# Would you race on an entry level bike?



## BostonG (Apr 13, 2010)

Would you do a cat5 crit on a Sora equipped aluminum bike with a triple? No hills, just a loop with rolling terrain so I wouldn’t use the little ring. Entire race is about 30 miles. Oh, the geometry is relaxed – it’s not an aggressive race bike. Giant Defy3. Moves OK but those tight corners are ify. 

Would you? Have you?


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## pretender (Sep 18, 2007)

Yes and yes.


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## Poncharelli (May 7, 2006)

You can only use an entry level bike, if you're absolutely certain you can beat the guys with $5000 bikes and carbon tubulars. 

That would be so awesome.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

I know a guy that won several cat 5 crits on a Sora equipped aluminum bike with a triple.


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## brianmcg (Oct 12, 2002)

Never. You are gonna be dropped in the first 100 feet. Then everyone is going to be pointing and laughing at your bike. Someone is going to give you the nickname Sora and post a picture of you on fail.com. 

JK. Sure why not. Everyone else in 5 is on the same thing.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Do it. It'll turn fine. The only minor caveat is Sora's dificulty in shifting from the drops, but you're probably comfortable riding on the hoods most of the time. Practice getting aero and sprinting hard to catch back on after many turns.


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## Derf (Jul 1, 2003)

I would. A friend of mine raced crits for years on his. He did not want to lay down his Cervelo.


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## speed metal (Feb 8, 2007)

my first road race (Cat5) I rode a 2003 Specialized Allez Sport it had a triple. At the time I didn't know I was riding inferior equipment. Heck! I paid 800 + dollars for it.:lol:


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## jpdigital (Dec 1, 2006)

A few weeks ago I was at a race with the CAT 4's & 5's grouped together (in hindsight grouping them together wasn't a good idea _at all_). Someone thought it a good idea to come to an abrupt halt _right after the finish line_, thus causing a moderate pile-up. Somewhere in the mix was a guy with a Di2 equipped Serotta with Zipp 404 firecrest wheels (why he thought riding that bike in a race w/ CAT 5's is anyone's guess ) that didn't come out of the pile-up looking the same way it went in ; somehow is his DA chainring was bent almost in half, not to mention all the other scuffs, scrapes & whatever other damage he noticed once he got home. I'm sure he wished he would've rode his Sora equipped aluminum bike with a triple that day...


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Don't be a *****. Race what you have.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Only race what you're prepared to have to replace in the event of a crash.


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## vontress (Jul 19, 2009)

In my buddies cat 5 race, a couple of weeks ago, he saw a brand new Ridley Noah w/SRAM red laid down and damaged badly. Until then he wanted to get a more expensive race bike. Now he is happy on his cheaper bike.


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## jwcurry83 (Jun 21, 2010)

All I have is a Sora equipped aluminum bike with a triple (2008 Scott Speedster S60)... and it has worked just fine for me in the 2 road races, and 2 sprint triathlons that I have competed in. No I did not win any of the races, but that had little to do with my bike, and a lot to do with my lack of experience racing, and lack of hours on the bike overall. I have been riding it 3 seasons now; the first year my averages hovered around 18mph flats / 15-16mph hills... my second year I saw little improvement, riding at least part of my rides at 20mph (still averages were around 18mph for most rides)... then came this year! This year I have paid close attention to my nutrition, I have planned my training rides with specific goals in mind (ie hill repeats & intervals), and I have put in nearly 5x the miles I had the past two seasons. The result has been a HUGE increase in performance... my average sits between 19-22mph depending on how flat it is, and I can now power up most rollers without losing much speed at all. 

Sure I think a lighter bike with a better wheelset would benefit me (my speedster is 22+lbs!), but for the mean time I will concentrate on improving my motor while I wait for the cash to land in my lap


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## rockdude (Apr 3, 2008)

its not about the bike my friend


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## takl23 (Jul 22, 2007)

Extra bonus points if you do it on a Huffy.


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## KipDRunner (Mar 13, 2008)

I did a Cat 5 race last weekend (it was 4/5 but there was also a cat 4 race so theoretically this was only 5s) and a full third of the field had deep carbon wheels that cost more than my bike. I was a little surprised to say the least hahaha.


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## Doctor Who (Feb 22, 2005)

I've won and podiumed in races while riding an old 2003 Specialized Allez Elite with 105 and a triple crank. In fact, the triple helped me in some of the super-climby races -- in one race with a long and nasty 15-18 percent grade hill, I swallowed my pride, dumped to the granny gear and spun up while most everyone struggled in their 39x25. I got to the top and made the break and came in 2nd. 

So yeah, race what you got.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

For sure...no question about it. The bike makes a fractional difference, the legs make "ALL" the difference.

Heck...I'd race a beach cruiser if I had to


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## RJohn (Mar 24, 2009)

I can come in last on anything from a mega buck dream bike to a wally world bike. Ride what you got.


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## FBinNY (Jan 24, 2009)

BostonG said:


> Would you do a cat5 crit on a Sora equipped aluminum bike with a triple? ....
> 
> Would you? Have you?


Absolutely, as long as it had a decent engine. I'm not saying that it might not be a bit of a handicap, but you have to start someplace.

For my part, I'd rather do OK on a piece of crap, than crap out on a high end expensive machine.  Here's a nice read about someone who raced riding a bike that was much less up to snuff than yours.

It isn't about bikes, it's about the engines.


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## DoggerDan (Aug 21, 2011)

I did a timed trial on my CUBE ROAD. I was told it wasn't a race bike, so no matter how I did I wouldn't be allowed to race it. My time was in the middle of the pack.


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## Akez (Aug 13, 2011)

I won dozens of local crits and road races on my allez with sora. Its the engine not the bike.


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## dcl10 (Jul 2, 2010)

I won races on a steel mountain bike frame I converted to a road bike, and did a pro1/2 race last year where someone raced on an actual mountain bike . He didn't win, but did finish. As for the geometry, the Defy is a neutral handling bike so it does not oversteer like a more aggressive setup, you basically just have to give it more input, but it will corner just the same. If you're doing a crit and go into a corner tight enough that the turning radius of the bike is a factor, you're going down anyway so I wouldn't worry abut it. Tire grip is the limiting factor there, not geometry, and your tires don't care what the geo. of your bike is.


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## MattSoutherden (Jun 24, 2009)

Best thing to be riding IMHO. 

When the 50lbs overweight MAMIL clips a pedal and sends the bunch down, you won't be in tears that you trashed your di2 shifters like the rest of 'em.


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## BostonG (Apr 13, 2010)

Thanks y'all. All this talk about laying the bike down...geez. I know mine is not an expensive bike but I would still hate to smash it up (but would be a good excuse to upgrade!). If it does happen though, my next post will be "Would you race on your 1985 steel commuter with downtube friction shifters?”


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## edwin headwind (Aug 23, 2004)

True Story: A couple of weeks ago I flew back east for 10 days with my wife & kids for a vacation/ family reunion . While there, I seen an advertisement for a local 35 mile road race. Unfortunately I didn't have any bike to ride & the local shops didn't "do" rentals. So my wife says; "Why don't you buy one at WalMart & return it after the race?"...............
Anyway, I went to the local WalMart & picked out their finest road bike, a $499.00 off brand 53cm (I ride a 61cm), & entered the race the following morning. The bike was so small for that even though I maxed out the seatpost it looked like I was riding a kid's bike. Toeclips & all.
Anyway, even though it was pouring rain & the seatpost started slipping into the frame, I finished 3rd place in my age group! So...............Yes , you can race on an entry level bike!:thumbsup:

Oh yeah, I returned the bike after the race to WalMart customer service & told them that after riding it for awhile, I determined it was too small for me.


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## FBinNY (Jan 24, 2009)

edwin headwind said:


> True Story: A couple of weeks ago I flew back east for 10 days with my wife & kids for a vacation/ family reunion . While there, I seen an advertisement for a local 35 mile road race. Unfortunately I didn't have any bike to ride & the local shops didn't "do" rentals. So my wife says; "Why don't you buy one at WalMart & return it after the race?"...............
> Anyway, I went to the local WalMart & picked out their finest road bike, a $499.00 off brand 53cm (I ride a 61cm), & entered the race the following morning. The bike was so small for that even though I maxed out the seatpost it looked like I was riding a kid's bike. Toeclips & all.
> Anyway, even though it was pouring rain & the seatpost started slipping into the frame, I finished 3rd place in my age group! So...............Yes , you can race on an entry level bike!:thumbsup:
> 
> Oh yeah, I returned the bike after the race to WalMart customer service & told them that after riding it for awhile, I determined it was too small for me.


I don't know what to say. 

Let me get this straight, you set out to defraud Walmart and "borrow" one of their bikes for a joyride and abuse it, knowing full well that you weren't at all interested in buying it. And you're proud enough of this to advertise it on the forum.?

Question, do you work for free? and am I welcome to "borrow" any of your stuff anytime I feel like it? maybe your car? Please let us know where it's parked, and put the keys under the mat.


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## Matt1986 (Mar 19, 2010)

FBinNY said:


> I don't know what to say.
> 
> Let me get this straight, you set out to defraud Walmart and "borrow" one of their bikes for a joyride and abuse it, knowing full well that you weren't at all interested in buying it. And you're proud enough of this to advertise it on the forum.?
> 
> Question, do you work for free? and am I welcome to "borrow" any of your stuff anytime I feel like it? maybe your car? Please let us know where it's parked, and put the keys under the mat.


Pfffft! Don't be so uptight, I hardly think the Walmart corporation is shedding tears over this one. Their employees (i.e. the only people you should have any concern for in their corporate structure) certainly aren't loosing out. But if you really feel the need to grieve on behalf of a monolithic corporate entity, knock yourself out.

Great story, quite an effort to pull 3rd place :thumbsup:


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## FBinNY (Jan 24, 2009)

Matt1986 said:


> Pfffft! Don't be so uptight, I hardly think the Walmart corporation is shedding tears over this one. Their employees (i.e. the only people you should have any concern for in their corporate structure) certainly aren't loosing out. But if you really feel the need to grieve on behalf of a monolithic corporate entity, knock yourself out.
> 
> Great story, quite an effort to pull 3rd place :thumbsup:


Great, so it's OK to steal (because this is a clear case of theft) from a big corporation, if no individual suffers immediately? It isn't whether Walmart can afford it, or even knows it was victimized, it's about the principle of not taking what isn't yours.

I guess by your logic, turnstyle jumping on the NYC subway is OK, because the MTA can afford it and the train is running anyway. What's next? Shoplifting form Sears? Taking for ones use and abuse anything that isn't securely locked down. How about if he borrowed your bike, abused it and gave it back? I know where I draw the line, where do you?

I may be uptight, but to me theft is theft, and a thief is a thief. Maybe I'm just too old fashioned (might have to do with still riding square taper BBs)

Actually what bothers me isn't the theft per se, but that an adult and his wife, both raising a family, think this is OK, and what's worse he's proud enough of his thievery to boast about it on a forum.

I'm thoroughly disgusted by his behavior, and equally by your rationalization.


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## edwin headwind (Aug 23, 2004)

FBinNY said:


> Great, so it's OK to steal (because this is a clear case of theft) from a big corporation, if no individual suffers immediately? It isn't whether Walmart can afford it, or even knows it was victimized, it's about the principle of not taking what isn't yours.
> 
> I guess by your logic, turnstyle jumping on the NYC subway is OK, because the MTA can afford it and the train is running anyway. What's next? Shoplifting form Sears? Taking for ones use and abuse anything that isn't securely locked down. How about if he borrowed your bike, abused it and gave it back? I know where I draw the line, where do you?
> 
> ...


You are right, however, if I had it to do over, I would have donated it to one of the 12 year old children living in Malaysia to ride it to their job in the sweat shop earning 35cents a day making clothes for WalMart:thumbsup:


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## Cableguy (Jun 6, 2010)

edwin headwind said:


> You are right, however, if I had it to do over, I would have donated it to one of the 12 year old children living in Malaysia to ride it to their job in the sweat shop earning 35cents a day making clothes for WalMart:thumbsup:


Oh NO you did-unt! *shakes finger*

:thumbsup:


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## WaynefromOrlando (Mar 3, 2010)

edwin headwind said:


> You are right, however, if I had it to do over, I would have donated it to one of the 12 year old children living in Malaysia to ride it to their job in the sweat shop earning 35cents a day making clothes for WalMart:thumbsup:


Might be a righteous dis if WalMart was the only one doing that, but nearly every clothing company in the US is doing exactly the same thing so its a fail in my book. And, if you looked it up, Malaysia is doing better on the education and child welfare front than many places in the US are today. Been there and seen it with my own eyes on both sides of the Pacific.

If you want to talk about China (mainland, not Taiwan), well, that's a whole 'nuther story.


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## Rhymenocerus (Jul 17, 2010)

Strong legs dont care what bike they are on.


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## FatGut1 (Dec 16, 2008)

Great advice from all. My teammate won the road stage in the most prestigious road race this year with Tiagra.

All I would say if the geometry is relaxed flip your stem and make it a little racier.


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## waldo425 (Sep 22, 2008)

Yes I have - and won. It isn't the bike. If I had to do it again I would race on an entry level bike again.


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## tindrum (Mar 5, 2008)

the only thing that i felt ever "held me back" on my inexpensive road bike was that handling at high speed, mostly descending, was really poor, which led to alot of nervousness and trying to scrub off speed, which led to crashing a few times. this was more a symptom of the geometry being "relaxed" and the bike just not built for 40 mph downhills.... in your case, rolling hills, relatively flat course... should be fine! good luck!


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