Forums >Racing>70.3 bicycle training
I want to do a 70.3 triathlon...This will most likely be a one time thing as I just want to do it for the experience of it...That being said, I don't want to invest a grand or so in a bike that I may only use long enough to complete the race. I know you can rent bikes at the actual event. So, would it be possible to train adequately on a spin bike only?
Listen. Yeah, it's gonna hurt some. That's the marathon business. But here's the thing. When it starts to get intense, that's not time to panic. This is what you wanted to happen. It means that all the training, all the miles, all the wakeups, all the cold, all the wet, all the sleep-deprived days and all the shit you've done to yourself over the last 6 plus months is finally about to pay off. It means you've put yourself where you wanted to be. You've given yourself an opportunity that very few will ever have. You've given yourself a chance. Now finish it.
Mark,
(depending on where you live....)
Your best "rental" option is Craigslist. You should be able to buy a bike from Craigslist that will work great for your training and racing needs, and then sell that same bike for about the same price you bought it for.
I would NOT recommend training on a spin bike, and arriving for your race on a rental from the local bike shop. There are bike setup considerations that are essential to being fresh and best preparing for the run portion. By practicing and training only on a spin bike, you'll discover other muscles on race day that'll make you wish you rented a bike from Craigslist and trained on it for a few months.
You can likely buy a used Craigslist bike that fits your size (ie. about 56cm bike for a 6' person) for about $500 to $700, and then sell that same bike for that same price a year later.
FWIW, I've done 3 such purchases when my family starting biking. Our net cost (buy minus sell) wasn't more than $300 for the 3 bikes. One of those 3 bikes, we bought for $300, and sold for $400.... The problem was that we ended out buying other bikes that had better bells and whistles because we enjoyed triathlon so much.
Best wishes.
Brian
Life Goals:
#1: Do what I can do
#2: Enjoy life
The bike leg should take 3-4 hours depending on your strength on the bike and the course. This will be tough to do indoors on a spin bike. You will need to build cycling specific strength, so it does not wipe out your running legs.Which 70.3 do you plan on racing? Is it flat/hilly/technical?
Swim , Bike, and Run A LOT
I know you can rent bikes at the actual event. So, would it be possible to train adequately on a spin bike only?
No
Beg borrow or steal if you have to. Get a road bike, have someone help you fit yourself to it and hit the road. Windy days, rainy days, cold days, hot days.
Why wouldn't you need a bike even if you were not doing Tri's...says the guy who owns 7.
No Beg borrow or steal if you have to. Get a road bike, have someone help you fit yourself to it and hit the road. Windy days, rainy days, cold days, hot days. Why wouldn't you need a bike even if you were not doing Tri's...says the guy who owns 7.
Buy one (or steal one) from SloHand. I've read somewhere that he owns 7 (or was it 7)?
(I think he's from HawkEye country, if that's near your neck of the woods.)
jules2
Old age is when you move from illegal to prescribed drugs.
Ha Ha....All last summer I had one of my bikes out on loan to an aspiring "semi" pro athlete. He was training for the Redman Full Triathlon in Ok City.
He was part of a software training team preparing our plant for a live switch over. He was travel back and forth every week and needed a bike up here to train on. I loaned him my Cannondale Six 13. It spent the weekends in the training trailer and the weekday evenings cruising the farm to market roads.
I got some really good biking in last season. I could hold my own against him in the hills but on the flats he would just cream me.
^^Consider this your rental.^^
Shouldn't part of the experience be the training and buildup too? Training on the road and being familiar with your bike will ensure a better experience come race day.
I'm signed up for a 70.3 this summer myself. I've never done a tri of any distance. We should make for good entertainment.
You need more than just fitness to finish a 70.3. You need to be able to handle the bike in whatever conditions you encounter, so to be prepared you need to ride outside at least for part of your training. You'll need to be able to drink/eat whatever you decide to go with for your nutrition on the bike (without crashing).
Also, depending on the course, you will need to be able to handle downhills, and if there are sharp turns on the downhills, that's something a trainer or stationary bike can't duplicate.
The wind is a factor as well. Crosswinds can make you lose control of the bike if you've never experienced them, and riding into a headwind, while clearly is a physical challenge, it's also a mental challenge because the tendency is to try to push too hard into the wind (at least for me), yet still get frustrated because I'm going too slow. It takes some experience to learn how it feels to keep a constant effort into a varying headwind.
So... pretty much what others have advised... I would shop Craigslist for a bike that fits you and train outside, then sell the bike if you don't want to do any more after the 70.3.
Feeling the growl again
+1...or +4 at this point.
I've never done a half-IM, but even for sprint tri's, you need to have basic road bike handling skills. It's not nearly the same as spinning. FWIW I own two road bikes, both bought used in the mid/late 90s, for $200 and $400. While both would not allow me to live out my full potential in a tri, neither presents a limitation to someone making a decent attempt to finish or be marginally competitive to their fitness level. Find an older used bike, sell it when you are done.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Tomorrow will be worse
Ditto, but here's another site to use http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/
this is how I ended up getting my old Cannondale r2000. It was supposed to be temporary while I saved for something newer and shinier, but turns out I like it and I can't find something I actually like better - I just can't justify shelling out $2K for a bike that isn't better than what I already have. Which is to say, you can pick up a well maintained, good older bike and probably only stand to gain a few seconds buying a far more expensive bike