On May 10, 2011, at 11:39 PM, canali wrote: > to make 26" rim'd atlantis fast randonneur: suggestions? > (thinking of buying a lighter pair of wheels for those faster riding > century/club days.)
Contrary to the high-zoot hi-tech hi-dollar proclivities of most racer/racer wanabees, the biggest gains in speed can be gotten cheap. 1. Aerodynamics. Adjusting your bike costs little or nothing. Drop your bars to reduce wind resistance. Even an inch makes a big difference. You may need to compensate by moving your saddle slightly forward, but maybe not. 2. Buy tires that roll fast. I like the Panaracer Pasela 26 x 1.25 the best. Thick rubber and lots of tread slows you down. 3. Don't worry about weight so much unless you live somewhere with lots of climbing. And even then most of us can lose more weight off ourselves than is feasible to get off the bike. 4. Train for speed. Lots of randonneurs just train for distance, but speed training is important for brevets- to make sure you've got plenty of time in hand in case something happens to hold you up or if you have an interest in "setting a time"- and will improve your endurance significantly. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
