Alex: Welcome to the GCN Tech Clinic where we aim to answer the questions that you submitted using
the hashtag #AskGCNTech​. I guess we'll make a start on our first one this week. The first one is
from James Lilley who asks, "In a tailwind section would you go faster in an aero position or in an
upright position acting like a sail on a boat would? Thanks in advance." Interesting, that one.
In your head, you'd assume that a big tailwind section, you would want to be upright to catch
as much of that wind as possible, but once you're traveling faster than what the wind speed is,
it would have a negative effect anyway, so, if you've got a tailwind of 15mph,
once you're going over 15mph, the drag that you're pushing forwards would be a greater force
than what you're trying to overcome from the tailwind, so, you need to focus on being aero
once you're going faster than the speed of the tailwind. Pretty simple question there.
Our next question is from Karim Sabri who asks, "Would you recommend tubeless or tube-type tires
considering maintenance and performance?". It depends which system you're most familiar with,
because if you're only familiar with inner tubes and tube-type tires, then that may well be the
best system for you because it's very simple and easy to maintain. You haven't got any different
systems to become familiar with, but if you are up for the advantages that you can gain from tubeless
tires such as the added puncture protection, the slightly lower rolling resistance, then that is
a good system to invest in, but it does require a little bit of maintenance, a bit more than what
you'd have with an inner tube setup, because you will have to maintain the sealant that's inside
the tires, which helps protect those from the punctures that you could face easily with inner
tube setups. The simple answer is you just need to look at the advantages and disadvantages of both
systems and decide what is most important to you and make your choice from there.
Next question is in from Matt Taylor who asks, "I've made the transition from rim brake to disc
brakes, do I need a winter alloy training wheelset like you would do on a rim brake
to prevent wearing through his race wheels surface in a terrible condition?". So, a simple question,
do you need to switch across from your race wheels to winter training wheels when you're using
disc brakes? The answer to that is no. There's no need to specifically do that
because the braking surface is now moved onto the disc instead of the actual rim itself, so
you're not going to wear that item out. In winter, you can just use your fancy wheels that you would
have saved for the summer otherwise. There's no need to worry about wearing them out any
quicker than you would in the summertime. Perfect. Next question is in from Tanay Kaymak who asks,
"Do I need to do a proper bike wash once in a while when using my bike
on the indoor trainer during winter? I've heard that sweat can be harmful to the carbon frame
and the components. If yes, is it enough to just wipe the frame with towels after riding
or should I do a complete bike wash every once in a while?" If you're only riding your bike inside,
the sweat that you get all over your bike can be quite corrosive. It is
important not to leave that to soak into any of the components and it can actually ruin
the finish on your paint job as well. If you've sweated heavily over your bike, if it's been a
tough workout session, then you are going to need to give that a good wipe down and clean. I
wouldn't worry about washing your bike after every training session because that's really not needed.
It would be a little bit overkill to take your bike outside and wash it having only ridden it
indoors, but maybe every week or so you can just take your bike outside, give it a good wash,
clean everything up, make sure everything's nice and dry and there's no corrosive sweat left on it,
and that'll be keeping your bike nice and sweet. ChazPilks World Bicycle Relief Ambassador,
nice question there, I think Ollie's picked this one out for me. Their question is,
"Is Alex's catchphrase "It's a good question, actually"?
"[censored] That's a good question, actually. A very good question. Well, that's a good
question. [muffled sound] Well, that actually is a good question, actually." As of last week,
it appears I did say a lot more than I realized. I guess I need to remember not to say that one
all the time. Thanks for highlighting that. Next in, we've got Benji Herring who asks, "I
hope you're well. My question is for a GC leader, for example, Roglic- Rogerick- [censored] Roglick-
Roglich- Ro- Roglich," [laughs] "For a GC leader such as Rogelic." What's happened?
Can you say it, please? Cameraman: Roglič.
Presenter: Roglič. Okay. Our next question is in from Benji Herring who asks, "For a GC leader such
as Roglic, how much of a difference would it be for him to ride a lightweight or aero bike,
seeing as he's surrounded by team members all of the time blocking him from the wind? Should
the lightweight bike make it easier for him to ride as it's not so heavy?" Interesting thought,
that, and lots of GC leaders do tend to opt for the lightweight bike over the aero bike because
the main focal point of their racing tends to be the summit finishes where lightweight
will win over aero because they're going on a massive climb, going at very slow speeds, the aero
has very little advantage to lightweight over those situations. As you say, 9 times out of
10 when they're in the early sections of stages where the speed is high, they are protected by
their teammates and within the peloton, so the aero bike maybe doesn't quite come into its own
in those conditions. That's why you'll find many GC leaders opting for the lightweight bike over
the aero bike and lots of their team members opting for the aero bike to give them the best
advantage of supporting them in the conditions leading up to the crucial part of the race.
Next question, and I think is our last question for this week's Tech Cinic, and it's from Mico
Custodio who asks, "How often do I need to change my chain over the course of a cycling time?"
This really is a very vague question and it could vary a lot for everybody. It depends how often you
ride, it depends on the conditions you ride in, and it depends how well you maintain your chain.
If you ride in particularly gritty and dirty conditions and don't maintain your chain very
well, your chain's not going to last very long at all, but if you lubricate your chain, clean
it nicely, and tend to ride in dry conditions, your chain could last a very long time.
As a golden rule, the average person, you could probably expect to get a year out of a chain.
I think that's fairly straightforward to say. It will vary a lot depending on every single person
and the use of your bike. My best advice would be to either drop into your local bike shop, get them
to check your chain over, or invest in a small chain checker tool which you could buy online
and check your chain regularly to make sure it's not excessively worn. That'll sort that out nice.
That rounds off another GCN Tech Clinic. I hope you enjoyed that. Maybe next time when Ollie's in,
I'll pick out some good questions with him, maybe the real in-depth scientific ones. I know you'll
love those. Anyway, keep the questions coming using the hashtag #AskGCNTech​ and we'll try and
feature them in the show. See you later. [00:06:44] [END OF AUDIO]