am signed up again for this year. I've also been riding different sections of the course including the full Wafer course a couple of weeks ago. In addition, I've put together a team of about 16 riders for the event - a few from my mountain biking group but most from a road cycling club. I think most of them will admit it's been an interesting learning experience.

I'm using a gravel bike so have hydraulic discs, a compact 50/34 crankset and an 11-36 cassette. I'm currently running the Scwalbe S-One in 30c but will be trying the Pro-One in 28c soon with the expectation that I'll be using those for the event. Both are, of course, tubeless.

The wafer course has 3 or 4 short, but quite steep, dirt sections. And a couple that are pretty rocky too. And the hardest climb of the ride comes at the very end and though paved is quite steep.

My normal advise is to go with as big a tire as will fit your frame/brakes and the lowest gears that will fit. So most of my friends have switched to 28c or 27c tires as well as bigger cassettes. Many of the fast riders will be on 25c tires and they work well on the road but may be a little small on some sections of dirt. You may want to see if the Vittoria Open Pave in 27c fits your frame. I think that would be a very good tire for the event and seem to run a little small. For the cranks and cassette, I would suggest you change out both. So a compact crankset with as large a cassette as will fit. Not sure if you have 10-sp or 11-sp but if you stay Campy I'd go w/a 29 in the rear. If you can fit a 32 I would recommend that. Finally, I suggest some mountain bike shoes/pedals/cleats. There is likely to be a little hike a bike and perhaps some mud and/or sand.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/968441781

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/973191539

[velomateo]

I rode it last year and am signed up again for this year. I've also been riding different sections of the course including the full Wafer course a couple of weeks ago. In addition, I've put together a team of about 16 riders for the event - a few from my mountain biking group but most from a road cycling club. I think most of them will admit it's been an interesting learning experience.

I'm using a gravel bike so have hydraulic discs, a compact 50/34 crankset and an 11-36 cassette. I'm currently running the Scwalbe S-One in 30c but will be trying the Pro-One in 28c soon with the expectation that I'll be using those for the event. Both are, of course, tubeless.

The wafer course has 3 or 4 short, but quite steep, dirt sections. And a couple that are pretty rocky too. And the hardest climb of the ride comes at the very end and though paved is quite steep.

My normal advise is to go with as big a tire as will fit your frame/brakes and the lowest gears that will fit. So most of my friends have switched to 28c or 27c tires as well as bigger cassettes. Many of the fast riders will be on 25c tires and they work well on the road but may be a little small on some sections of dirt. You may want to see if the Vittoria Open Pave in 27c fits your frame. I think that would be a very good tire for the event and seem to run a little small. For the cranks and cassette, I would suggest you change out both. So a compact crankset with as large a cassette as will fit. Not sure if you have 10-sp or 11-sp but if you stay Campy I'd go w/a 29 in the rear. If you can fit a 32 I would recommend that. Finally, I suggest some mountain bike shoes/pedals/cleats. There is likely to be a little hike a bike and perhaps some mud and/or sand.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/968441781

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/973191539

Thanks for the input, I was hoping to hear from a veteran of the ride.

I think that I may be limited to a 28 tooth, in the rear, since I have a short cage rd. So maybe the compact with the cassette are a good idea. I forgot the Open Pave's came in a 27mm, definitely will look in to those. I think the frame has room for those.

I didn't think of shoes and pedals, but I'm glad you did. I can switch those over from my mountain bike.

[DrSpoke]

Thanks for the input, I was hoping to hear from a veteran of the ride.

I think that I may be limited to a 28 tooth, in the rear, since I have a short cage rd. So maybe the compact with the cassette are a good idea. I forgot the Open Pave's came in a 27mm, definitely will look in to those. I think the frame has room for those.

I didn't think of shoes and pedals, but I'm glad you did. I can switch those over from my mountain bike.

My road bike is set up similar to yours - carbon frame, Campagnolo Record10, 53/39 up front and a 12-25 in back. And that bike is, I think, too high geared for may of the road rides around here :) I'm running a 13-29 on one of my Campy (Daytona) road bikes with a 53/39 but not sure if there is enough wrap for a compact. Wolftooth makes the RoadLink that can give you more clearance at the pulley but won't help with chain wrap. That said, you will be ok with a 28t for most of the course. There will be just a few section that you will likely have to hike and a couple others that will be pretty low cadence. Not sure about Double Peak at the end though.

Also, Challenge makes a 27c though a bit pricey. The Vittorias are on sale as I think they are on closeout.

I've got a Strava link of the Wafer course from a couple of weeks ago. I'd be happy to send it but would prefer to do it through PM. The elevation map is more accurate than MapMyRide. And you can use Google earth with it too.

In general, I'd say the Wafer route is about equivalent to a century road ride. So you should be done in plenty of time to enjoy the beer garden - unlike some others of us out there.

[ptourkin]

My Moots CX did it two years ago under a more skilled rider - 48-34 11-32 with fairly slick Specialized 28s and it was overkill for him. The faster riders on road bikes had too much advantage on the road. It would have been fine with a 50-34.

[oldpotatoe]

A friend and I registered to do the Belgian Waffle Ride, in San Diego. In truth, we're doing the "Wafer" Ride. At 140 miles, the "Waffle" is a bit too much for me at this time. I hope to use it as a sampler though, and return next year for the full event.

I'm going to ride my Colnago C40. My other bikes are not viable choices for one reason or another, and I feel the C40 is robust enough for the job. This years "Wafer" will offer 14 miles of dirt roads/trails/single-track, so I have some choices to make.

The bike is currently running a Record/Centaur 10 group, 52/39 with 12-26 cassette. Would it be better to run a compact crank with my current cassette or switch my cassette out to a 12-28? Or do I really need to change anything?

I have a set of Campagnolo Protons with 25mm Continental Grand Prix Classics. It doesn't look like I have clearance for a larger tire.
Are these wheels an adequate choice?

Any advice is welcome.

13-29 and 12-30 are the Campag choices, for info. If your chain is proper length now(not too short), these will work fine with short cage rear der.

[Ken Robb]

When debating about ideal gearing for a ride I would always prefer to have the low gear I may need even if that means sacrificing a higher top gear that would allow me a bit more top speed on the easier/faster places. Once I kill my legs straining up a climb in a too-high gear I am ruined for the rest of the ride so my theoretical advantage in top speed is now unattainable.
OTOH I am old and slow and I have always been a lousy climber. :banana:

[ivanooze]

i did the race last year (it rained the day before) in which they ended up taking out a section of dirt.
-i rode it on my pegoretti 8:30am with my heavy yet strong stock wheels i got when i purchased my 2010 fuji roubaix 1.0
-i slapped on some 700x25 shwalbe duranos with thorn resistant tubes and i did fine with that.
-as for gearing i went with a compact and a 12-25 i think
-really fun ride. i signed up this year completely forgetting that i'm running the big sur marathon on the same day..


http://imgur.com/niBw9hY

[velomateo]

13-29 and 12-30 are the Campag choices, for info. If your chain is proper length now(not too short), these will work fine with short cage rear der.

Thanks for that.

[velomateo]

OTOH I am old and slow and I have always been a lousy climber. :banana:

Haha, same here.

[classtimesailer]

I've done it the last 3 years. 53/39 up front, twice with a 12/27 and once with a 11/28. That was plenty. Double Peak is steep (20% +/-), but short, and it hurts no matter what, so stand up and grunt it out. Last year, there was a short steep rutted dirt section that most riders couldn't ride. Not worth an extra cog for it. Keep a high gear for the long fast descents in the event you are in a good group and want to keep up. The best tires are the ones that don't flat :o. I used 25s every time -- Gatorskins once and Sprinter Gatorskin Tubulars twice. It's one day. It's gonna hurt no matter what so I wouldn't buy tires that you won't use during the rest of the year. On a recon ride one year, I rode 22mm Tubulars and never wished that I had fatter tires. Road pedals have been fine every year.

[velomateo]

BWR was a blast. Thanks for the valuable info. I mounted a set of 25mm Vittoria Pave's and they worked beautifully. They provided great grip and never flatted. I also swapped out the 53/39 with an FSA compact crankset 50/34 - with an 11-26, and I was glad I did. There were several sections that I got jammed up behind guys that had to dismount, and I was able to ride around them.
The C40 handle really well off-road, and got a few compliments along the way too. I had such a good time, if they held it again next weekend, I would go do it again. Can't wait until next year.


Here's the C40 post-ride.

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff297/velomateo/C40%20Mapei%20WC/781B4344-5285-48B0-ABEC-83B7E80BCCFD_zpstgm6uz0e.jpg (http://s238.photobucket.com/user/velomateo/media/C40%20Mapei%20WC/781B4344-5285-48B0-ABEC-83B7E80BCCFD_zpstgm6uz0e.jpg.html)

[taylor_walker]

Love that frame in that livery!

[DrSpoke]

Congratulations on completing the BWR. I thought it was an excellent, though difficult, course and the weather was perfect. I think it's an awesome event. A great day on the bike!

I talked to Michael Marckx on Friday night and he hinted that there may be some sort of event later this year - perhaps Oct or Nov.

Love your Colnago!

[velomateo]

That would be awesome...I'm in.

[130R]

I did the full 140 this year with a colnago extreme power rolling on 700x25's and record 11.

Gearing I used was 12-27 / 53-39


It says HTFU for a reason...

[ivanooze]

I used my Pegoretti last year with a compact crank and 11-25 cassette with 700x25 schwalbe duranos and thorn resistant tubes

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[beeatnik]

I did the full 140 this year with a colnago extreme power rolling on 700x25's and record 11.

Gearing I used was 12-27 / 53-39


It says HTFU for a reason...

That's a nice bike to be on for 12 hours.

[velomateo]

I did the full 140 this year with a colnago extreme power rolling on 700x25's and record 11.

Gearing I used was 12-27 / 53-39


It says HTFU for a reason...


Nice.

What was your time?

[ptourkin]

A Jelly Belly pro won. It's come a long way since the main competition was for the purple jersey (which proudly rested in my lbs.)

http://www.thecoastnews.com/2012/04/27/cyclists-with-poor-sportsmanship-draw-dreaded-purple-card/

[woodworker]

Rode Wafer as well. Really fun ride even though I'm older and slower.

Used 25's in Gatorskin, and they worked fine with no flats.

Old Potato says, "13-29 and 12-30 are the Campag choices, for info. If your chain is proper length now(not too short), these will work fine with short cage rear der." One small note: I have eps, and it seemed to work well with an IRD 12-31 cassette on back. Campag doesn't recommend that though, as it exceeds the tooth differential.

[oldpotatoe]

Rode Wafer as well. Really fun ride even though I'm older and slower.

Used 25's in Gatorskin, and they worked fine with no flats.

Old Potato says, "13-29 and 12-30 are the Campag choices, for info. If your chain is proper length now(not too short), these will work fine with short cage rear der." One small note: I have eps, and it seemed to work well with an IRD 12-31 cassette on back. Campag doesn't recommend that though, as it exceeds the tooth differential.

Those things are way conservative.

[cachagua]

Congratulations! Sounds like it must have been a great time.

Obviously you made the right choice with the bike! Another proof that you don't have to overspecialize. Bikes is bikes -- ride 'em. Glad to hear those tires worked well for you, too, since I've got a pair (27c) I' haven't yet tried

So, did you like it well enough that you're going to go back and ride the course again, yourself or with a few buddies?