Which bike to race

My season is starting soon and I have a decision to make:
I have a Caad12 Disc w. a set of training wheels and 45mm deep section wheels and a Allez Sprint Rim Brake with a pretty worn set of 35mm alloy clincher.
It is hilly where I currently race road races but crit courses are mainly flat.

Should I sell my disc deep sections and get a new set of carbon clincher for my rim brake bike ( probably 3 pounds lighter than the other) or just race with the disc brake bike ? What would be other options/suggestions ?

I would race and upgrade whatever bike gives u more confidence, in the bunch, on descents, corners etc. being able to comfortably ‘send it’ is going to be a huge benefit over something that might be faster in a windtunnel etc

3 Likes

Same confidence on both. I like the handling of the Allez a bit better ( little bit more agile) . But good point :slight_smile: :smiley:

Even on hilly races, the faster speed means that aero should be the priority.

I’d take more aero over lighter unless you’re talking seriously lighter, or seriously hilly (I mean mountainous).

Aero is everything, unless its a 5min climb and a high gradient aero matters. Skin suit and helmet are great areas that cost very little to get improvement over expensive wheels

1 Like

Racing with disc brakes is great - can carry more speed into corners - helps in all sorts of situations. Also gives you more confidence in wet conditions

3 Likes

Yeah I know that a good helmet and skinsuit are important and I race in both. Most climbs around here are between 5-20 min long and have steep pitches in them
The thing is that I am a student and since I do not have a team this year I am sort of short on money concerning my equipment ^^

2 Likes

Probably just gonna get some vision team 35 comp sl wheels for my Allez since the brake track on the other set is so thin I can practically see through it and race the majority on my Caad

My opinion on racing is use the bike you don’t care as much about breaking, just in case you end up crashing :smiley:

3 lbs?

Seems like a large differential. How did you arrive at that?

Realistically, both will be fine.

The brakes the bike has don’t matter, cause you should barely touch them in a crit anyway - if you’re doing it right.

Race the bike you can afford to replace (or insure) - as crashes are much more common in racing than general riding.

However, you also need to race the bike which you enjoy and that you won’t blame for poor results… (hint: any poor results won’t be the bike’s fault in 99.5% of cases!)

Can of worms: I wouldn’t spend money buying rim brake wheels… disc is the future (and the present).

1 Like

@cerb i agree with not buying rim brake wheels, thats just throwing money down the drain

1 Like

I’d get a set of those CERO AR30 or AR24. Ive used both and theyre absolutely fantastic. Came pre-setup tubless, and sound great and are very light for what you pay. I didnt like the stickers so i took them off.

1 Like

Been looking on ebay if I can get a pair of those or Hunt wheels for a decent price but had no luck so far