G-Unit, to answer your question. A guy I met during the 2010 Pioneer, broke a rim during a stage and limped back to the finish. The mechnics sold him a new set (he couldn't buy just one) for R 4000. What can you do? During the race you're at the mercy of the guy who's got what you need.
At the 2011 Epic my partner sheared off his rear derailleur during the Prologue. Our mechanics (who shall remain nameless, but I will never recommend them) were meant to fix the bike overnight before Stage 1. As we rolled to the start my partner's bike didn't feel right, so back to the mechanic to get the bike sorted with seconds to spare before the start. On Day 3 , my partner had a front wheel issue (also meant to have been fixed) on the start line. The group started ,but I didn't see him turn around a go back to the mechanics, so I carried on and only realised about 5km down the track that my partner was missing. We lost over half an hour on that day.
Point is, you can have good luck and have no issues (pre-race service and riding "light" during the race will increase the odds in your favour) or you can have a lot of issues like my partner did.
Mechanics during the Epic will take walk-ins ,so you can take your chances without paying the hefty mechanic's package price.
If you do choose to pay for a mechanic, make sure that in the group, each mechanic is not working on more than 4-5 bikes during the Epic. Get it in writing if you have to. There is not enough time in the day for one mechanic to have 10 bikes to service. Inevitably your bike gets looked at at 3 in the morning when the mechanic is overtired and can't focus anymore. That's when mistakes happen and stuff is overlooked.
If you have space, bring a spare wheelset along to share with your partner. There are Shimano and SRAM tents at the race with spares, but the mechanics are taking stock for their own use ,so some items might not be availble when you need them.
My wife is doing Massage for 4 teams and is sharing space with 2 mechanics who will each take 4 bikes. I can recommend them as package mechanic or as a walk-in mechanics.
As part of the Massage package, my wife is offering each team a large storage box for spares etc. She will have my Nissan Patrol and there is plenty of space to store stuff.
Having your own array of spares with you is often as reassuring as having the mechanic's package.
Edited by kandui, 09 February 2012 - 08:53 .
3
Top Fuel, on 08 February 2012 - 11:49 , said:
