New Irish pro Conti team (aka The Aquablue thread)

CramCycle

I love the way they seem to have signed Captain America if you look at the photos on their twitter feed.

CramCycle

CramCycle wrote: »

I love the way they seem to have signed Captain America if you look at the photos on their twitter feed.

That would be Larry Warbasse in his US national champs jersey, it's a such a cool jersey.

DKmac

An absolutely minging bike. The 1x isn't an issue for me I doubt this will be used on hilly races. Conor Dunne on the Cycling Podcast this week said he was grinding on a 36-34 up the Angrilu during the Vuelta. How will that work?
Be interesting to see what the plan is for punctures/wheel changes considering there is a thru-axle and would neutral service even carry thru-axle wheels?
Also for an Irish team promoting a race bike with disc brakes only which are currently banned by CI in open races makes no sense to me.

The only good thing to come from this is publicity, everyone will know Aqua Blue are racing this abomination.

Weepsie

DKmac wrote: »

An absolutely minging bike. The 1x isn't an issue for me I doubt this will be used on hilly races. Conor Dunne on the Cycling Podcast this week said he was grinding on a 36-34 up the Angrilu during the Vuelta. How will that work?
Be interesting to see what the plan is for punctures/wheel changes considering there is a thru-axle and would neutral service even carry thru-axle wheels?
Also for an Irish team promoting a race bike with disc brakes only which are currently banned by CI in open races makes no sense to me.

The only good thing to come from this is publicity, everyone will know Aqua Blue are racing this abomination.

They're banned for all domestic races for all federations. What can and can't be used here should never enter the equation.

Also, as with all of these, sportive cyclists and leisure cyclists are probably the target market for sales anyway from AquaBlue's point of view. 3T just want the wider exposure.

Fair play for taking the gamble I say, I'm sure they'll have back up plans, and various solutions for different races, courses etc.

Eamonnator

Is it possible to put a 2nd bottle cage on that bike?

martyc5674

Eamonnator wrote: »

Is it possible to put a 2nd bottle cage on that bike?

Good point!
Looks like there's 2 bolt heads on the down tube, in fairness the cage doesn't have to follow the profile of the bike so I'm sure you'd get one to fit.

RobFowl

Eamonnator wrote: »

Is it possible to put a 2nd bottle cage on that bike?

Pro's don't really need 2nd bottle cages....

Eamonnator

martyc5674 wrote: »

Good point!
Looks like there's 2 bolt heads on the down tube, in fairness the cage doesn't have to follow the profile of the bike so I'm sure you'd get one to fit.

I see the bolt heads, but I don't think the cage would fit

Eamonnator

RobFowl wrote: »

Pro's don't really need 2nd bottle cages....

Or 2nd chain ring, allegedly.

All My Stars Aligned

Are AB planing on using the 3T for TT's?

Lusk_Doyle

Eamonnator wrote: »

I see the bolt heads, but I don't think the cage would fit

There is another bolt further up above the bottle that is there. The cage on the bike is not in the correct position and is probably only attached by one bolt, which would be the bottom bolt if mounted correctly, but in this case is the top bolt. Two bottle cages would fit I'd say if the cage we see is moved up.

Good eyes.

cython

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

There is another bolt further up above the bottle that is there. The cage on the bike is not in the correct position and is probably only attached by one bolt, which would be the bottom bolt if mounted correctly, but in this case is the top bolt. Two bottle cages would fit I'd say if the cage we see is moved up.

Almost. It actually looks like there are 2 sets of mounting bolts on the downtube by default:


So the bottle here looks to be mounted in the lower position (presumably more aero for a single bottle cage to be closer to the BB?), but can be mounted significantly higher if you need to mount two

slow

The Dunne fella's gonna need a lotta lotta seatpost with not a lot of anchorage in the frame.

RobFowl

cython wrote: »

Almost. It actually looks like there are 2 sets of mounting bolts on the downtube by default:


So the bottle here looks to be mounted in the lower position (presumably more aero for a single bottle cage to be closer to the BB?), but can be mounted significantly higher if you need to mount two

Is one of the lower bolts for a battery for the Di2?c

jamesd

Could also be a bracket for the internal routing of the hydraulic brake cables to stop them rattling.

cython

RobFowl wrote: »

Is one of the lower bolts for a battery for the Di2?c

I suppose it could be, but I don't think so for the purposes of Aqua Blue - they look to be on SRAM mechanical from the pictures, though perhaps this will change closer to the new season, but even then it will be eTap as SRAM, so wireless and the rear mech will have its own battery. In fact do Shimano do a proper 1x Di2 setup?? Also the 3T Strada website also indicates that there are 2 distinct configurations for bottles:

The STRADA downtube is shaped to hide the water bottles from the airflow. The fastest set-up is one bottle low on the downtube, the “team-leader” configuration. Second-fastest set-up is with two bottles.

CramCycle

I thought it was confirmed that this is for commercial use, and won't be used by them in racing?

Keeks

CramCycle wrote: »

I thought it was confirmed that this is for commercial use, and won't be used by them in racing?

It will be used for racing......otherwise how will it sell if a pro team wont use it.

In an6 case it sounds like the Aqua blue riders have already been testing it so it should be interesting....

CramCycle

Keeks wrote: »

It will be used for racing......otherwise how will it sell if a pro team wont use it.

In an6 case it sounds like the Aqua blue riders have already been testing it so it should be interesting....

Its got discs though, where will they race it?

RobFowl

CramCycle wrote: »

Its got discs though, where will they race it?

Discs allowed in protour /WT races now

Esroh

Keeks wrote: »

It will be used for racing......otherwise how will it sell if a pro team wont use it.

In an6 case it sounds like the Aqua blue riders have already been testing it so it should be interesting....

I was doing back up at the Aqua Blue Ride with the Pro's. Today in Ballinrobe and asked Stefan Denifl about the Bike.
He has only ridden it at a Photo Shoot. He said it will be an on going learning process. He said they will have options re chairing and cassette so it will take a bit of working out.
He thinks getting it right for high mountains will be the biggest question.
Himself,Conor Dunne and Martin Irvine were absolute gentlemen .

J Madone

This through axle system means no quick release for the wheels. Bike changes are the only way to get going after a puncture

Lads were in action at the Cadel Evans race in Oz overnight. Hansen in the break so TV spent most of the time with them and as a result the new bikes got a good display. Highlights at 10pm on ES2 I think.

Weird seeing pro's manually shifting gears

Cookie_Monster

They won KOM comp.
Also hansen had a MASSIVE gear on the rear, 32 I think they said. Single speed on the front

I was thinking about it today, what would happen in the event of a puncture? Surely they couldn't take a wheel from neutral service and would have to rely on a team mate or their own car?

Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me could say what would happen or it's possible to use a 28/11 cassette with their 1x to keep them going until they can get a bike/wheel change from the team car?

topcat77

Nice to see this happen so early in the season and race lead!!!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/jayco-herald-sun-tour-2018/stage-1/results/

Weepsie

<Mod Note> Threads Merged and updated title a little for all things Aquablue

cython

Deleted User wrote: »

I was thinking about it today, what would happen in the event of a puncture? Surely they couldn't take a wheel from neutral service and would have to rely on a team mate or their own car?

Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me could say what would happen or it's possible to use a 28/11 cassette with their 1x to keep them going until they can get a bike/wheel change from the team car?

Can't say definitively what would happen in a race for the team, but generally speaking there is no issue with using a smaller range cassette on a bike that is set set up for a large range, i.e. 11-28 is within the 11-32 range, so it just means that the derailleur would never be as fully extended with the replacement in the large sprocket. Obviously with a single chainring on the front it may hurt more when you hit a hill with the narrower range, mind!

So nothing to stop them using neutral service wheels providing they are the right fitment for the frame, but it may compromise climbing performance until they can get a more appropriate replacement from their own team service.

topcat77

Highlights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NseHjbRwHHA