How many are training/racing on same bike?

[Grizzy]

Racing is expensive. Competitive race bikes are expensive.

I'm wondering how many here have a race bike & a everyday bike/training bike?

How many swap parts? what are you swapping, and why?

[zippinveedub]

I race and train on the same bike. 29 hardtail. I'd like a set of lighter race wheels but would rather spend the money on race entry fees, at least until I graduate and get a job.

I do have a cross bike I occasionally race and ride road on but prefer training on trails its more fun. Although this upcoming season I may try more road structured riding.

[Devincicx]

I train and race on the same bike. I have the stock wheels on my bike as training/trails wheels. I'll build a set of light racing wheels and I also want to buy a very cheap 3rd set of wheels to use with slicks and/or mud tires wheels.

Of course training wheels get the cheap rotor and cassette.

[stevland]

You can get away with it; myself and several teammates do. Durability trumps lightweight when buying parts. Don't slack on maintenance. Don't run into unforgiving objects.

[azpoolguy]

I race and train on one bike with one set of wheels and tires. I have spare tires hanging in the garbage just in case. Arizona is tough on tires. And I run Stan's factory Crests. At 1550g. They are light enough to race and at 144 pounds I'm light enough to ride them as trail bike wheels.

If I get bumped up to Cat1 next year I might need some Race Golds and XX1 to fit in though.

[ryguy135]

I built up a training bike finally a few months ago. A buddy sold me a full Sram Rival kit and 2 sets of wheels. One set now has 40C tires on it for gravel roads, the other has 23Cs on it for the road and trainer. Love having that bike as training on the MTB tends to be noisy on the trainer (plus it wears your tires quick) and training on the trail is difficult to get the workout in that you're shooting for.

[Leopold Porkstacker]

I train on a 38 pound 9:zero:7 fatbike (tires/wheels are 16 pounds of rotating mass) and race on an amazingly lightweight 28 pound 29er (tires/wheels are less than 5 pounds of rotating mass). Train heavy, race light!

[PAmtbiker]

Same bike (Epic 29er with Hope/Crest wheels), although I sometimes ride my singlespeed.

[ascarlarkinyar]

same bike for everything

[nya]

same bike (29 HT) for everything, but in really ugly weather I switch to my old bike

[Canyon93108]

Race and train on same bike, 29HT. The only things I may swap are tires, and that is only due to conditions.

When I was into tri's, it was a different story.

[SLR]

Same bike here too…no reason to have 2 bikes, but it helps if you know how to wrench .

[AndrwSwitch]

I have a few bikes. So yes and no.

I only have one bike in each class. Any training I do on a mountain bike is on the same one I race. Same goes for 'cross, road and track. But I very rarely race on the road, and I didn't end up doing much training on the track bike once racing got started.

Sometimes I change what stuff I have with me. Training, I carry two spare tubes and some other stuff in a seat wedge. To race, I take one spare tube and a quick link in a zip-loc in a jersey pocket. I'm also less likely to use fenders during a race. That's about it for mode switching.

I wouldn't want to train off-road on something too different from my race bike. I think those of my teammates who can afford to have a few competitive mountain bikes still bring out their new babies when they get them. Why buy a nice bike and then hardly ever ride it? It seems like bikes that mostly only see race miles are often highly specialized. Like a time trial or track bike.

Although with road bikes especially, I think a fair number of people have 'B' bikes they ride in the winter.

[Leopold Porkstacker]

WOOPS!!! I guess I did do a race on the 38 pound heavy bike afterall (almost forgot about that!!!):

[Poncharelli]

I have a few bikes. So yes and no.

I only have one bike in each class. Any training I do on a mountain bike is on the same one I race. Same goes for 'cross, road and track.

I'm the same. 3 bikes: MTB, Road, and Cross. I race all of them.

The road bike does get the brunt of ride time since I try to do most my training bike commuting.

[brentos]

Same bike.

It's important to be very familiar with your equipment when racing...

I always try out the new, lighter, potentially weaker stuff with a significant amout training time before racing on it. I'd hate to through away my entry fee, invested time, and travel costs because of a mechanical I could have avoided.

[Grizzy]

Same bike.

It's important to be very familiar with your equipment when racing...

I always try out the new, lighter, potentially weaker stuff with a significant amout training time before racing on it. I'd hate to through away my entry fee, invested time, and travel costs because of a mechanical I could have avoided.

I think I'm feeling the opposite. The light wheels and pedals and bars are fine at XC speeds, but when I pin it I worry that my steerer will break, my rims fold and tires roll off, and the I groomed trails that rip off an X0 or XTR derailleur bother me.

I'll have to see what I can budget, because from the sounds of it I have a total different idea of playing on my bike during a training ride than what's suggested.

Thanks!

[AndrwSwitch]

OP, how long have you been racing? What category are you in?

[Possum Jones]

I'm a racing noob and this is technically my first off season. The majority of my training is done on the road bike. When training in the woods I ride my rigid SS because its super fun and I get a great workout on it. I raced our series this year on a 29 hardtail.

[sooshee]

I train and race on the same bike for each discipline... whether it be mountain, road, or time trial. The differences between my two mountain bikes is pretty big ('12 Giant Rainer 29er HT vs. '13 Spec Epic Expert Carbon 29er FS), so I don't think it would be good to switch back and forth when it comes to race day (Epic is my "race" bike, aka one I ride all the time).

[mooddude]

I race and train on the same Mountain bike, I have two sets of wheels - training wheels and racing wheels. I feel you need to use the same mountain bike so you build your skills using the exact same equipment.
Yet, I do get a ton of training in on my Road and Cyclocross bikes as well.

[mood]

One bike with extra training wheels. It's a lot cheaper to have training wheels then to have a whole extra bike.

[climbinthebigring]

I don't know anyone that has a training and race bike. Road and cross is a different story but unless your getting bikes for free i don't think anyone has two identical or nearly identical bikes for training and XC racing.

[KEITH21]

Same bike here too.

[ACree]

Same here as we'll. I have several bikes and raced all but the road bike last year. Closest thing to a training bike is my 12 year old road bike that just gets trainer duty now.

I'm the same. 3 bikes: MTB, Road, and Cross. I race all of them.

The road bike does get the brunt of ride time since I try to do most my training bike commuting.