US Gravel National Champ on Ti Bike w/RH Tires

[Hilltopwalters]

If nothing else, Purple Bikes are the best bikes.

[prototoast]

Ben Delaney's latest video has an interview with Brennan and a discussion about his bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1FYcatmwVI

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by marciero

Agree that the tenor of the comments on these threads is much more "its the motor not the equipment" when RH is involved. He won on RH. That is a fact. There is no way that is not a positive reflection on RH tires, on several levels.

I think the original post set the tone for the comments in the thread.

If instead the original post was "check out this cool Mosaic that Brennan Wertz rode to win the US Gravel National Championships" we would have likely seen a totally different set of replies.

[HenryA]

The idea that it is somehow remarkable that a person won a bike race on almost any kind of bike made in the last 30 years is kind of silly.

Nice looking bike.

[Erikg]

Pretty cool when a top end athlete has good taste in bikes

[72gmc]

Originally Posted by Hilltopwalters

If nothing else, Purple Bikes are the best bikes.

Scientifically proven!

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by prototoast

I think the original post set the tone for the comments in the thread.

If instead the original post was "check out this cool Mosaic that Brennan Wertz rode to win the US Gravel National Championships" we would have likely seen a totally different set of replies.

I'll be honest, I might have chummed the water a bit.. but I still say a national championship on a tires that aren't a large brand is still something pretty special.. and I'd say the same if any other component wasn't super mainstream.. thus the comment about the Mosaic.. while tons of folks ride a Mosaic, you don't see a ton at the point end of spear..

BUT, my original post was mostly( ) facts.. do you really think those replies would have been there if I had said "won on a Ti bike and Conti tires"? I can almost guarantee there would not have as many, if any, "it's the motor", comments.. and that says something..

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Erikg

Pretty cool when a top end athlete has good taste in bikes

And by good taste you mean sponsored right?

[kiwisimon]

Originally Posted by fourflys

BUT, my original post was nothing but facts.. do you really think those replies would have been there if I had said "won on a Ti bike and Conti tires"? .

yep. it's always about the motor on any particular day with some luck thrown in.
If it wasn't, manufacturers wouldn't need to pay people to ride "the best" would they?

[nmrt]

I've got to point out, when you say that your first post had nothing but facts (see highlighted portion below, which is debatable).

In my mind, Wertz's win says something or nothing about non carbon bikes. It is one win in a sea of wins made on carbon bikes. Not saying that non carbon bikes cannot compete. But your first post was not all factual. You had your opinion in there. Which is cool. But it was your opinion.

And I have a feeling that this is what proto was talking about in his post as well.

Originally Posted by fourflys

I don't think I've seen this discussed yet, but the US Gravel National champ is Brennan Wertz who rode a Mosaic AllRoad bike on RH tires.. not sure what says about US Gravel Nationals (nothing to me, but it might for some), but it does say something for non-carbon bikes and Jan got his first big title as a sponsor (at least first as far as I know)..

https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/us...en-19/results/

https://www.renehersecycles.com/bren...vel-nationals/

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by nmrt

I've got to point out, when you say that your first post had nothing but facts (see highlighted portion below, which is debatable).

In my mind, Wertz's win says something or nothing about non carbon bikes. It is one win in a sea of wins made on carbon bikes. Not saying that non carbon bikes cannot compete. But your first post was not all factual. You had your opinion in there. Which is cool. But it was your opinion.

fair.. I guess what I was trying to imply there is that most folks would say you need the latest and greatest carbon wonderbike to have a chance at success at that level and Brennan winning on a Ti bike was just pointed out they aren't totally obsolete as some might think.. but yes, I guess that is a bit of an opinion..

[Clean39T]

1) he loves his bike by all accounts I’ve seen, so it’s far from a throwaway “he rides that because he’s sponsored” situation - see also: his Peg.

2*) he won US Gravel Nats because he was the smartest racer on the day and took a flyer at exactly the right time with under 1500M when the lead group was marking eachother - it was a page straight out of road-racing 101 and worked as designed.. by his own admission he felt like crud that day and had recently recovered from bad covid - there’s a good chance that if he’d been on top form he would have podiumed at best**.

tl;dr - it’s not (all) about the bike, or the tires - racers still gotta race..


* the above account is my memory of Payson’s podcast with him, which is worth a listen.

** that’s not a slight, I’m a fan-boi (tall riders solidarity), but he’s not outsprinting Keegan 1:1, or a couple of the other guys that rolled to the line together.

[marciero]

Originally Posted by nmrt

In my mind, Wertz's win says something or nothing about non carbon bikes. It is one win in a sea of wins made on carbon bikes. Not saying that non carbon bikes cannot compete.

I think it is worth noting and interesting when a top tier rider merely selects-let alone wins on- something other than carbon - quite apart from trying to compare or conclude anything about performance. The fact that he won just makes it more exemplary.

As far as the sponsorship goes- this is a lot different than say the pro tour peloton These are one on one relationships and I dont think riders are riding equipment they dont want to ride just for the money.

[fa63]

One could also say he won despite the RH tires

[gravelreformist]

Originally Posted by fa63

One could also say he won despite the RH tires

This is the realistic take.

We know that Panaracer can make great tires, so fundamentally RH tires should be just fine. We also know that some of the design choices RH makes in their custom design are also questionable. And that the performance to price ratio is very poor.

That's it - no surprise that someone wins a big race on them.