Have your read the lastest article regarding PRO bikes at IM OZ?
http://xtri.com/article.asp?id=1422&offset=1
There is this the fine comment regarding Chris Legh’s Lucero…
"Chris ran the same Zipp 909 disc and 808 front wheel as Mitch Anderson, BUT (my caps) could run his rear disc within millimetres of his seat tube thanks to rearward facing dropouts (another fantastic feature of this bike). "
Umm… Mitch Anderson was riding a P3SL! Doh!
Hello, Actually the article is full of innaccuracies, but what do you expect from someone wandering around looking. I don’t think it was really meant to be a definative review of tri bike features.
It did bring up one thing that I have wondered about. Back when aerobikes first became popular I always heard that you didn’t want the rear tire too close to the cut out. Too close and air would get dragged in by the spinning wheel and create friction due to having no easy way out. Not the fashion is to put the rear as close as possible without rubbing.
Styrrell
Have you ever looked at the paint in the rear cutout after you ran the tire really close on dirty or wet roads?
You need a repaint every couple of 100 miles. Not to speak from the friction generated not by air, but by small debris caught between that small space.
I am not a fan of running tires close to the cutout—just for practical reasons.
Have you ever looked at the paint in the rear cutout after you ran the tire really close on dirty or wet roads?
You need a repaint every couple of 100 miles. Not to speak from the friction generated not by air, but by small debris caught between that small space.
I am not a fan of running tires close to the cutout—just for practical reasons.
Yes.
What bike are you referring to?
My 2 year old P3 has had no problems with paint damage in the rear cut out. I run the tire really close.
Same here. Zero problems. Zero.
It depends a bit. The rear of the P3 cutout is concave, so even though it appears close (to the viewer and to the airflow that comes around the seattube) there is actually quite a bit of space between the tire and the tube so the shear friction is low. On other cutouts this is not the case.
My favorite from the article is the “powdercoated anodizing” of the frame.
Maybe the tire was rubbing?..never had a problem with my P2 or P2K…
I’ve ridden a P2k for five years and the rear cut out is down to what I assume is the primer. Most of the erosion was caused by fresh road tar dragging debri into the gap.
I am not a fan of running tires close to the cutout—just for practical reasons.
I agree, unfortunately some people misunderstand the purpose of the horizontal dropouts. They are not meant to allow the wheel to be positioned as close as possible, they’re meant to put them at a sensible distance regardless of tire size. And sensible depends on the road conditions too. If Basso rides a time trial in the Tour, you can bet that the roads are very clean. If I’m on a training ride, there’s a lot of dirt on the roads and I need more space.
“My favorite from the article is the “powdercoated anodizing” of the frame”
Yeah, that’s nice.
. . . maybe just a little too close on his Giant?
T
I know a few other people with that problem on Giants. They had to get tires w/ a smaller vertical section in order to not rub the frame.