What would pros use if they actually had a choice?

[philhan89]

well damn, now i wanna hi viz Pursuit.

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by MikeD

It matters. If the pros preferred rim brakes and mechanical shifting, these things wouldn't be so hard to find on a new bike. They basically kept tubular tires alive also.

The parallels between tyres, shifting and braking are interesting but not the same.

It's like a spectrum of 'how much does innovation disrupt' or conversely 'how hard is it to accomodate rider preference'.

If you consider tubulars, well, a tubular rim and tyre can be ridden on a bike that is sold to the average Joe with clincher rims. Very easy to accomodate that preference.

Mechanical versus electronic is similar, although some frames may be designed as electronic only. And to be quite honest, I'd be surprised if a pro did prefer mechanical for any other reason than weight advantage (which is minor).

Right at the other end of the spectrum is braking. It requires a different frame (and approach to frame, fork design) as well as different wheelset (and approach to lacing). And of course different shifters. With the push from the industry for disc, it's impossible to maintain for pros if they did prefer it (which I'd argue many do).

I guess it's like many things. It's easy to put up a situation as evidence /proof of something but when you look past the first order thinking it kind of unravels, or at least isn't as open/shut as one might think.

[Ralph]

Maybe the reason you see some retired Pro's ride some fairly ordinary low tech reliable bikes is they know just how little difference all that hi tech expensive equipment matters when you are just out riding for pleasure or transportation.

I'm always amazed to see top earning NASCAR drivers in rental cars. They care about their race car, but not so much about their street cars. Most drive SUV's.

[rogerspam]

I'd be curious if pros post retirement make significant changes to their bike fit/geometry more than change in equipment (kind of like the massive NFL linemen who go from 330lb to 230lb in a year or two after retirement)

Slightly OT--I like how road bike racing still has enough rider controlled variability (vs just equipment dominating the equation) in comparison to say F1 racing where a top driver can have "no chance" to win (based on their own team's simulations/predictions using their knowledge of the cars/tire setups).

I wonder if cycling teams will ever be able to approach this level of prediction (probably not) but it was neat to hear Chris Froome about he and team prepped for his epic Giro breakaway that won him the tour (nutrition, team driving the race to break down Dumoulin and others, etc).

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by rogerspam

Slightly OT--I like how road bike racing still has enough rider controlled variability (vs just equipment dominating the equation) in comparison to say F1 racing where a top driver can have "no chance" to win (based on their own team's simulations/predictions using their knowledge of the cars/tire setups).
.

Time trials (TT bikes/equipment) are legitimately at this point on the progression curve.

The legs still matter, don't get me wrong, but there have been numerous examples over the last year or three where a team with very fast equipment will dominate the top 20.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Ralph

Maybe the reason you see some retired Pro's ride some fairly ordinary low tech reliable bikes is they know just how little difference all that hi tech expensive equipment matters when you are just out riding for pleasure or transportation.

I'm always amazed to see top earning NASCAR drivers in rental cars. They care about their race car, but not so much about their street cars. Most drive SUV's.

For the race car drivers, maybe its that they realize that they can't drive on public roads like they do on race tracks, so they don't bother with high performance street cars. (This is unlike a lot of wanna-bes who like to pretend public roads are race tracks.)

As far as the retired pros and ordinary bikes, maybe they're no longer as focused on squeezing out every Watt of performance, and just want to enjoy the ride.

[Fivethumbs]

I have a friend who was a successful mountain bike racer and got a gig on a small domestic pro team. He knew nothing about his bike other than it said Giant on the side. He thought you determined correct bike size by whether your foot hit the front tire or not when turning. My guess is that he would ride whatever was put in front of him.

[openwheelracing]

rim brake of course

[reuben]

Originally Posted by Ralph

What would pros use if they actually had a choice?

Probably EPO.

[El Chaba]

The original question/premise of this thread suggests that all pros are the same, which is ridiculous. Like most groups of people, they are quite diverse, and that applies to their interest and tastes in equipment.

[KonaSS]

Originally Posted by El Chaba

The original question/premise of this thread suggests that all pros are the same, which is ridiculous. Like most groups of people, they are quite diverse, and that applies to their interest and tastes in equipment.

Right - and if you are Chris Froome, who had his formative years on one type of bike, you are likely to prefer a different type of bike than say Remco Evenepoel, who has spent the majority of his career on discs.

[David in Maine]

I imagine that quite a few pros never ride a bike again in any serious way after retiring. The recent thread about amateur racers finding the transition to casual riding difficult suggests as much.

David

[callmeishmael]

My sense is that some pros do have strong preferences while others are much less particular. For instance, there is some chatter that UAE's switch from Campag and Pirelli to Shimano and Conti was driven more than partly by specific requests for such from Pogacar.

On a much less grand scale, the relatively recently retired Continental tour rider who now works part time in one LBS is pretty vocal in his advocacy of mechanical Shimano, disc brakes and tubed Michelin tyres.

My gut feel is that, allowed to choose, most would use Shimano Di2 shifting and would alternate between rim and disc depending on the course and conditions. I suspect GP5000s and Corsas would dominate the tyre choices. That said, I'd be prepared to bet on some outliers (someone would surely choose mechanical SRAM red!), and I think it would split between those really looking for every possible marginal gain vs the 'I'm used to this and it works' camp.

[Frankwurst]

Originally Posted by reuben

Probably EPO.

[charliedid]

Rapha