I have to laugh. I also say I am sorry if I seemed "too negative" regarding tire size. But I do think the idea of limiting tire size as a way to contain cost is not the right place. I agree about tubulars being ousted. The cost for buying and maintaining them is a perfect example of why just using clinchers would be more conducive to containing cost. Evan has a good point about an idea of "stock" and "modified" bike classes. That might be neat. Bike weenies could race in the modified class and regular nerds like strasser could be in the stock class. Of course I would demand that stock include Chris King components. So many cans of worms to open.
Martin is correct about disc brakes! The weight of disc is not an issue in the heavy mud races and the disc brakes will consistently shave your speed where needed. The mud will not be plugged in your rim brakes and those expensive rims will last much longer (cost containment). Now if I was riding a bike with disc brakes, changing tires will not be an issue as I would be running those 34c tubeless tires which seem to not flat on me. The only thing I would add about disc brakes is that their development (especially the mechanical style, not hydraulic) may be the most functional improvement for people commuting and using bikes on a daily basis as the brakes last a long time, are so easy to adjust, are simple to maintain and preserve the wheel. All this said... I come back to how much we love our cyclocross here in Oregon. Tire talk just shows that.
ron
----- Original Message -----
From: Martin Baker
To: Shane Gibson ; OBRA list
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2010 3:17 PM
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] UCI and cyclocross tire sizing
I think there will be a benefit to disc brakes in 'cross but it won't come from increased power. Think about how you use your brakes in cyclocross: you give the lever a quick feather just to bleed off some speed as you approach an obstacle. Contrast that with the full on lever grab in mountain biking as you approach a corner at 3x the speed at which you can negotiate it. There you need the power. In 'cross you don't.
What discs will get you in 'cross is massive amounts of mud clearance. Without canti calipers there to collect all the mud/leaves/corn stalks, the bike will be way faster and lighter in the sticky mud.
mb
On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 2:52 PM, Shane Gibson wrote:
On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 2:41 PM, wrote:
Does anybody really think that there will be any real advantage to racing cx with disc brakes? I don't.
I do. Better brakes means you can stop faster and with much more modulated control of that braking power. It means you can enter into corners with more speed before braking.
When I switched from Linear Pull V-Brakes on my MTB to Disc Brakes, I found I could ride faster with more confidence - because I had better braking control and power. When I switched from a 6" rotor up front to an 8" rotor up front on my MTB - I was more confident on much much much steeper terrain, I knew I had the braking control to handle the conditions. Hence, I rode faster on steeper downhills; I could stop safely when I couldn't with less capable brakes.
I'm not certain that CX will see a significant boost in riding speed due to switching from rim to disc brakes - but I wouldn't be surprised if some riders find they can carry more speed through obstacles due to the increased braking speed and most importantly, modulation/control of that braking power. Maybe some of it's mental - but I *know* a lot of it is hard evidence.
v/r
Shane
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