# Does watching the tour



## marknelson (Oct 18, 2007)

make you lust for a new bike?

I've been wanting one for months and the Team Sky black/green Pinarello isn't helping.


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## RichieRichRK (Apr 15, 2010)

Oh yes it does!! So many nice bikes in this years tour! I would LOVE a leopard madone....They are just very clean bikes!


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## godot (Feb 3, 2004)

Nope.


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## Opus51569 (Jul 21, 2009)

Not for me. But it does motivate me to go out and ride.


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## ocean-ro (Nov 23, 2009)

Last year`s Tour brought me a new bike,so I`ll pass this year
But,yes,I enjoy watching all this beautiful machines


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## farm (Jul 10, 2008)

It mostly makes me think about how amazing these people are.

And how fat I am.


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## eltourista84 (Apr 9, 2006)

Makes me wish I could sustain 30+ mph for any amount of time!


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## Magsdad (Jun 29, 2005)

Yes. One with round tubes, a horizontal top tube, lugs, and good paint/chrome.


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

The tour motivates me to ride even more (if that is actually possible)...
Also makes me want more toys but I already have a new bike so I'm good for this year. LoL


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Nope.

Already have a custom Ti bike. Plastic carbon wunder-biks do nada for me.


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## MattSoutherden (Jun 24, 2009)

Must. Not. Buy. Bike.

Will. Result. In. Divorce.



:idea:

Hmmm. I wonder if I could sneek some new hoops. :devil:


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## krott5333 (Oct 2, 2009)

Opus51569 said:


> Not for me. But it does motivate me to go out and ride.


this. 

And watching helps me become a better ride, its very motivational and I learn good form through observation. :thumbsup:


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Nope. Already got some bikes fairly close in quality to what they're using. I just lack the ability.


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## cdhbrad (Feb 18, 2003)

Wiggins threw his Dogma in the ditch yesterday while doing a bike change.....would you do that with a 10K bike? Saw Contador do the same thing later. You would think they could just hold it by the saddle until a Mechanic could roll out a fresh ride for them.


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## Allez Rouge (Jan 1, 1970)

The main thing watching the Tour does is give me an almost uncontrollable urge to toss my water bottle into the weeds, rather than putting it back in its cage. 

I'm a bit of a retrogrouch, and always have a Yes-I-Like-That/Oh-Wait-No-I-Don't reaction to today's sculpted carbon fiber bikes. I don't completely dislike them, and frequently find myself thinking I ought to buy one; but then I wonder what I would gain. That said, I must say I really like the looks of the Lapierre that FDJ is riding, and the Merckx EMX-7 that are under the Quick Step boys, too ...


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## ohvrolla (Aug 2, 2009)

Makes me wonder why people complain about the thumb button on Sora shifters so much when 90% of the peloton is riding on the hoods.


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## bkwitche (Jun 4, 2011)

cdhbrad said:


> Wiggins threw his Dogma in the ditch yesterday while doing a bike change.....would you do that with a 10K bike? Saw Contador do the same thing later. You would think they could just hold it by the saddle until a Mechanic could roll out a fresh ride for them.


When Conti threw his bike in the ditch the announcer said,"That'll be a nice souvenir for some one.

Makes me wonder if you just happened to be in a spot where a crash occurred, could you actually scoop up a bike discarded in such a manner.

I'm sure it would be a bit damaged, but probably just a bit. Worth buy a new derailler or what ever to pick up a free ride of that quality.


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Over the past few months I have restored a 1970's Bottecchia and bought a new 6.5 Madone. Bike lust is well under control for a while. I think this may be the first tour I ever watched and not lusted over the bikes. ( Di2 would be nice though )


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## saf-t (Sep 24, 2008)

New bike, nope.

New legs? Absolutely!!!!!


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

cdhbrad said:


> Wiggins threw his Dogma in the ditch yesterday while doing a bike change.....would you do that with a 10K bike? Saw Contador do the same thing later. You would think they could just hold it by the saddle until a Mechanic could roll out a fresh ride for them.


That's because their bikes are nothing but tools for them to use...when one breaks, they throw it away. The cost of the bikes are meaningless to these guys because they don't pay a dime for them...to you or I they are approaching priceless.

When they retire and have to pay for their own equipment...assuming they continue to ride...they will treat their equipment differently...until then...nothing but tools to be thrown away when they break or are finished with them.


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## digby (Jul 23, 2004)

i watched the mechanic give contador a extra hard push that contador almost wasnt ready for - i wonder if it pisses the mechanics off when they see a rider throw a bike in the ditch.


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## krott5333 (Oct 2, 2009)

cdhbrad said:


> Wiggins threw his Dogma in the ditch yesterday while doing a bike change.....would you do that with a 10K bike? Saw Contador do the same thing later. You would think they could just hold it by the saddle until a Mechanic could roll out a fresh ride for them.


spoiled brats, pffft


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## cdhbrad (Feb 18, 2003)

I think Wiggins and Contador had both crashed and broken something on their primary bikes....sure not the Mechanic's fault. Probably does make the wrenches a little mad when they see how their work is regarded. Even if it is a "tool", that primary bike is probably set up a little differently than the replacement on the team car and was likely able to be easily fixed last night. I know I have my favorite hammer and don't treat it as badly as both of them did to their main rides.


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## Brad the Bold (Jun 8, 2010)

Opus51569 said:


> Not for me. But it does motivate me to go out and ride.


Absolutely this. In fact last night I signed up for a ridiculous local ride this Saturday on whim, after getting amped up from watching stage 5.

http://www.vikingbikingclub.com/insane-terrain/course.htm


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## allison (Apr 19, 2006)

Opus51569 said:


> Not for me. But it does motivate me to go out and ride.


This


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## jlp1976 (Jun 28, 2011)

The Tour is the reason I bought a bike in the first place. I just happened to turn it on a few years ago and I was instantly hooked. I was able to buy a bike finally recently but didn't do my homework. I went for something I could afford (not much) and now I am paying for it, literally. A lot of cheap, broke parts. But I still keep watching the tour.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

I'm with most of the respondents here: makes me want to ride more, and better, and harder. But new-bike lust is a demon I banished long ago. My 15-year-old deBernardi may be the last road bike I'll need (I have a couple of FG conversions, too, built on garage-sale frames. Those are fun.). I can content my gear-head impulses with upgrades when parts wear out or get damaged.

Ohvrolla, they may be on the hoods most of the time, but not always. And when somebody's cranking it up for the sprint, or pushing a breakaway into a headwind, the ability to shift in the drops is worth a lot. Even for a recreational cyclist like me (in the drops probably 20% of the time), that limitation of Sora is a genuine nuisance.


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## godot (Feb 3, 2004)

jlp1976 said:


> The Tour is the reason I bought a bike in the first place. I just happened to turn it on a few years ago and I was instantly hooked. I was able to buy a bike finally recently but didn't do my homework. I went for something I could afford (not much) and now I am paying for it, literally. A lot of cheap, broke parts. But I still keep watching the tour.


You should go to the Tour this year and grab one of the bikes that the pro's so casually discard on the side of the road, at worst you'll come home with a nice collection of water bottles.


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

I'm pretty much always lusting for a new bike, year long, so the Tour doesn't change much.


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## tystevens (Jul 10, 2008)

Already wanted a new bike, but yeah.

But mostly, it has me commenting on my morning commute in a British accent. "A massive acceleration away from that light...,"


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## krott5333 (Oct 2, 2009)

Brad the Bold said:


> Absolutely this. In fact last night I signed up for a ridiculous local ride this Saturday on whim, after getting amped up from watching stage 5.
> 
> http://www.vikingbikingclub.com/insane-terrain/course.htm


its followed by burgers, beer, and chocolate milk. Sounds worth it to me :thumbsup:


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## marknelson (Oct 18, 2007)

farm said:


> It mostly makes me think about how amazing these people are.
> 
> And how fat I am.


I know that feeling.


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## Brad the Bold (Jun 8, 2010)

krott5333 said:


> its followed by burgers, beer, and chocolate milk. Sounds worth it to me :thumbsup:


I think all group rides in Wisconsin are followed by beer, state law.

Add cheese to that burger and you have a Wisconsin trifecta!


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## Sylint (Jul 27, 2009)

It just has me reaching into my suitcase of courage when I find myself in a spot of bother.


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## RkFast (Dec 11, 2004)

Nope....3 of the best teams have the same bike I do [brand new Spesh S-Works]

Yes, Im bragging....this will probably be the only time in my pathetic life I can make this claim.


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## Bertrand (Feb 1, 2005)

I look at those bikes, and think that it would be cool to have a new Cervelo or Lapierre or something, then I climb on my beloved Marinoni Piuma, and it disappears under me, and those thoughts completely fly out of my head.


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## jarbiker (Sep 29, 2009)

No, cause it isn't about the bike.


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## marknelson (Oct 18, 2007)

MattSoutherden said:


> Must. Not. Buy. Bike.
> 
> Will. Result. In. Divorce.
> 
> ...


[email protected], now I'm thinking Dura Ace 7900 C50s.


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## KenS (Jan 28, 2004)

Like many others, watching the tour makes me want to ride more. I just want to have the time to be able to ride 6 hours per day. 

(And the physiology to ride 6 hours at 45+ KPH on a rolling stage.)


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

Absolutely. My girlfriend has never had an interest in joining me in my cycling habit and has made the occasional joke about me watching the tour. She sat down and watched the end of a stage with me in this tour and has watched everyone since then. She's been very inquisitive about the rules and I could tell that she was enjoying it a lot more than she was letting on. Today....... she bought a bike.


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## 8toes (Feb 28, 2010)

Opus51569 said:


> Not for me. But it does motivate me to go out and ride.


This....but a little bit of a yes to the original question as well....if I must be honest


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## jacman (Jun 27, 2010)

farm said:


> It mostly makes me think about how amazing these people are.
> 
> And how fat I am.


wurd. 

to answer the question, nope. i ain't a crabon guy.


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## Oracle7775 (Sep 16, 2009)

Last year, when I was riding my entry-level aluminum frame, absolutely.

This year? Not so much. But, I would say that the bikes are one of the reasons why I watch the whole stage instead of just the last 30 km. What can I say, I'm a sucker for bike-pr0n!


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## ilmaestro (May 3, 2008)

It did at first a few years ago. Then you realize that wanting a new bike after watching the tour would be a perpetual thing (those guys always have the latest/greatest), it kinda goes away.


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