What's a sportive like?

[Dogtrousers]

Basically - they are what you make them. It's entirely up to you.

For me they provide a diary point around which I can meet up with friends from further away and do a marginally faster paced ride than my normal solo trundle, and maybe get some "free" tat.

I'm a sucker for tat. "Ooh look! Shiny stuff! Some dry lube and some gels". The fact that it'll probably disappear into a junk box and be thrown away in two years time doesn't spoil the thrill.

 

[mjr]

The other big problem I think I forgot to mention here is that if you're on anything other than a UCI-style road bike and wearing a helmet, you may be excluded from sportives. This really annoys me where existing charity fun rides are now run under BC rules and BC don't have any fun ride rules so they're squashed into the sportive cookie-cutter.

I wouldn't discount non-closed road events, as people tend to be a bit more sensible if there is traffic in the mix. They will normally set off early on a Sunday, on quiet roads.

Emphasis mine: there tends not to be traffic near the start, plus most sportives don't group riders start times by expected speeds (more often it's simply by distance and the slower riders will go for early starts so they get the most time to finish), so there's a lot of dangerous overtaking happens early on.

Mechanicals, never seen a break down/ accident were others have failed to stop to offer assistance/ advice

A few years ago, we managed to flag down another rider for assistance with a snapped chain. These days, I think you'll usually be waiting for the so-called "full value" riders now before anyone will stop.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The other big problem I think I forgot to mention here is that if you're on anything other than a UCI-style road bike and wearing a helmet, you may be excluded from sportives. This really annoys me where existing charity fun rides are now run under BC rules and BC don't have any fun ride rules so they're squashed into the sportive cookie-cutter.

I know some (most?) sportives require helmets, but stipulate a UCI style road bike? Really?

Velothon Wales had some restrictions (I can't remember ... I think no recumbents or fixed gear) as does Ride London (restricted number of Tandems springs to mind) but UCI style road bike? I've ridden Evans Ride It sportives and seen a variety of bikes there, as I did on Velothon Wales. I know Ride London has been done on various bikes, including a BMX. I'm not sure if my own bike would pass UCI regs - one sees very few bemudguarded steelies on the pro tour these days (do they have an upper weight limit? ).

So there may be some restrictions, but as specific as the UCI regs? No.

 

[mjr]

I know some (most?) sportives require helmets, but stipulate a UCI style road bike? Really?

I've not noticed any require the full UCI regs yet, but as you note, various sportives have various unnecessary restrictions. I'm sure I've seen at least one event banning anything with suspension but I don't remember which it was... and its website might not be online any more if it's a past event anyway.

There's no consistency, but I'm pretty sure that a UCI-style road bike will be allowed everywhere. If you ride anything else, it's wise to check before you rock up to the start and get disqualified, isn't it?

 

[Tim Hall]

I know some (most?) sportives require helmets, but stipulate a UCI style road bike? Really?

Velothon Wales had some restrictions (I can't remember ... I think no recumbents or fixed gear) as does Ride London (restricted number of Tandems springs to mind) but UCI style road bike? I've ridden Evans Ride It sportives and seen a variety of bikes there, as I did on Velothon Wales. I know Ride London has been done on various bikes, including a BMX. I'm not sure if my own bike would pass UCI regs - one sees very few bemudguarded steelies on the pro tour these days (do they have an upper weight limit? ).

So there may be some restrictions, but as specific as the UCI regs? No.

I get the bit that BC Sportives need helmets, but out of interest I tried looking on their website to see when it would be mentioned when I tried to book up for a sportive. It wasn't. Or at least, I didn't see it before I got to the stage where I would have to part with some money.

 

[oldfatfool]

A few years ago, we managed to flag down another rider for assistance with a snapped chain. These days, I think you'll usually be waiting for the so-called "full value" riders now before anyone will stop.

I was referring to Audax.

 

[Mark1978]

Save your money, plan your own routes with appropriate cafe stops if required. The only "sportives" I would do from now on having done a few over the past few years are the ones with closed roads as there tends to be a bit of an atmosphere. I did the Cambridge Gran Fondo last year and there were people outside their houses cheering you on which was quite good fun. Not having to worry about traffic is quite a novelty and was rather enjoyable.

Basically with a sportive, you are paying for a crap medal/certificate, chip timing that doesn't take into account food stops and a load of flapjacks.

 

[mjr]

I get the bit that BC Sportives need helmets, but out of interest I tried looking on their website to see when it would be mentioned when I tried to book up for a sportive. It wasn't. Or at least, I didn't see it before I got to the stage where I would have to part with some money.

Oh I don't think BC make its rules clear at all and it's led to both stand-up rows at event registration and ineligible participants (fortunately I know of none that have been involved in a collision requiring insurance to payout), but let me walk you through it:

I think all listings have "Online Entry FAQs" as a link and the answer to "Who is liable?" says "All riders taking part in events registered with British Cycling are subject to British Cycling's rules for cycling events when entering events using the online entry system. See the Rider Terms and Conditions for full details. All correspondence and enquiries about the event and your entry should be directed to the Event Organiser."

Clicking the link to Rider Terms and Conditions has rule 13 requiring a suitable bicycle and helmet (rule 13? beyond satire...).

What that doesn't tell you is that the Event Organiser is bound by another set of British Cycling rules which means they don't actually have any discretion so they must require helmets and ban recumbents, e-bikes and so on. To see those details, you have to click back to "Events" in the navigation, then "Organise an Event", "Event support and resources" and "Non-competitive event guidelines and best practice" (despite the misnomer "guidelines", these are rules - click "Register your event" to see "All registered events are to be run under the guidelines and regulations of British Cycling") and section 1.5 specifies what cycles and equipment are allowed and banned.

Clear as mud, eh?

 

[mjr]

Basically with a sportive, you are paying for a crap medal/certificate, chip timing that doesn't take into account food stops and a load of flapjacks.

Flapjacks would be an improvement on the gels (faaaaaaart ), sweets and bananas offered on some I did!

 

[Dogtrousers]

Veeery iiiinteresting @mrjay

Non Competitive Event Guidelines and Best Practice
Typically sportive riders will use a road bike when participating in an event, however some participants may prefer to ride a hybrid, mountain bike, cyclo-cross bike or tandem etc, which are all fine within a personal challenge event. The use of the below are not permitted in British Cycling registered non-competitive events:
• Recumbent cycles
• Electric bicycles
• Triathlon / time trial bars or other similar bar extensions
• Disc wheels or tri-spokes
• Penny farthings
This list names a few exceptions, therefore for further clarification, please contact our events team ...

But ... er ... senior moment. I've forgotten why we were discussing this. Oh yes. Sportives, and BC exclusions therefrom.

 

[mjr]

Thanks DT. I can't paste big chunks onto cc while mobile. I think events are allowed to be more stringent such as the Ride London tandem restrictions and others aren't listed on the BC site so can be compositely different, so I think it's wise to ask beforehand if your clobber is non UCI in any way.

 

[Mark1978]

Flapjacks would be an improvement on the gels (faaaaaaart ), sweets and bananas offered on some I did!

Yeah, i do find that gels add the extra challenge of trying to get to the end of the ride before you mess up your bib shorts.

 

[Wightdragon]

In a nutshell, a sportive is a load of inexperienced middle-aged men, riding expensive Specialized, Giant and Cannondale (and Trek) carbon road bikes, pretending to be Chris Froome, and paying through the nose to do so!

I'll let my 12 year old daughter know. Maybe she won't enjoy it anymore.

 

[Wightdragon]

I know some (most?) sportives require helmets, but stipulate a UCI style road bike? Really?

Velothon Wales had some restrictions (I can't remember ... I think no recumbents or fixed gear) as does Ride London (restricted number of Tandems springs to mind) but UCI style road bike? I've ridden Evans Ride It sportives and seen a variety of bikes there, as I did on Velothon Wales. I know Ride London has been done on various bikes, including a BMX. I'm not sure if my own bike would pass UCI regs - one sees very few bemudguarded steelies on the pro tour these days (do they have an upper weight limit? ).

So there may be some restrictions, but as specific as the UCI regs? No.

I'm glad they banned fixed gear. I might have struggled even more on Caerphilly mountain!

 

[Dogtrousers]

I'm glad they banned fixed gear. I might have struggled even more on Caerphilly mountain!

Another weird thing on their banned list was "non-breakable bottles". Accordingly I put a cut glass decanter in my bottle cage, as that was eminently breakable.

Unfortunately they've clarified that rule this year to specify hard plastic and aluminium.