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Making your bike raceready
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Hi,

First race of the season is next week, so preparations are in full swing. In the process i ordered a new BB, chain, jockeywheels and casette.

However, i know that a lot has been said about the chain and bottom bracket needing some time to 'settle in'. Would it be unwise to race with new gear?

I'm coming off a huge trainingcamp (36h of training last week) and am not putting in to many miles anymore leading up to the race to get the body rested. So im not sure the new stuff will get the time to settle in.

Any advice to settle those pre-race doubts floating around in my mind?
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Re: Making your bike raceready [Fusion] [ In reply to ]
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I'm not sure about the "settling in" aspect, but I definitely wouldn't put my bike through any major component swaps so close to race day unless you are an expert mechanic and/or you wholly trust you mechanic. Say something is "loose" post install, it's going to take a couple rides to become apparent, and you don't want it to materialize during the race. I wouldn't mess with cables, cranks, derailleurs this close to a race. If you want to change tires, or wheels, or even grip tape, do it now so you can make sure to get at least 1 ride in before race day. I also do a deep clean of my drivetrain and double check the adjustment of my brakes and pad wear.

Good luck.
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Re: Making your bike raceready [Consultri] [ In reply to ]
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It's generally not advised to try new stuff on race day. I'd certainly like to have 50 -100 miles in a new drive train before feeling confident on a big race. Get it all working in advance and then leave it alone.

In a relatively small set of race experiences i've seen the following:
A guy walking his bike back to transition with only 1 crank.
A guy on the bike course walking around looking for the nuts that hold the chain ring on, his had all fallen off.
A guy whose rear QR bolt had fallen off..

And i've ridden past a lot of people with creaking gears and chains that need lube. Come to think of it I've even spent several miles buggering about with my own Di2 alignment while riding along...
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Re: Making your bike raceready [RCCo] [ In reply to ]
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RCCo wrote:
It's generally not advised to try new stuff on race day. I'd certainly like to have 50 -100 miles in a new drive train before feeling confident on a big race. Get it all working in advance and then leave it alone.

In a relatively small set of race experiences i've seen the following:
A guy walking his bike back to transition with only 1 crank.
A guy on the bike course walking around looking for the nuts that hold the chain ring on, his had all fallen off.
A guy whose rear QR bolt had fallen off..

And i've ridden past a lot of people with creaking gears and chains that need lube. Come to think of it I've even spent several miles buggering about with my own Di2 alignment while riding along...

Yeah, got my bike back from the LBS middle of last week after a basic tune up and some position adjustments. Rode about 30 minutes total just to get acclimated.

Raced yesterday, hit a bump, and the seat angle dropped to about 45 degrees. I did the entire bike fighting sliding down the seat or standing. I assumed when I got home I'd see something cracked or broken on the seat. Nope. Just a loose seat bolt.
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