Re: [CR]Yesterday's equipment in modern races

(Example: Framebuilders:Alberto Masi)

Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 08:32:39 -0700
Subject: Re: [CR]Yesterday's equipment in modern races
From: "Terence Shaw" <terence@shawscycles.com>
To: jerrymoos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>, <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
In-Reply-To: <081001c43707$194b23b0$efddfea9@mooshome>


I'd rather lurk but, I could'nt resist. There is no doubt that I was a much faster cyclist in the '70's on the old equipment. That solid full SP frame and fork with the Campy/regina half step 10 speed(2x5) drive train could fly up the Santa Cruz or the Northern Sierra Mountains with a mechanically efficient 45x22 low. Now with the Pacific plate diving under the North American plate(more obvious after Loma Prieta) the climbs here are much steeper. This uplifting has deepend valleys causing prevailing headwinds to be greater as well. Classic cyclist in other areas (with high humidity) have also noticed that their clothing has shrunk causing constrained breathing which also lowers performance. All these factors have forced riders to use lower gears and more gears to fill in the middle ratios. From my experience on the bike these new "10" speeds are slower than my 10 speed from "back in the day". My gut feeling(at the top of the pedal stroke) is that all this click shifting,lyra, 53x39 and triples have made riders soft. T. Shaw Santa Clara, California


> From: "jerrymoos" <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
> Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 22:21:49 -0500
> To: <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Subject: Re: [CR]Yesterday's equipment in modern races
>
> I think there are too many variables for this to prove anything about
> equipment. The grand tours follow a different route every year and even a
> stage over a given climb may follow a slightly different route for part of
> the stage. Even the exact routes of one day classics change a bit. Plus
> the road surfaces change - no more dirt roads in the Pyrenees like in the
> early days of the Tour and cobbled road are becoming museum pieces. Plus in
> a stage race, the time in a stage will be affected by the difficulty of the
> preceding stages and perhaps even the following stages, as riders pace
> themselves for the whole event, not just one day. Plus even if it is true
> that the times are coming down, this could be due to the diet and training
> methods, not only of the winners, but of their team members. With more
> money in the sport today, teams can pay guys to serve as domestiques who
> would have been team leaders in the past, which no doubt increases the
> overall pace. It's not nearly as simple as comparing Michael Schumaker's
> winning time in this year's Ferrari to that in last year's Ferrari on a
> course that hasn't been revised or resurfaced in the meantime.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Houston, TX
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chuck Schmidt" <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Monday, May 10, 2004 10:54 PM
> Subject: Re: [CR]Yesterday's equipment in modern races
>
>
>> Jan Heine wrote:
>>>
>> (cut)
>>> Or consider this: Rominger's hour record was faster than Indurain's,
>>> Rominger used the modern Shimano, yet it was Indurain who won 5 Tours
>>> (and only one or two on Ergo, if I remember correctly), Rominger
>>> none. In the very least, it shows that race results aren't too
>>> instructive.
>>
>> I think you misunderstood me:
>> Race results as in the elapsed times for the same races and stages year
>> after year is a downward trend in times, not who won what.
>>
>> Chuck Schmidt
>> South Pasadena, Southern California

>>

>> .