Transcontinental Race No. 8 - TCR8 - #TCRN08 - 2022

Tyre chat how I've missed thee

Not as much as I've missed route planning

Yeah, I still have it if you wanna swap back? :P

I would keep that one on the rim until it wears out, then cut it off!

Challenge Strade Bianche

Challenge (:P) accepted.

I took it off after fitting it because I wasn't going to run those for TCR. I need to be able to take tyres on/off with cold, weak hands.

Last year I had it all planned by now and was just checking endlessly. This time around I'm not even sure where the checkpoints are relative to each other!

I'd planned a lot last year by this stage - but not the ones where they hadn't finalised the checkpoints.
I then spent a lot of time checking it and I think I had it just about perfect - I had about the same distance as other people were saying but 4-5,000m less climbing. I spent ages fine-tuning my route across France - saved loads of climbing by doing that. Then didn't get to ride that bit!

Better than the year before though - planned almost all of it and didn't get to ride any of it. For me, TCR is mostly a mapping competition with a bit of cycling thrown in.

You can have them... nice tyres but open tubular tyres are a terrible idea in terms of their fit. I wasn't that sorry to damage them.

You'll definitely need lights for the tunnels at Pluzine ha.

TCR OG's, what gearing have you used on previous editions?

66"/78"

Compact 2 x 32T, 36T, 40T

30/46 and 11-40

Did you ever try one of the Shimano 46T MTB cassettes?

Actually, this topic made me think of another question: is anyone doing sub-compact rings (46/30) like AbsoluteBlack, that will fit on normal 110bcd 5-bolt cranks that are round and not some voodoo oval?

32 rear and compact front.

Cool, thanks all

No, not quite fine that far. Maybe I should, in my quest to have the lowest possible gears.

I've got absolute black. They enable me to put smaller rings on than shimano intended so they work. The shifting is fine but occasionally I will feel a tooth slip under load, like with a worn chainring. I don't expect they'll last as long as normal ones.
they're kinda obsolete now that shimano has brought out the gravel chainset, but it didn't come out in time for last year's tcr.

Yeah, I just saw them and thought "oh there might be a solution that would work with my 110 bcd powermeter spider" but it doesn't look like it will.

Why not?

I got them as they worked with my stages crank power meter

I couldn't see them.
Where are their round, sub-compact rings for say Quarq or Rotor 110bcd spiders?

Sure, if they don't make rings that fit your chainset, they won't work!

I couldn't see any that would fit any of my cranks, oval or round.

I'm tempted to see how far I can push it and try the 46T on the Kinesis. I think for that I might need a RoadLink though.

As per my last research and testing extravaganza, there were no solutions for a 5x110 BCD that went lower than a 33 tooth. And I think that 33 came from one of the French chain ring manufacturers, TA Specialities maybe? It is not possible to go smaller than 33 with a 5x110. Praxis works did something that went down to 32, but that is only with their cranks.

46 tooth 5x110 rings are often paired with a 36 or 39 tooth inner ring (for cx). All the ones I've tried work fine with a 34 inner.

How did your experiment with the 11/40 cassette go? Is it enough or you looking for more?

46/34- 11-36