KOM Thieves :)

[Frito Bandito]

Well, the Summer winds have begun and today's ride up the river was a doozy. I stole a KOM from the fastest rider of the triathlon trio who use a paceline and got "Was that on the recumbent?" comment from him. Maybe it is just me, but that could be "Yeah, but you got it on a recumbent." lol

Anyway, just in case, I told him that so many of us recumbent riders asked Strava for our own category, but all Strava did was create 1 for velomobiles, and in short, making a recumbent category would eventually lead to separating all the classes of DF bikes, those who use disc wheels, triathlon/TT bikes, those who shave or use internal cables, and was sure to add in "those who paceline" in the middle though Haha.

I softened it up with a comment about how the young bucks with +300w would have been doing 60kph under those windy conditions as the norm instead of my 250w just touching it for a few seconds. I know how he feels though. Losing a KOM sucks and hopefully it makes him angry enough to go out there to take it back so I have another 1 to shoot for.

 

[chicorider]

Well, the Summer winds have begun and today's ride up the river was a doozy. I stole a KOM from the fastest rider of the triathlon trio who use a paceline and got "Was that on the recumbent?" comment from him. Maybe it is just me, but that could be "Yeah, but you got it on a recumbent." lol

Anyway, just in case, I told him that so many of us recumbent riders asked Strava for our own category, but all Strava did was create 1 for velomobiles, and in short, making a recumbent category would eventually lead to separating all the classes of DF bikes, those who use disc wheels, triathlon/TT bikes, those who shave or use internal cables, and was sure to add in "those who paceline" in the middle though Haha.

I softened it up with a comment about how the young bucks with +300w would have been doing 60kph under those windy conditions as the norm instead of my 250w just touching it for a few seconds. I know how he feels though. Losing a KOM sucks and hopefully it makes him angry enough to go out there to take it back so I have another 1 to shoot for.

Or, he could ride a recumbent too. I know that there is an ego thing happening here ("recumbents are for old people with bad backs"), but man, put some of these younger riders who are already monsters on DF bikes on V20's and they would kill it! The only obstacles are the cost of the bike and ingrained perceptions.

 

[Frito Bandito]

Nah, I know JP. He's cool. I actually think I met him on the day he got the KOM on his Shiv. He mentioned he was trying to get it from Fred "Top Gunna" and was having another go at it after he didn't get it on the first attempt. Sadly, he wasn't even interested in having a seat on my V20 on that day. My legs weren't recovered enough that day to give it an honest try. But it would be nice to see some of them on recumbents, streamliners or velomobiles.

 

[M.J]

I did a lot of KOM chasing around here the last couple years. I like to think that I helped to elevate the game of the local scene. When I first started, my crowns would stand for a long time with no challenge, but lately I've been losing them to motivated groups or single desparados with a big tailwind.
I'm not defending my records this year. If someone wants to put in the effort to take them then I always give them some kudos. Everyone is looking for their edge, whether it's riding in a paceline, with a huge tailwind, or on a cheater bike (aero, not motor). That's why longer loop segments mean more to me than short one-ways. It's harder to use the weather or even group tactics on a 10+ mile loop on real roads.

 

[Frito Bandito]

It's difficult not to defend them isn't it MJ? Especially as we get older. I'll give them kudos also, even "follow" them and maybe comment some "congrats!" as well. Like you, the big loops are more interesting than the short ones for me. Chasing any of them is great for the segment of riders who try for them. Hopefully the group near you can appreciate you raising the bars and aren't very sour.
Rainy season is on us here now, so I might be doing a bit of indoor endurance stuff on the trainer over the next few months. The TABR is starting in a couple of days and I am hoping to make a go at it next year, so those short rides aren't going to cut it.

 

[Nick Hrycaj]

I gave up on KOM’s, new goal; Top 10 on all the segments which there are many here. In my advanced age I cannot get KOM’s with young guys training with coaches riding upwrongs. Slowly picking away…

 

[Mathew Fy]

In my advanced age I cannot get KOM’s

Sometimes I filter to my age group (55-65), then I can say “Yay, I’m #1!”

 

[Nick Hrycaj]

Yup, at 76 I have them all!

 

[Bentsoup]

Earlier this month someone took three of my KOMs in one windy day. I was able to re-take one back, on another windy day, of course. My ego boosted by knowing I’m a bit detrained from the winter slacking, having injured my ankle snowboarding, and that the other guy’s a much younger and fitter rider. Yes, the V20’s a wonderful bike!

I have only achieved two KOM's in my riding time, both were riding my former Carbent Raven with some Zipp 404's. Some jack@ZZ on a $20,000 tri bike took them and when I looked at the title of his ride, it was something snarky like "Because I can".
Now that I have the V20, I'm going to try and take them both back, but I was at 24.3mph for both of them, and he was at 27.1mph. Soooo, I'm not sure I'll eclipse him but I'll try!

 

[Frito Bandito]

...it was something snarky like "Because I can".

Oooo...
Huh uh!
Oh No He didn't!


Hang on. I'll be right back.

Go get him Bentsoup!!!

 

[Bentsoup]

Oooo...
Huh uh!
Oh No He didn't!


Hang on. I'll be right back.

Go get him Bentsoup!!!

I got within 2 seconds of him today! Broke my previous PR by 8 seconds. And I'm only 20 miles into the V20. He's toast when I get more comfortable riding.

 

[Frito Bandito]

I got within 2 seconds of him today! Broke my previous PR by 8 seconds. And I'm only 20 miles into the V20. He's toast when I get more comfortable riding.

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!

Tight clothes? Check.
Aero helmet with visor? Check.
Elbows tucked in? Check.
Tire pressure? Check.
Disc wheels? Check.
Hydration behind head or in a tailbag? Check.
Yak bucket just beyond the finish line? Check.

Being able to title your Strava ride something snarky back? Priceless.

 

[Bentsoup]

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!

Tight clothes? Check.
Aero helmet with visor? Check.
Elbows tucked in? Check.
Tire pressure? Check.
Disc wheels? Check.
Hydration behind head or in a tailbag? Check.
Yak bucket just beyond the finish line? Check.

Being able to title your Strava ride something snarky back? Priceless.

Hey Frito...."Because I can..."

Oh and I'm not on aero wheels, I'm on Campagnolo Zondas. I put the aero wheels on and found out they're not true. I'll break it wide open when I get my wheels back.

I did take a pretty pic of them on though...haha!

 

[Frito Bandito]

"OH YES HE DID!!!!"
On Zondas too? Good Lawd!
Man that is a good looking bike.

1 thing you can do is Monokote those Zondas. Those bearings are amazing, and since they are light wheels to begin with Monokoting them will make them very heavy hitters for a very cheap price. I used a pair on my DF bike for a year, then stuck them on my commuter years ago and those things just won't give up. They even make them in disc brakes now.

 

[Bentsoup]

"OH YES HE DID!!!!"
On Zondas too? Good Lawd!
Man that is a good looking bike.

1 thing you can do is Monokote those Zondas. Those bearings are amazing, and since they are light wheels to begin with Monokoting them will make them very heavy hitters for a very cheap price. I used a pair on my DF bike for a year, then stuck them on my commuter years ago and those things just won't give up. They even make them in disc brakes now.

I'll definitely look into that! I ordered some Reynolds Blacklabel Aero 65's today that will go on the S30, or the V20 if I continue to love it. I thought the 20 degree angle would be bad, but I just sit up a bit and I'm fine. We'll see though when that S30 is built out!

 

[Frito Bandito]

Those Aero 65s look pretty. They seem to be almost the exact shape as my CXR 60Cs but with an even better looking CF pattern. There might be marginal gains between them, but I could probably think of a lot worse things than having both in the stable lol. You can always put 1 layer of foam under your shoulders on the V20 to be a bit more upright.

 

[M.J]

Or go with a Thor seat. The extra support in the shoulders makes the angle feel way less extreme compared to the stock CF ironing board. And as a bonus, you could fit a proper neck rest and a Brainbox or similar, which is both an aero gain and very useful.

 

[Bentsoup]

Or go with a Thor seat. The extra support in the shoulders makes the angle feel way less extreme compared to the stock CF ironing board. And as a bonus, you could fit a proper neck rest and a Brainbox or similar, which is both an aero gain and very useful.

I'll definitely look into that.

BTW, he took back the KOM this morning at 29.8mph, 6 seconds faster. I have no idea how I'm going to break that again, he's early 20's riding a $20,000 tri-bike, and appears to be very heavy into cycling. His wattage output (he has power meters) was between 450W and over 800 at times. Holy crap...

I'm a late 40's guy barely eeking out those speeds. . That's crazy fast on that segment. Haha

Oh and his title was snarky again, "Because I could, lol". He also has 33 KOM's so he really loves tracking these down.

 

[Frito Bandito]

It looks like you have a bit of a friendly rivalry going on. That he got it back so fast is impressive though. There is some room for improvement since you can still run dual discs which should be at least 6 seconds faster than Zondas. Either discs or cleaning up behind your head should be enough to get it back. And possibly keep an eye on the weather to make an attempt on a day that has a stronger tail wind.

All of the KOMs on my path have been set on very windy days. There is a Keirin track or two nearby that the Arakawa serves as sort of a training ground for some of the sprinters who take the short KOMs up to about 3km long. I don't really care about those anymore. Since there is no traffic lights for the first 37km of the path, the triathletes train on the Arakawa as well and go after the longer KOMs and they have most of them from about 10km-25km long. I took the majority of the ones that are from 25-43km, but the 10-25km are the ones that interest me again.

Here is why. the Sprinters are just quiet on their descriptions, but the triathletes are standoffish. No waves or head nods in return when I pass them going the other way. I followed a few of them for a while and saw all the pats on the backs they gave each other, and I occasionally gave kudos and commented when they posted a good ride, but just crickets. On 1 of my rides 1 of them commented what I thought was some crap about being on a recumbent so I replied with an explanation how Strava won't give us our own category so my hands are tied, and that my rides with KOMs keep getting flagged (maybe him?). He made a snarky comment after my explanation so now I have a new goal It is Summer, so the winds blow up the river and those KOMs are up for grabs so I'm keeping my eye on the weather reports a few days ahead.

 

[ratz]

I'll definitely look into that.

BTW, he took back the KOM this morning at 29.8mph, 6 seconds faster. I have no idea how I'm going to break that again, he's early 20's riding a $20,000 tri-bike, and appears to be very heavy into cycling. His wattage output (he has power meters) was between 450W and over 800 at times. Holy crap...

I'm a late 40's guy barely eeking out those speeds. . That's crazy fast on that segment. Haha

Oh and his title was snarky again, "Because I could, lol". He also has 33 KOM's so he really loves tracking these down.

Just flag the segment as dangerous and find someone else to fight with or make a new segment that is slightly longer or short that overlaps the riding path but includes sections that you have the advantage and own his arse on that one; he'll waste all his time trying to take it from you and you can go do other riding....

Not that I've ever done that before.