Difference between A3 and A4?

RowanHarley

mhiggy09 wrote: »

Pm? Power meter? I just use heartrate, might invest in a power meter later down the line but now it's just not worth it, still have to upgrade to a better wheelset

Same. My wheels are only fulcrum.

boege

RowanHarley wrote: »

What do you mean by this? Yes, I'm a junior. It's just that the thought has been going through my head a lot. At times, I feel well able to be an A3 rider, but at other times I feel like A4 is my place. An idea is go into A3 then if needed, drop down to A4, and stay there for the year (because I won't be allowed upgrade according to CI rules)

Apologies, maybe rules have changed but once you came out of U16 and became a Junior you had to race at A3 level, hence my comment.

If you have not raced and have a choice then most coaches will advise you to start at A4 and learn your craft. Racing is mostly about tactics and it takes time to learn how to get, and hold, position in a race as well as when to follow breaks. FTP is of limited use if you waste all your power chasing down breaks.

I once read one racer sum up racing as all about conserving energy for the right moment.

Irrespective, my advice is jump in, the buzz will have you hooked and A3/A4 wont matter too much.

Lumen

RowanHarley wrote: »

Same. My wheels are only fulcrum.

Your wheels don't matter.

RowanHarley

Lumen wrote: »

Your wheels don't matter.

Well there's a big difference between my wheels and any form of deep section wheels. Deep section wheels are handy for A4 races as many of them are flat.

CramCycle

Once the vehicle is in road worthy condition, the engine is the most important thing. Focus on the engine. only return to the vehicle when you feel the engine is performing at its best.

CramCycle

RowanHarley wrote: »

Well there's a big difference between my wheels and any form of deep section wheels. Deep section wheels are handy for A4 races as many of them are flat.

In an A4 race, if the wheels are the deciding factor of getting into A3, then you are probably not ready for A3. Plenty of people winning races in A4 on Askiums.

Lumen

RowanHarley wrote: »

Well there's a big difference between my wheels and any form of deep section wheels..

There are not.

Lusk_Doyle

Lumen wrote: »

There are not.

You are forgetting about the go faster soumd they make.

dahat

Wheels are a big upgrade but in no way essential in A3/A4 races.

Lusk_Doyle

RowanHarley wrote: »

Well, I've got another week or 2 to make up my mind, so I want to make sure I make the right decision.

Why? Is it on the CAO application form?

Kaisr Sose

RowanHarley wrote: »

Well there's a big difference between my wheels and any form of deep section wheels. Deep section wheels are handy for A4 races as many of them are flat.

You are very young to be looking to have top equipment. The main thing is you go out and ride your bike, get the skills necessary for riding in groups, cross wind etc. There is nothing wrong with basic equipment when starting out. If you are strong on basic equipment you will be strong on better equipment....

magicbastarder

Lumen wrote: »

There are not.

maybe his wheels aren't actually round?

JK.BMC

magicbastarder wrote: »

maybe his wheels aren't actually round?

Is that a metaphor or am I missing something?

RowanHarley

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

Why? Is it on the CAO application form?

Nope, have to contact CI before my first race

Irish Raven

RowanHarley wrote:

Nope, have to contact CI before my first race

what race are you planning on starting at??

RowanHarley

Irish Raven wrote: »

what race are you planning on starting at??

Markievicz Cup, then boyne gp and hopefully Rás Maigheo

DKmac

RowanHarley wrote: »

Well there's a big difference between my wheels and any form of deep section wheels. Deep section wheels are handy for A4 races as many of them are flat.

Invest in some decent training, if you really want to spend money get yerself a power meter. Put some structure to your training and you'll see a fairly big jump in fitness within 3 months.

The majority of A4 lads are training without any structure or reason and just giving it a lash at the weekend without ever really getting any better.

CramCycle

DKmac wrote: »

The majority of A4 lads are training without any structure or reason and just giving it a lash at the weekend without ever really getting any better.

Stop telling everyone my training secrets :pac:

carnivorecc

I raced as a Junior for the last two seasons. There is a massive difference between A3 and A4. Juniors capable of winning A1 races are in A3 and only a handful of senior A3s will be in the top ten of a typical Sunday race. If you want to compete in races like the Junior Tour I highly recommend you to race as A3. I don't even use a heart rate monitor and won open races last year

RowanHarley

DKmac wrote: »

Invest in some decent training, if you really want to spend money get yerself a power meter. Put some structure to your training and you'll see a fairly big jump in fitness within 3 months.

The majority of A4 lads are training without any structure or reason and just giving it a lash at the weekend without ever really getting any better.

Well like I'm doing a British cycling training plan but not sure if it's doing me much good tbh

wexandproud

RowanHarley wrote: »

Same. My wheels are only fulcrum.

i don't post on here very often but i read the threads quiet often .There is a lot of different opinion on where you should race and personally i think for a junior , A3 is the way to go , after the first few races , with little bit of training you'll be fine . like most honest cyclists , you'll have bad days , probably more often than good but that's cycling you'll love it

However what i really want to say is don't get sucked into the whole marketing speel around cycling equipment , there is nothing at all wrong with fulcrum wheels and in fact most of the low/ mid range stuff is perfectly fine for racing at our level . A good head is the most important thing

I was over at the tour of flanders 2 years ago and was looking at the ladies bikes , the guy I was with owns a bike shop [very good one] said he would not be able to sell some of the stuff they were using as guy here would feel it wasn't good enough

RowanHarley

carnivorecc wrote: »

I raced as a Junior for the last two seasons. There is a massive difference between A3 and A4. Juniors capable of winning A1 races are in A3 and only a handful of senior A3s will be in the top ten of a typical Sunday race. If you want to compete in races like the Junior Tour I highly recommend you to race as A3. I don't even use a heart rate monitor and won open races last year

Just out of interest, what were you like going into your first year?

carnivorecc

RowanHarley wrote: »

Just out of interest, what were you like going into your first year?

I won races as an U16 but as a first year junior I struggled. I didn't finish races such as Des Hanlon and didn't score any ranking points until Oldcastle GP (late July). My endurance was pretty weak and I was just making up the numbers in most races. If you haven't raced a lot before you'll find it difficult and don't expect to be getting many results.

Weepsie

RowanHarley wrote: »

Well like I'm doing a British cycling training plan but not sure if it's doing me much good tbh

If it involves jiffy bags and inhalers I'd stay clear.

A few people swear by trainerroad

Lusk_Doyle

Weepsie wrote: »

If it involves jiffy bags and inhalers I'd stay clear.

A few people swear by trainerroad

Not forgetting about the poor young lad who died from too much adreneline. Over training is a big risk at such a young age as they don't have the smarts to know when to back off and rest viewing it as time wasted rather than condition gained. Granted that poor chap came from a family that had a history or heart conditions but there are plenty that didn't. My view of the "elite" training program by the Brits is that it should only be administered by a qualified coach and certainly not followed by a youth alone. That's too risky.

RowanHarley

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

Not forgetting about the poor young lad who died from too much adreneline. Over training is a big risk at such a young age as they don't have the smarts to know when to back off and rest viewing it as time wasted rather than condition gained. Granted that poor chap came from a family that had a history or heart conditions but there are plenty that didn't. My view of the "elite" training program by the Brits is that it should only be administered by a qualified coach and certainly not followed by a youth alone. That's too risky.

I wouldn't exactly call it "elite". It was a lot of zone 3/zone 4 efforts with some slow rpm stuff.

RowanHarley

Well apparently I can drop down to A4 later in the season if I start in A3 but it doesn't work the opposite way around. I've stuck a poll up there so I can get a right idea of what you think.

DKmac

RowanHarley wrote: »

I wouldn't exactly call it "elite". It was a lot of zone 3/zone 4 efforts with some slow rpm stuff.

Believe it or not thats pretty much all you need. If you have the ability to arrive at a vital point in the race fresh then thats the advantage. Its being able to produce z3 and z4 consistently without draining the tank and arriving at the small z4 and z5 points with the freshness to pit out your max that really counts.
Some people could bang out big watts no problem but cant get anywhere close to that after 1.5hrs to 2hrs racing because they struggle to push out tempo pace consistently for that period.

DKmac

RowanHarley wrote: »

Well apparently I can drop down to A4 later in the season if I start in A3 but it doesn't work the opposite way around. I've stuck a poll up there so I can get a right idea of what you think.

Take A3 its a free upgrade you wont get again.

DKmac

RowanHarley wrote: »

Well apparently I can drop down to A4 later in the season if I start in A3 but it doesn't work the opposite way around. I've stuck a poll up there so I can get a right idea of what you think.

Take A3 its a free upgrade you wont get again.