# What do the pros ride for their personal bike?



## widespreadpanic (Aug 1, 2008)

Seeing the thread about Cervelo/CSC spliting, it got me thinking....
It might have been talked about before....

After the pros retire, what bikes do most choose to have for their personal ride?

Obviously they ride whatever the sponsor puts under them during their career.

Is their any brand that dominates this post career arena?


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## Tumbleweed (Jun 6, 2005)

Kawasaki.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

Many of them just keep riding the last bike they were issued. Every once in a while Cyclingnews will cover an "old pro's" exhibition race, and you'll see some rigs from the 80's that must have a million miles on them.

A few, Zabel comes to mind, are for-real bike geeks and will probably always be on the latest hottest high end stuff.

Then you've got guys like Lance, Greg, Vaughters who will ride "their" brand or the brand that their team is riding.


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## fleck (Mar 25, 2005)

They all go and buy a recumbent.

many have old team bikes.
many know industry folk from large to small that would love to see them on their bike
there really isn't an answer to your question.
some might only ride a beach cruiser with the family and not ever touch a race bike again.


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## thebadger (Jul 27, 2002)

Basso was riding around last year on an all black Scapin


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## tete de la tour (Oct 26, 2006)

Also a prince and a Seven when he visited the states. The prince was given to him by a cycling club in Dubai


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## jupiterrn (Sep 22, 2006)

tete de la tour said:


> Also a prince and a Seven when he visited the states. The prince was given to him by a cycling club in Dubai


I need to visit that country if they are giving away sweet rides with every visit.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

jupiterrn said:


> I need to visit that country if they are giving away sweet rides with every visit.


be sure to bring the maglia rosa that you won in the Giro; it's like a coupon.


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## jsedlak (Jun 17, 2008)

Creakyknees said:


> be sure to bring the maglia rosa that you won in the Giro; it's like a coupon.


will a faux yellow jersey work? 'cause if so, i'll buy one!


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## goldsbar (Apr 24, 2002)

My guess, based on absolutely nothing, is that many of them don't ride much after their done. Many view cycling as a way to earn some $'s and the amount of miles they put in will kill the riding urge in all but the most dedicated riders. Totally different riding motivation than your typical 30-50 y/o U.S. rider.


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## 08Madone5.2 (Dec 25, 2007)

jsedlak said:


> will a faux yellow jersey work? 'cause if so, i'll buy one!


See how lucky you are? You don't have to be a retired pro to ride a new Madone!!!


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## serbski (Dec 2, 2002)

Serge Baguet: Team Lotto GT, Max Sciandri: Principia (Rex?). Quite a few guys seem to hang on to a bike that they really dug at some point in their career for whatever reason. The bikes mentioned above were team issue a few years prior to their respective owner's retirement...


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## Sherpa23 (Nov 5, 2001)

goldsbar said:


> My guess, based on absolutely nothing, is that many of them don't ride much after their done. Many view cycling as a way to earn some $'s and the amount of miles they put in will kill the riding urge in all but the most dedicated riders. Totally different riding motivation than your typical 30-50 y/o U.S. rider.


Not far off. After I retired in 2003, I rode maybe 400 miles a year and that was almost exclusively testing bikes for manufacturers. It's only this year, when I decided I missed bike racing, am I truly riding a bike again. If I didn't decide to race again, I would probably have done 400 miles this year.


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## widespreadpanic (Aug 1, 2008)

Sherpa23 said:


> Not far off. After I retired in 2003, I rode maybe 400 miles a year and that was almost exclusively testing bikes for manufacturers. It's only this year, when I decided I missed bike racing, am I truly riding a bike again. If I didn't decide to race again, I would probably have done 400 miles this year.



Sherpa,

So what was under you for those 400 miles?


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## jsedlak (Jun 17, 2008)

08Madone5.2 said:


> See how lucky you are? You don't have to be a retired pro to ride a new Madone!!!


Yeah, but it would sure be nice to have had it given to me by my pro tour team. Or the sultan of Dubai.


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## Sherpa23 (Nov 5, 2001)

widespreadpanic said:


> Sherpa,
> 
> So what was under you for those 400 miles?


It depends. If I was evaluating a bike for a manufacturer or distributor it was whatever they sent me to check out (a lot of smaller brands) or a couple of local bike shops gave me some stuff to give some feedback on when they were deciding on new lines: a lot of Cannondales, Treks, Looks, Cervelos, Times, Giants, Scotts, mostly. If I could be talked into a regular bike ride and it was my own bike, it was usually a couple of old custom Parlees - and I mean old: from 2001, the seventh and eighth ones they made (not counting prototypes) - or if it was going to be over some rough crappy roads, there an old C-40 team issue bike from 2000 that I would ride. Not very stiff but it would soak up the bumps better than just about anything.

I'm a bike guy and I just love bikes from lots of manufacturers. I really appreciate the construction and other qualities that go into making each bike what it is. Consequently, I really like trying out the new stuff. I think that there are a ton of great bike on the market now, some with great reputations that are deserving and some that are somewhat overrated and some highly underrated, in my opinion. That said, other than track bikes, no true high end bike rides so much better than another; they're all great bikes. However, there are certain aspects and ride differences that I have come to appreciate for my particular riding style and as a result, I do have preferences. 

Without a doubt, there are certain bikes that put a smile on my face when I ride them. I don't think what's ideal for me is ideal for much of the non-racing population but I there have been a couple of manufacturers over the years that have incorporated some of my suggestions and feedback into newer models and seen better sales and reviews afterward (not saying that's 100% b/c of my input but I do know that changes I brought up were incorporated into the final iteration).

EDIT: Anyway here's the point: At this point - a second racing career, so to speak - I only ride what I really want to ride. I more less can ride any bike I choose and any equipment I want. So I ride what I like the most and what I feel gives me the best chance to win races. Not to say that I couldn't ride fast on another bike, just that something clicks for me with the bikes I choose to ride.


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

Andy Hampsten rides a .....Hampsten believe it or not, but its really made by Moots.


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## Sherpa23 (Nov 5, 2001)

Mootsie said:


> Andy Hampsten rides a .....Hampsten believe it or not, but its really made by Moots.


As an aside, Andy borrowed my Parlee from me for six months once. It was a little long in the top tube for him but, well, I didn't get it back for 6 months so... 


Consequently, look who now makes their carbon bike.

I rode his Hampsten Moots around the block and that's a great little ride. It's not set up like his old race bikes he said, but he clocks major miles on it.

Incidentally, Andy has never stopped riding tons. I think that he could still do some big races if he ever wanted to.


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## Float (May 27, 2005)

Andy's Z3 is for sale

http://hampsten.blogspot.com/2008/07/yard-sale-z3.html


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## nate (Jun 20, 2004)

Sherpa23 said:


> Not far off. After I retired in 2003, I rode maybe 400 miles a year and that was almost exclusively testing bikes for manufacturers. It's only this year, when I decided I missed bike racing, am I truly riding a bike again. If I didn't decide to race again, I would probably have done 400 miles this year.


Why did you ride so little? Is it because you liked the competition more than the riding, or you were burnt out, or what? I seem to recall that you had a post in another thread about health problems. (Maybe a thread about pollution at the Olympics?)

By the way, I know you've been posting again for a while, but welcome back. I enjoy your posts.


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## Sherpa23 (Nov 5, 2001)

nate said:


> Why did you ride so little? Is it because you liked the competition more than the riding, or you were burnt out, or what? I seem to recall that you had a post in another thread about health problems. (Maybe a thread about pollution at the Olympics?)
> 
> By the way, I know you've been posting again for a while, but welcome back. I enjoy your posts.



It's kind of complicated but here's more or less the story. I basically had some residual health issues that more or less forced me into retiring. At that point, had a couple of start ups that I was growing and some other stuff going on that took a lot of my time. The end result is that every time that I got on a bike it was a constant reminder how crappy I was compared to what I used to be and that in itself was really unenjoyable. I wasn't burned out at all; I just couldn't ride how I wanted to ride. There were times that I would go out for a bike ride and have a great time but it wasn't enough to make me get on my bike more.

What started me thinking about riding a little bit more was this: a very good friend signed up for the Death Ride in 2005 and told me about it 3 months before. He basically didn't ride bikes at that point. He told me he bought a book about training and that he would be okay. I think that he could hear me rolling my eyes over the phone. Anyways, I gave him a daily workout schedule and he went from no riding at all to being in decent shape. I wasn't going to do the ride with him but he talked me into it. I hadn't been on my bike in months at that point and after two rides, I was ready to go (all those 35k km to 40k km years didn't hurt). We did it in about 10 hours and I was waiting for him a lot. The next year, we did it again and I did the same thing for training but I wasn't waiting and we dropped 45 minutes from our time. In 2007, I did the same thing for training but he was waiting for me. That left a really bad taste in my mouth about what crappy shape I was in (I wasn't fat or anything, just slow and weak). The only good thing was that a lot of my old injuries didn't seem to be acting up again.

Then, in the winter time, I decided that basically all of the things that I had put in my life to replace cycling couldn't replace it. So I decided sometime around the end of January that I would start racing again. From the very first ride, even though it was slow, I was really happy to be on my bike again and training. I love racing and pretty much always pull out something better in races than in training, however, being on my bike and training toward something felt really really good to me. Also, I have two little boys and for them to see me do this stuff is a big deal. As they get older, I can preach to them about sports and fitness,etc. all I want but it's another thing to model the behaviour for them. Ultimately though, I'm just glad to be back doing this. 

I work full time and have my hands full with the kids but riding and racing this time around is so enjoyable to me. I am only racing as a cat. 1 (although do have a pro contract offer for 2009) but I don't have to worry about it's being my livelihood. All I concern myself with is getting better and putting in performances that I'm proud of. That in itself gets me a little too worked up sometimes but overall it's made my life a lot better and, honestly, I am pretty happy as a result.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

Thanks for the story Sherpa; my best riding bud is a former cat 1 in the same situation.. but he's grudgingly coming back, just for fun.

Un-related thought re: the OP - did anyone else catch during the Tour that Bernard Hinault had not been on a bike since his retirement and is now taking it up again?


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

After Big Mig retired, he was seen riding a Cannondale that he bought from a LBS.


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

He started riding again last year and has been doing cyclosportives and tearing them up for a guy his age. I've ridden in one with him and he is not phenomenal but does have a real competitive streak! Give him one more year and 8 kilos less and he will be a real contender for his age category. I know his training partner in Dinan and he tells me that a comeback of sorts is in the cards. He rides a Hinault-badged Cyfac (Taiwanese?) carbon bike - his complaint is that at 7.2 kilos, the bike is over a half-kilo heavier than his last "contract" bike back in the 80's.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

bigbill said:


> After Big Mig retired, he was seen riding a Cannondale that he bought from a LBS.


 The story that was going around was that he went to the store and asked for something of the same quality that he would've raced on and couldn't believe that they were THAT expensive. He's like a lot of pros, his bike was just a desk to work from, lots of pros don't know a thing about what's in their bikes. As long as it's light, reliable and fits properly they couldn't care less. lol


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

davidka said:


> The story that was going around was that he went to the store and asked for something of the same quality that he would've raced on and couldn't believe that they were THAT expensive. He's like a lot of pros, his bike was just a desk to work from, lots of pros don't know a thing about what's in their bikes. As long as it's light, reliable and fits properly they couldn't care less. lol


An attitude that would benefit many a weekend warrior and amateur racer...


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## lalahsghost (Aug 27, 2007)

Ivan Basso rides a Raleigh One Way


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## baker921 (Jul 20, 2007)

philippec said:


> He rides a Hinault-badged Cyfac (Taiwanese?) carbon bike


Cyfac are all French made boutique frame builder. Total output approx 1500pa.


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