Moderator: Pricey_sky
King Boonen wrote:They're only 4 years too late on the Genesis Volare story and it was pretty much superseded by the Zero when it was released in 2014. They still use the steel bikes for the UK crit series every now and then I think, but the Zero is used for mostly everything else.
Unless the UCI change the weight limit rule (which they should) you can certainly build up a stainless bike that'll be lighter than some of the bikes the pros ride (Sagan's VIAS disc was recently quoted at 8.46kg I think) and I reckon you could hit the 6.8kg mark for a climbing bike. The issue comes when aerodynamics are more of an issue than weight. I seem to remember that last year it was claimed Cav lost a sprint to Kristoff as he was wearing a jersey and Kristoff a skinsuit (tour of Qatar?). No pro is going to throw away what could be double digit watt savings. When it comes to aerodynamics carbon is always going to win due to the way the frames are made.
Lots of riders could ride steel fine, particularly domestiques and some might benefit from the improved ride quality (although this can be debatable it's easier to design a custom geo steel bike than a custom carbon frame for each rider so does still hold true) but brands need to sell the latest and greatest carbon fibre frames. If WT riders started riding steel I think people are more likely to drop a couple of grand on a bespoke frame rather than a set geo, mass produced steel frame, so bike manufacturers would basically be reducing their own market share.
I've argued for a long time that pretty much everyone who rides a bike should be on a steel frame and I still think that's true, even for amateur racers. I'm sure if I handed my steel bike to a faster club-mate and took their Venge or Propel they'd still beat me in a race. I'd love to see steel back in the WT too, but I don't think it's going to happen.
42x16ss wrote:Nice, needs more Campagnolo though.
Alex Simmons/RST wrote:42x16ss wrote:Nice, needs more Campagnolo though.
On the commissaire's ride at nationals, one of the guys was on one of these:
http://cdn.wilier.com/sites/default/files/ramato.jpg
but with nicer wheels.
It sure was a pretty machine.
GambadiLegno wrote:I've raced with a colombian guy, Jaime Vergara, who is now in Nice Pro Cycling. When he came to our team, they gave him a 9.5 kg bike as there wasn't another one available. He won an elite race here with 6 climbs, 144 kms and 2200 mts elevation gain with that bike. He arrived alone at the finish line. After seeing that, I don't pay attention to bike weight (well, I would avoid racing with a 9.5 kg bike to be honest), between 7 and 8 kg it's ok.
Alex Simmons/RST wrote:42x16ss wrote:Nice, needs more Campagnolo though.
On the commissaire's ride at nationals, one of the guys was on one of these:
http://cdn.wilier.com/sites/default/files/ramato.jpg
but with nicer wheels.
It sure was a pretty machine.
MWC wrote:Well, I think I found my next builder. I just can't stop looking at Chris Bishop's work, he's checking all the right boxes for me. Have a look at his flickr account. WARNING! You'll need hours to see it all, so grab a bite and a drink.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bishopbikes/albums/with/72157642156293954
MWC wrote:Well, I think I found my next builder. I just can't stop looking at Chris Bishop's work, he's checking all the right boxes for me. Have a look at his flickr account. WARNING! You'll need hours to see it all, so grab a bite and a drink.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bishopbikes/albums/with/72157642156293954
Alex Simmons/RST wrote:42x16ss wrote:Nice, needs more Campagnolo though.
On the commissaire's ride at nationals, one of the guys was on one of these:
http://cdn.wilier.com/sites/default/files/ramato.jpg
but with nicer wheels.
It sure was a pretty machine.
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