jond
Zen MBB Master
So this weekend I took the V20 up hwy 39 in sothern California aka Azuza canyon and failed to take the KOM going DH , can you imagine my disappointment to only finish 2nd?The funny thing was I ran the strava live segment feature on my garmin so it gives me in real-time how far ahead or behind I am, so if I'm a few seconds behind I can work on closing in a single second at a time over the whole DH. I was behind about 10 seconds after the first 2 miles of poor road surface but then the next 6 miles of smooth road I continued to loose 1 second per mile through all the continuous sweeping corners some of which is because the road is still new to me. The surprising part was in the last 5 miles you only have to touch the brakes a few times so even though there are corners the speed of the V20 should be in full effect, but to my surprise, I could only pull back 5 seconds over the final 5 miles finishing 11 seconds behind. What kind of rider and setup gets you going DH in a pure speed situation as fast as me on the V20? If the rider was in the super tuck position I could understand those speeds but that would be impossible through all the corners which may not require brakes but you'd have to be much crazier than me to stay in the super tuck on a DF through them.
So then the following day I did the same ride on the V20 but this time with 4 other friends all on DF bikes. 3 of them who are about as close to my DF ability as you can get just walked away from me on the big climbs, it was rather humbling because I haven't been outclimbed that bad since the white mountain double century back in 2016. The one rider who couldn't keep pace with the other 3 or myself probably weighs 25-30lbs more than me which is important to note. So on the DH everyone starts out casual semi tucked and after everyone gets up to speed I go coasting passed them and continue to pull away at a rapid pace through the corners, what you'd expect right?. I waited to regroup halfway down the mountain and this time Simon the heavier rider got into a very tight tuck but not a super tuck, he still had his ass on his seat. I matched my speed to his and with us side by side for over two miles going around 45mph I couldn't pass or pull away, in fact he was pulling ahead a single inch at a time. If he had gone full aero tuck he would have started pulling away for sure so that raises some questions.
How aero are we and does 30 lbs negate that DH advantage?
Am I too fit and lightweight to truly consider myself a DH specialist?
Do I need to eat more donuts and Uber myself to the tops of these climbs to avoid potential weight loss?
I feel like I may have been on the wrong path this whole time
Dear rojo lightweight lol.
Yes mate go get a fat donut arse for sure. Or fill up water bladders at the top. Maybe design a sweat reclaimer to fill your lightweight void .
Imagine carrying that extra 30 lbs. up the mountain though. Bradley wiggins knew what to do with a couple of tape worms up his backside.
And whilst your lardass mate was tucking and viewing tarmac you were relaxed breathing easy with a view as a downhill specialist.
Next hill he would not be there at all.
Rojo got fat and purchased a Harley. Lol.
Not going to happen.
Rojo You are the up hill down hill flatland v20 nutcase special donut powered fruit loaf champion.
Thursday rolling around. Gcn tech show have you heard anything from Ollie and Jon?
