Tour de Lance

Thank you Twist!

Last full week of July. Ship your bike out and fly in to Des Moines. Bring a tent or sleep on the bus.

Well done to Lance. Been great watching him these last few years Next year is going to be wide open.

So what do you guys ride ??

I do about a 1000 miles a month on a 2004 LeMond Zurich :)

Also got a Ridgeback Switch Storm for a bit of off road.

Don't let yourselves be fooled around People : i do racing bike (a lot) but as free lance, not pro. of course, and i'm often told that i'm quite capable at it. With the very few exceptions of some historic Great Champions over the last century, actually they're all druged and doped to death !!! No one can race at those speed, for such long trip and everyone, or so, on the peloton doin' some 55 km/hr. as average speed... Balls !!! Try doin' it and you'll see what i mean, even if you get enough spare time to train yourself the hard way. I mean, it could be possible for, perhaps, some of them, the strongest, but quite everyone bein' a rocket... Sad thing is, like in every major sport competition these days, it's all corrupted by money and interests in the like, sport has very little to say in the matter. When i look to the Tour de France nowadays, 's just for the pleasure to have a look at the fantastic new bikes, not the fakes that drive them.

That's what I'm saying. Hard to get excited about an athletic "accomplishment" when it's just somebody cheating.

Did Eddy M dope? What about LeMond? Opine.

From Bicycle: The History, the 1904 Tour de France:

The Tour was evidently off to a good start, but the second edition was rife with scandal. Contestants allegedly sneaked onto trains in the dead of night to reach the next checkpoint. On the road, they sprinkled nails in their wake to puncture the tires of their rivals. A few were even attacked en route by hired thugs. The organizers conducted an investigation and sent a stern message to the racers that no more shenanigans would be tolerated: three racers were banned for life, and the top four finishers were disqualified. Garin, who had won again, received a two-year ban for the seemingly minor infraction of accepting food from a motorist during the competition. In 1953, he was finally honored in ceremonies marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Tour, but his second victory was never reinstated despite his lifelong protests that he had done nothing wrong.Suddenly, it appeared that the grand race was doomed to a short existence. After careful reflection, however, Desgrange decided to go ahead with a third Tour in 1905, taking several measures to curtail sabotage by racers or non-racers. In particular, Desgrange did away with nighttime riding so that racers no longer disappeared into the darkness. He also expanded the format to eleven stages that were shorter, and thus presumably easier to monitor…In 1910, the Tour entered the great passes of the Pyrenees, and the following year it headed into the Alps...In the early years, racers had only two speeds with a high and a low gear mounted on either side of their rear wheels. The only way to switch gears in preparation for a climb was to get off the bicycle, remove the rear wheel, flip it to the other side, reattach the chain to the sprocket, and tighten the wheel before hopping back into the saddle.

twist wrote: Lemond should have used campy. He did toy with the Mavic electronic shifters for a bit but he did not use them for the big race.

Have you seen SRAM's new system? It is now possible to get a full USA made groupo. First time ever.

So what do you think of the SRAM gruppo?

I'm going to build up my Bianchi frame into a 29er, and then build up my Motobecane into a real touring bike. Need to figue out components for both bikes. Seems like most choices are between Campy and Shimano, but Campy really seems limited to road racing applications these days.

For the Bianchi, I'd like a gruppo that could function for a 29er/cyclocross/touring/commuting application. Shimano Deore XT or XTR, SRAM, or try to find an old Campy Record off road gruppo?

For the Motobecane, I'd like a gruppo that could function for a commuting/touring application. Again-- Shimano Deore XT or XTR, SRAM, or find an old Campy Record off road gruppo? Seems like the same type of gruppo would work for both bikes, doesn't it?

What do you think, Twist?

Beating the test

My 520 came with Deore DX and downtube shifters. Today that would be XT. My new tandem has a triple and Ultegra/XTR. The only issue with the tandem is the STI shifters were not made for the M brakes so they have a cam above the cantilevers. Now that I have about 1000 miles with the Ultgra/XTR combo I like it it quite a bit. it did get noisy after riding through rain.

9 speed is mighty smooth if the chain is clean. 8 speed handles the gunk better thus I would favor this for extended touring. Chains are cheaper too. I would use bar caon shifters or downtube over STI shifters. More reliable, not in the way and repairable.

I do not know if Campy makes a triple. Maybe on their lesser lines. That is where my heart lies. Ergo shifters have the cables hidden and you can adjust the front derailer so much better than with STI.

I think some of Campy's old mountain gruppos have triple chainrings. I'd have to buy used if I went with Campy.

Have you heard anything about SRAM?

I spent a week riding with a wrench that has a SRAM equipted mtb. Funky looking rear derailer (sp, one of many). I was never a fan of GripShift but Carl said that they have a new shifter coming out and IIRC he described it as a sort of thumb shifter style. If I was building a mtb I'd probably go that route.

As for road bikes you could probably use SRAMs drivetrain but I am not sure about the shifters. But I bet downtube shifters would work. Downtube shifters are my favorite anyway being easy to maintain, friction mode available, the cleanest lines and they do not get in the way.

The Comeback

Eddy Mercx once said that Lance could win as many Tours as he wanted to. Personally I'd like him to stay retired or maybe focus on the races he ignored as to save his strength for the Tour. But I understand his desire to tell the French to fuck off. I'd love to see him win one more then as he crosses the finish line whip his cock out piss on some French Piss Tester. "Take that you frog swine. Drink it up, it's clean!"

READ HIS BOOK "it's not about the bike' - having spend MANY hours humped over on a bike, not nearly in a 50mph peleton, nor on any of the climbs he wins, and I say - Lance is GOD. If the FRENCH can't deal with American (or other!!) domination of their dear sport, then au revior to them!

Game 7 NBA / NHL / Superbowl - GEEZ - Baseball (!) HAVE NOTHING on 3 weeks of racing. NOTHING.

did he dope in 99? Then won!, 00 - won? 01, 02, 03 ,04... what else!!!

The man deserves our respect, the Frenchie's respect and don't think that there will be another anytime soon...

BTW - OLN did a great job on coverage

twist wrote: I'd love to see him win one more then as he crosses the finish line whip his cock out piss on some French Piss Tester. "Take that you frog swine. Drink it up, it's clean!"

coq au vent?

twist wrote: Eddy Mercx once said that Lance could win as many Tours as he wanted to.

i'd agree with that. the man is just unstoppable at the moment in the tour. if i was him i'd keep going until i was beat then you know its time to go.

plus he'd probably be about 36-37 when that happened and thats a respectable age to retire in sport

Armstrong to Train With Team This Winter

Too bad he will not race the rest of the European circuit like Mercx.

UCI says no evidence of doping

I'm beginning to think he may be clean; he'd have to be a complete idiot to race dirty next year, and I don't think he's that dim-witted, so...

Armstrong Closes Door On Comeback Lance: 'I'm Not Going Back'

POSTED: 6:27 am CDT September 16, 2005

Lance Armstrong made his retirement from cycling official Thursday, ending a career that included an unprecedented seven straight Tour de France titles.

Armstrong won the last of those Tour titles in July and had announced prior to this year's event that it would most likely be his last.

However, since that time Armstrong has had to combat doping allegations put forth by the French newspaper L'Equipe and the World Anti-Doping Agency. The International Cycling Union said there was no proof to back up the accusations, but still, the rumors led Armstrong to consider coming back for another Tour. Yet, he ended that possibility at a Thursday night media conference call.

"I'm happy with the way it ended. I'm not going back," read a statement on Armstrong's official website.

Armstrong's heroic battle with cancer coupled with his success at the Tour de France transformed the Texas native into one of the elite and most recognizable athletes in the world. Armstrong will celebrate his 34th birthday on Sunday.

No come back kid