Hi everyone,
I’m thinking about joining.
I only have a Vitus 979, a french bike from the 80s.
It’s a surprisingly fast and light bike, with clipless pedals, but it’s not quite as fast a modern carbon bike.
Should I stay away from the races till I get a modern bike, and join as a club member rather than a team member?
How much would I have to spend on a bike if I wanted to join the races?
How much did you spend?
Looking forward to joining you on one of your rides.
Alexis
It’s not about the bike, it’s about the engine powering the bike (i.e. you)!
Great!
I’ll be joining you on one of your next rides then.
The engine is even older than the bike, but I’m able to keep up with riders with bikes worth thousands for dollars for at least short distances when riding along the Lachine Canal or up the Mount-Royal.
Hi Alexis,
Great to hear that you would like to join us! We always look forward to having new faces among us.
Regarding your bike, as @PeteW said, do not be concerned at all that you do not own a carbon frame. It seems like you have a good enough set up for the moment to join us on rides, and I would hold off from purchasing something expensive until you feel comfortable doing so.
Regarding team vs. club membership, I would say come to a couple of our rides, and we can chat before you buy into a membership. There are a couple of intricacies best explained in person.
We will post up rides this week for sure, so stay tuned!
Also, feel free to give me a shout if you have any other concerns/questions/queries.
Hi Alexis,
Welcome!
Generally, there is no rule that would prevent you from racing on your aluminum frame. However, I would recommend using STI style shifters instead of downtube shifters for racing.
Thanks, Felix.
My Vitus 979 does have STI style shifters.
It was a top of the line bike in the late eighties.
The pedals even have touch of carbon, since it was the very beginning of carbon.
Sean Kelly did win a few races on a Vitus 979 (with tube style shifters).
We’ll see.
I’ll probably be panting to keep up with you regardless of the bike I use.
I’ve never tried a carbon bike so I don’t know how much difference it makes.
Here is a (blurry) picture of my bike on Dropbox.
That’s a nice bike!
That’s a beauty!
I raced a steel bike for all of collegiate, FWIW.