Thanks - I didn’t know about rear wheel covers. They sound like a great bang for buck purchase! Do you have any you’d recommend? They’ll work nicely for me because I don’t use my rear wheel apart from racing and the odd training ride at the velodrome.
That front brake looks awesome, but at A$400-500 it’s steeper per watt saved than some of the others I think. Looks like it would save 2-4W?
Actually I normally do wear socks but was in a rush when this photo was taken!
But most people suggest you can save 10-20s in T1 by not wearing socks. I just haven’t been game enough to try it yet (too many other things to work on first!)
Thanks! I have just ordered a decent trisuit and will get the tubes/tyres and chain sorted. I reckon just with that there could be tens of watts saved, with more things to look at later as well.
I do wonder if the position could be more aero - but I’d need a wind tunnel to do the real aero optimisation?
Have you tried the Wheelbuilder covers? Any idea how they compare to EZ Disc?
It is lipstick on a pig, I agree. But how much do wide tyres save? That seems to be the only advantage of going with a more modern frame. I paid about $1500 for the used P3, vs $7000 for a new one, so that leaves plenty of dosh for lipstick.
You’re missing the point by a country mile. No, the “only” advantage of a new frame is not just wider tires. It is better aerodynamics, lighter weights, wider tires, better brakes, more options in the aftermarket for new wheels or whatever, electronic shifting, etc etc. Your other straw man, that of “it being $7000”, as far as I know you are not obligated to get a P3. Quintana Roo, as a quick example, has multiple lightly used demo bikes, none older than a year or so, for way under $7k. Again, you set yourself up for failure with the frame you bought and now you’re begging for watts you sacrificed for money you “saved” which you’re now trying to spend.
I dont wear socks for a sprint, but I do for anthing longer.
The frame is fine. It’s a quick frame so you aren’t giving much up vs a newer (and expensive) frame. I really wouldn’t advocate replacing it unless you have lots of spare cash or have an issue with the current set up. Rim brake, narrow tyre bikes were winning Grand Tour TTs just a couple of years ago even when some manufacturers/teams had switched to discs and wide tyres. You only don’t see rim jobs winning these days as all manufacturers have a disc TT frame so the teams aren’t allowed to ride the rim brake frames anymore.
Biggest bang for buck gain? Learn to ride with your head low, in a “shrugged/turtle neck” position as much as you safely can.
Hi @moonman !
Here are my two suggestions & I’ll throw in a wildcard third…
First, get a sleeved trisuit. I had good luck with the 2XU sleeved tri-suit. Their aero version. This tested really well for me, which can be an individual thing…but I feel reasonably confident in saying that any decent sleeved suit will be faster than what you are wearing.
Second, get a disc cover for your rear wheel. I like EZgains product but have also used wheelbuilder’s disc wheel cover.
Wild Card…Rudy Wing is a pretty fast helmet on most heads. I’ve taken a lot of aero data on tri helmet options and the fastest on my noggin was also the cheapest. You can read about it in my thread…scroll down to see the helmet. Don’t know if it’s still available. But there is a cheap option you can get & test just to see.
EZGains product is more durable. For low yaw angles they will both perform about the same. If the course/conditions will produce a yaw distribution with a lot of modelled time above 5%, EZGains will probably outperform but just a little. (I think because of the shape of the EZ Disc non-drive side)
It is better aerodynamics, lighter weights, wider tires, better brakes, more options in the aftermarket for new wheels or whatever, electronic shifting, etc etc.
The first two things in the list here are refuted in a post made by Quintana Roo…..::checks notes::….3 months ago. A good rim brake tri frame from back in the day can still be more aero and lighter than modern disc brake tri frames.
Of the rest of the list presented, the biggest thing saving you watts is the new options in aftermarket wheels. Some HED Jets with tubeless tires will get you like 75% of the way there, though. I think you made the right call by getting an older frame and putting money saved towards any of the other possible things that will make you slip through the air well. Don’t worry that they might be more money than one usually would want to spend on such a thing. Get that $600 tri suit if you want!
You certainly got good bang for the buck.
To me the major selling point of a modern disc frame with wider rubber is the ability to get more comfort, wider more stable aero wheel profiles, and a better performing tubeless setup.
A well setup tubeless system means almost never flatting or being taken out of a race with a pin prick flat.
That said, you can do tubeless on 25mm. It works. You can also squirt some sealant into a 25mm tube for a race and hopefully prevent those pin prick or slow leaker flats.
But I agree, an extra $5500 to get that is a high price to pay.
I didn’t try Easy Gains disc cover, I just googled it and it looks very similar. Wheelbuilder is US based and was easy to get, and this was at least a decade ago.
If you are UK based, I wouldn’t hesitate, either are similar and are essentially 99.99 equivalent to a disc wheel, you will not likely get the woomp woomp sound, but arguably its the best bang for the buck upgrades for your bike.
You don’t need a wind tunnel to do aero testing. Robert Chung devised a method to do aero testing out on the road - see this Silca article https://silca.cc/blogs/silca/chunging-with-robert-chung - that just requires attention to detail. I believe Golden Cheetah - https://www.goldencheetah.org/ - has the Chung Method math built-in
I was perusing the tririg website and came across their Delta Aero coverhttps://tririg.com/products/delta-aero-cover for only $185USD. Rather than buy a tririg brake (which they advertise as being faster than no brake) you can get a freakin fairing that covers up the works and they say has the Cervelo P series in mind for the design. Ronan Mclaughlin used one during his record setting Everesting effort.
That, and Josh portner has mentioned a few times that a properly sized bento behind the stem i.e. filling that gap can be a bit faster. Also snacks as was said. Not sure if a front mounted hydration back pack is worth the trouble but supposedly that’s got some gains, enough to have it outlawed by the UCI. Portner has mentioned filling gaps in the frontal area can have decent effect.
In fact, you might look for a list of rules for the UCI for TTs and pick all the cheap, low hanging fruit that breaks them since tri is way hipper than the UCI when it comes to smart stuff.
Depending on what you plan to do for hydration, you could do a BB storage box or a rear box. You’ll need a good way to store your repair kit, might as well make it aero.
Very inexpensive - remove the front mech and inner ring. Should clean that area up a nice bit.
Does relie on it been a flat course but if it is, then that should save a few watts without any outlay.
I wanted to think that and I know there is more to it, but we had an interesting threat with some simulations and removing 4 cables from a road bike with tri bars gained 0.3 watts.
Guess my terminology was a bit unclear or simply wrong there. I wasn’t so much thinking about the cables but a more aero cockpit in general.
If you really push it, something like the Most customs, but there should be other more integrated TT or triathlon cockpits these days. Expensive, but very likely also faster. Though I don’t have as good a proof of this as you did with the cables. Very impressive!
Thanks - I did focus on my running the last couple of years, especially the last year. I sustained 40km/week of good sessions (mix of easy / quality) but improvements were hard to find! All my recent niggles and injuries seem to come from running too, so it’s risky business. Tbh I’m lucky I can run at all. I have ankylosing spondylitis which took years to diagnose but meant I couldn’t run consistently for nearly 10 years.
ETA: Transition is another good one I agree. In T1 I currently lose 30-60s on the best guys whereas in T2 I am up there. I think this is either because I’m just slow at running after the swim, or (more likely?) because I’m stopping to put on socks while many of the others are running out barefoot.