TRIATHLON (Read 353 times)

 

Doesn't that feel awesome?     I love passing the guy with the aero-helmet and the disc wheel on my road bike with clip-on aerobars. 

 

These statements don't really prove anything. Especially over 112 miles and a marathon to follow.

While there are a great number of participants riding bikes that are priced way beyond thier ability...passing expensive bikes does not prove you are a faster triathlete. Or that a riding a road bike does not put you at a disadvantage.

Looking thru the history of the World Championship all the way back to 1978 it's pretty clear that the Tri Specific bike offers a distinct advantage. What is interesting though is there isn't that signifigant of a difference from the overall finishing times nearly 2 decades ago compared to the last 5 years. What you also need to keep in mind is the feild of athletes was much smaller back then too...today, even with more athletes in the elite ranks, we are not seeing a substantial time difference.

In the mid to late 80's and into the 90's there were no tri suits, power meters, heart rate monitors, carbon framed bikes, aero bottles, newton shoes, custom bike fit clinics, velcro strapped bike shoes...on and on. The bikes weighed nearly 25 lbs, the components were clunky. Nutrition consisted of dried figs and pbj's.

One of the largest jumps in times...going from the 9 hour mark to under 8:30 happened when Brick training was introduced.

There has always been a great deal of focus on the bike which actually has been a good thing but the sport itself has become drunk on equipment. Every forum you visit it's the same qx..."How much time can I save with X". People pour over wind tunnel results, worry about the position of thier water bottle, spend hours talking about how eliminating cycling gloves and shaving your knuckles will reduce drag.

All of this and it just ain't showing up in the times...of the elites anyway. And I would think if it isn't showing up there then it isn't showing up in the age goup amateur class.

Looking thru the history...

The fastest full length time trial at the Tour de France was ridden by Greg LeMond in 1989 at 54.545kph (24.5km) on this steel rig with clip-on aero bars.

Last year multi time world champ Tony Martin won stage 11 with an average speed of 54.271 (33km) on this no expense spared carbon machine.

The most significant speed improvements that I've seen in the last 25 years have been due to pharmaceutical advancements, not bike advancements.

Bikes are for kids but if you take a $400 bike and put a friend on a $4000 bike,  Peddle the same speed then coast.

Watch as the $4000 bike leaves you behind.

If somebody beats you on a cheap bike its because they tried harder.

My 40 year old 40 pound Schwinn Contential will out coast my fellow rider's $4000 Trek Madone.  I'm a mechanical geek, have it tuned to perfection, and run 120 psi tire pressure.  The only time he has an advantage is climbing hills. I do own an expensive road bike, but do most of my training on the old Schwinn. I've ridden a 3:24 100K training ride on the old Schwinn, and have yet to beat that on my good bike. But I also live in Kansas where it's flat.

Is there any way to gauge one's cycling ability without racing/using a powermeter? 

If you wanted to compare two cyclists ability why not just use the same setup and then have both ride the same 10 mile time trial a couple minutes apart?

You riding around on the roads on a low end mtb would be like me running a marathon in cheap hiking boots from target. Yeah, I'm gonna be slower and get tired sooner.

Just putting skinnier road tires on that Mt. bike and running higher tire pressure, and getting the seat height, and general bike fitting right, can make a huge difference. I might also add that a hard effort, on a improperly adjusted bike, is an injury just waiting to happen.

Down and dirty: If your crotch rocks on the seat, or your knees lock out, it's too high. You want to be just below that point. Any lower and you loose efficiency. You want to ride with the ball of your foot above the pedal axle. With the crank arm parallel to the ground and foreword, the bone that sticks out of the inside of your knee should be directly above the pedal axle. A string with a washer tied to it, works good for this. If your seat is too far back, it can put a lot of stress on your knee on the down stroke.

3rd (1st?) SPRINT on Wed. 1st was in a pool and timed. Nice intro, but... Didnt feel too competitive. 15 min in pool. 5 min for Transition 1. 20 min on bike (or 30?) 5 min Transition 2. 30 min on Treadmill. Like I said, it was a great intro.

I would like to AGREE with the comment "swim well enough not to drown". There are a lot of factors with Open Water Swimming. Although there are kayaks there, I have yet to see a person go from Kayak to Kayak, or even touch one. I guess its possible, but it would be the equivalent of walking the entire 5K and then telling people that you completed one. Except, in the swim you could actually die.

So, the 2nd event I did was a MOCK SPRINT. Its bascially doing the sprint, but without the stress of awards, or the hassle of road closures, route markings, volunteers. - I missed a turn on the Mock bike and added almost 5 miles to my ride. I couldnt see on the swim due to poorly sealing goggles and the setting sun finish and was way off target.

Thanks to these experiences, I am really looking forward to the SPRINT race. My target race was 7/20 OLYMPIC, but when I found I could fit the SPRINT in, was happy to test where I am. Still working on if I could fit 70.3 or 140.6 training into my life. If I switch a couple commute car rides for bike rides and set up a trainer bike in the house, I might be able to fit it in. - I may also need to sacrifice my running streak.