2017 Tour de France thread

Kittel wins Stage 2 on disc brakes! Don't know how you can even swap wheels with discs in a race without getting brake rub every time. The clearance between the discs and pads are fractions of a millimeter and the exact location of the discs are different from wheel to wheel.

I Know Cycling Very Well wrote:

No kidding, but wasn't it the interview in the booth with Bobby Roll, Christian V and that boring lead NBCSN commentator. It looked like Roll & CV were getting a little annoyed with TP 😁.

yep...seems as if i had a bit too much to drink last night when i watched that ;-)

Who is that other guy commentating? They always have some general person in there but he doesn't know crap about bike racing. Steve Schlanger (sp?) should be in there with them.

Cyclust2 wrote:

Kittel wins Stage 2 on disc brakes! Don't know how you can even swap wheels with discs in a race without getting brake rub every time. The clearance between the discs and pads are fractions of a millimeter and the exact location of the discs are different from wheel to wheel.

He probably just swaps bikes instead of wheels.

MalAl wrote:

Team sky with 3 of the top 4 in the TT right now. They have "something" special. Is there any doubt that Froome wins?

Apparently they do have something special.

If this guy wants to be taken more seriously, he should claim a more believable number, rather than try to make us believe a few bumps on the side of the arm save 25 seconds in a 16 minute TT. Doesn't matter anyway as the race officials cleared it and the it follows all the rules quoted in the article.

shaved nuts for victory wrote:

Dr No wrote:

My fav part of the year. Mornings with Liggett, Sherman and Bob Roll !!!

Could be worse! ha

Actually vis a vis cycling, it CAN'T get worse; Phil is senile, Sherman is a washed up hack and Bob was never better than adequate.

Listen to Eurosport sometime or any of the foreign languag broadcasts and the difference is striking.

Who is Sherman?

Paul Sherwan wrote:

shaved nuts for victory wrote:

Actually vis a vis cycling, it CAN'T get worse; Phil is senile, Sherman is a washed up hack and Bob was never better than adequate.

Listen to Eurosport sometime or any of the foreign languag broadcasts and the difference is striking.

Who is Sherman?

It's a better effort at his name than he would trying to identify 95% of the TDF field.

Cyclust2 wrote:

Kittel wins Stage 2 on disc brakes! Don't know how you can even swap wheels with discs in a race without getting brake rub every time. The clearance between the discs and pads are fractions of a millimeter and the exact location of the discs are different from wheel to wheel.

The brakes self-adjust on hydraulic systems so long as the rotor placement isn't crazy different between wheelsets.

I ride Shimano discs on my mountain bike so I'm aware of what self adjusting pads can do. They won't be able to adjust for a disc that is a fraction of a mm off the placement of the original disc. All self adjusting pads do is move closer to the disc as the pads wear out. They can't move back in more without someone taking a wrench to them and pushing the pistons back in to overcome the O-ring that doesn't the automatic wear adjustment.

There is no such thing as self adjusting discs that will do what you are thinking to allow for easy wheel changes like you can do with caliper brakes.

Cyclust2 wrote:

I ride Shimano discs on my mountain bike so I'm aware of what self adjusting pads can do. They won't be able to adjust for a disc that is a fraction of a mm off the placement of the original disc. All self adjusting pads do is move closer to the disc as the pads wear out. They can't move back in more without someone taking a wrench to them and pushing the pistons back in to overcome the O-ring that doesn't the automatic wear adjustment.

There is no such thing as self adjusting discs that will do what you are thinking to allow for easy wheel changes like you can do with caliper brakes.

I am well aware of how hydraulic brakes work. Using a Park PP-1.2 isn't all that complicated for whoever brings the replacement wheel whether it be a team car or neutral support. It would maybe add 2-5 seconds to the process and make putting the wheel in that much easier.

Even when you push the pistons back in, that's no guarantee that you will centre the pads on disc brakes. Most of the time, one piston moves more than the other piston, requiring you to loosen the caliper bolts and realign.

Good to see my former student and athlete i coached in basketball that i got into cycling place 2nd in a tough 3rd stage! Any other coaches out there TID and put a young kid in a different sport?

but why wrote:

pack is about to consume the breakway

boom

that was amazing

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Except for that one mountain stage where froome becomes super human for 30 minutes.

nice sunny day for stage 3 - makes it much nicer to watch but I bet it's a huge relief for the riders

was hoping to see more little packs instead of one huge one

are there any events other than the TT parts where it is NOT "sit and kick"

I guess even in running, well especially in elite running, even marathons end after an intense 26 miles, simply a sprint to the finish with winners often separated by seconds - though not always, sometimes it is minutes if the weather or course is challenging enough

no lack of weather or course challenges but I guess the team nature of cycling makes sprint finishes virtually guaranteed

do any races have stages that finish uphill on a mountain? that might spread them out a little bit

how many watts does a super-elite like froome put out for those 30 minutes?

I remember there was some controversy he refused to release the data, or was that another rider

I still cannot get over how I average 18-20mph on my rides at best effort and these cyclists do 30+ for hours, even with a pack that still means the front is putting out that much power. They don't even rotate leads, at least not for the hour I watched.

https://i1.wp.com/sportsscientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/fastest-performances.png

but why wrote:

do any races have stages that finish uphill on a mountain? that might spread them out a little bit

Wait a couple of days: Stage 5 - a Cat-1 mountain top finish at La Planche de Belles Filles. Watch the Sky machine go full throttle and try to blow the peloton apart launching Froomey & Thomas for an attack. Little Nairo, Porte, Martin, Contador, etc., are going to have to pay attention and not get caught off guard when Sky launches it's attacks. I think Nairo is going to miss Valverde when things go uphill with the Sky machine setting a torrid pace (what's new...Lol). This is where Froomey could take yellow. It should be a barn burner...hope the weather is good! 🚲

Solo breakaway today.

Probably going to be a bunch sprint today.

doh I mean stage 4 today - lost a day somewhere

funny how Guillaume Van Keirsbuick is using "invisible aerobars" position which I think they made illegal in other races for safety?

his breakaway is obviously just for attention right? no way he can maintain that and win against the pack - he's down from 12 minute lead to just 8 now

I wish they would leave up the overlay with the speeds of the breakaway vs pack

just dropped under 7 minute lead with 115km to go

he's doomed but I think he knew that and it wasn't the point

i chose D2 wrote:

MalAl wrote:

Team sky with 3 of the top 4 in the TT right now. They have "something" special. Is there any doubt that Froome wins?

Apparently they do have something special.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/skys-vortex-generator-skinsuits-questioned-by-tour-rivals-but-permitted-by-commissaires/

If this guy wants to be taken more seriously, he should claim a more believable number, rather than try to make us believe a few bumps on the side of the arm save 25 seconds in a 16 minute TT. Doesn't matter anyway as the race officials cleared it and the it follows all the rules quoted in the article.

We've seen this BS before:

"Clothing: "Dimpled" texture on parts of shirt and lower back seam reduce drag."

Sky have been busted for widepsread abuse of corticosteroids and testosterone this year. Now all what needs to be revealed is use of EPO/blood doping and you bave a carbon copy of the US Postal/Discovery cycling program.