Race Radios

[Heidi]

What is your opinion on race radios. Should they do away with them? Are they dumbing down riders and taking the thinking away?

[PsychO!1]

I think the communication opportunities they offer only increase the effective use of team tactics....I think they make more competitive racing.

[bjanga]

^ on the flip side I suppose they could allow for teams to not pay attention to other teams yet grasp the situation quickly if necessary.

I agree with psycho though.

[sanjuro]

I think the communication opportunities they offer only increase the effective use of team tactics....I think they make more competitive racing.
I am a believer in moving forward with technology, but I am not sure it is radios are positive.

For example, the radios diminish the effect of "pack generals", who are able to read the race and the peleton and make appropriate decisions. Now the director sportif can make all the decisions, who has access to tv and radio information.

I still voted for radios because it seems silly not to use them, and it is still the riders which do the pedalling.

[Westy]

It would be interesting to see special stages where they were not allowed. The Dakar has special stages like that where GPS units are not allowed, provides a different dynamic to the race.

[splat]

I remeber when the cyclo-computers/heart rate monitors first made the scene there was talk of banning them too. I say you havethe technology might as well use it.

[Zutroy]

I personally hate them while racing. Nothing worse than being out in the freezing rain, listening to someon bitch who's in a warm car. They are handy to say your coming back to pick stuff up from the car. I think it's a toss up whether they should be aloud, i think they help the racing in some ways...and hurt it in other.

[jaydee]

You'd see a lot more breakaways succeed if the pack didn't know to the millisecond how much time they had to make up to catch the poor buggers within a km of the finish. And if the pack had to guess who actually was in the break that got away. I think the race would be a lot more exciting without the radios.

[golgiaparatus]

I voted no because I think they are a good thing in order to warn riders of danger etc. But I do think it takes a bit of a riders own thought process out of it.