According to Cycling News, the frame of Ras’s climbing bike weighs in right around 1000grams. That’s not light anymore.
With DA - significantly heavier than Record - he has to use shallow wheels to get down to the weight limit.
Seems like he’s giving away free speed by not riding a rebadged Scott (or similar) with Record, some ZG brakes, and Lightweights or 404s, getting more aero and still sitting right at the weight limit. He certainly wouldn’t be the only one to “bend” his sponsorship terms.
His TT set-up looks even less optimal. Slack STA forces him to sit up, increasing his frontal area. Weird geo probably makes the bike handle like crap, so he’s scared to run a deep wheel in front (I know, he’s 13X pounds too). His TT bike might not be the only problem, but I sure don’t think it’s helping things.
Sure, this is some armchair quarterbacking. But, the guy is in the yellow jersey - shouldn’t everything be perfect?
If Contador beats him by a few seconds, I think there’s certainly a case to be made that his gear was the difference.
Are you serious? For example, Contador (and Lance for that that matter) is also on Dura Ace components. All of the top tour bikes are top shelf with only a few “getting” the aero benefit (CSC for example). However, in the Pyrenees, Rasmussen’s Colnago is a fine piece.
“His TT set-up looks even less optimal. Slack STA forces him to sit up, increasing his frontal area.”
Rasmussen’s not new to this, so I’d be willing to bet his set-up is the way it is for a reason (flexibility in his back, power production, etc) I’m pretty sure he isn’t limited by the bike he chose, since he could easily get lower on the same bike.
At this level, you’ve got to trust that the cyclist is riding what he wants to ride, unless he says otherwise. Riding something very very very slightly more aero with an entirely different component set-up might not actually make a positive difference if the rider is comfortable with what he’s already got. And for what it’s worth, he seems to be going uphill just fine, and finishing just outside the top 10 at a TT in the TDF isn’t too bad either.
I’m pretty sure he isn’t limited by the bike he chose, since he could easily get lower on the same bike.
Except that the Colnago forces him to sit at 75 or 76 degrees max, while CSC et. alt. are 78-80, opening their hip angle and increasing power production. If Ras drops the front end on his TT bike his power will fall way off because he will drastically close his hip angle. His frame is limiting in the sense that it limits the position he can achieve above the cranks.
I don’t think his TT bike was really a Colnago. It looks like a rebadged Giant to me and is definitely not a Colnago C50 Chrono.
Concerning his road bike, it looks to me like he has a conservative setup that just hits the 6.8 KG limit. Given that Record would be too obvious a violation of his sponsorship agreement, he still could have switched to lighter brakes to allow deep-dish rims. However, Shimano brakes have a great reputation and I bet he’s just as worried about making it down the passes in one piece as he is in making it up them.
You also have to ride 100 miles up to the final climb, so the riding characteristics provided by the frame like comfort and fit go a long way— You can’t have 21 different stock sizes in a molded bike like a Scott, Kestrel, or Specialized. Just look at Tom Boonen— His back was aggravated this season by his S-Works frame that did not quite fit him. He switched over to a clunker aluminum custom bike for a few months until Specialized could make a new molded S-Works frame just for him. I imagine Specialized had to fabricate all of the tooling plus the frame. Rasmussen is nowhere near the name of Boonen so I bet he’s much better off with a lugged carbon frame.
In my view his Colnago is the best looking bike in the tour. Ras has style, opting for horizontal top tube instead of sloping. I’d like to think he’d opt for Campy if he had the choice.
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If you honestly think it makes a difference as to what bike those guys ride, at their level, and the top caliber of bikes at that level, then you’re smoking crack. You can substitute any of those bikes for each other and it wouldn’t make a difference. As Lance said, “It’s not about the bike.”
Well, I know Rasmussen spent a lot of time in the wind tunnels after last year getting a fit he was comfortable with. He has said a couple times that if he isn’t comfortable right away, he just feels it, so I’m guessing he has exactly what he wants for a Time Trial bike.
FINALLY someone in this thread who “gets” it! Remember some years ago the Cevelos rebadged?
Chickenlegs is likely not really on a Colnago (geez, I remember back in the day debating between a lightweight C40 TT and my Softride for Lake Placid, and one of my old mates, Mike Hessel, rode a fabulous C40 and I dropped his ass in the mountains – on a training day, and then a few months later during the race – on my Softride).
IF YOU LOOK AT THE TRIATHLETE RAG, I MEAN MAG, TT BIKE PAGES FROM A FEW MONTHS AGO, YOU’LL SEE A HANDFUL OF BIKES WITH THE SAME EXACT FRAME. THEY WERE THE EXACT SAME FRAME BUT MARKETED DIFFERENTLY BY DIFFERENT BRANDS/MARKETING OUTFITS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. Two examples of this are, in the old days, the BP Stealth monocoque which was also marketed as an XLab bike and another brand in other countries. Then, Alexa in Australia marketed the same frame as a “C------” (don’t remember) in Canada.
“I don’t think his TT bike was really a Colnago. It looks like a rebadged Giant to me and is definitely not a Colnago C50 Chrono.”
Going shallow rims could just be preference. I know a guy on T-mobile that always ran shallow shimano tubular wheels because he liked the way they felt.
Yes, that is a Giant TT bike that was designed for Ullrich. His position on it is fine, like someone else said he spent hours optimizing his position in a wind tunnel, if it were more aero (lower back) his power output may be lower than what it is with his current position, just because of comfort.
are you kiding me that you are questioning the LEADER OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE on his and his team’s equipment choice? Do you really think he could possibly be doing better?
i mean seriously - are so you into the bike marketing mumbo-jumbo that you think a 1000g Colnago Frame sucks? wow. if i owned a bike shop in your town i would love to sell you new ultra-light / ultra-fast / ultra-crap products every year…
ha. I think Rabobank and Ernesto know what they are doing.
The Colnago road bike is spectacular. It my not be the best bike, but I don’t think there is one that is better. As far as the TT bike that definitely looks like a Giant. If I missed it, I apoligize in advance, but please tell me agin why The Chicken is not using a deeper front wheel. If the team uses Shimano can’t he use the Dura Ace deep dish or as others had said a re-badged deep dish. The front wheel he is using looks like his mountain/road wheel, not a TT type wheel.
"Compare him and his bike to the guy who won the TT: "
btw, where is Vino now?
maybe the guy who won the TT emptied his tank, giving his all whilst other players, like the current Leader of the Tour de France kept someything in reserve for the following days
vino - winner one day, nowhere the following
ras. - 11 th one day, 2nd the next
so shall we all emulate Vino?
me, I like the fact that Ras has a gumby stem & a moderate position…reminds me of his normality
Have you ever ridden a colnago road bike in serious mountains? I have a beloved c40 and it handles like it is on train tracks. The geometry is perfect ( for me anyways) As for the TT well for one he is not a a colnago and two 5cm is 5cm so smaller guys have to be slacker than taller guys. Oh and that’s right he is in position #…what was it…um…oh…doh…is it first.
