It sounds like my going with a pig and then tarting it up has irritated you
OK yes it is more than just the wider tyres, but in terms of numbers it doesn’t seem to be a huge benefit. Far less than the benefits of upgrading tyres, tubes, trisuit, waxing chain, etc.
I actually did want to get a new bike, that was plan A, but the P Series I was after was sold out in Australia and Cervelo said there wouldn’t be any more until the next season.
I have Di2 on my road bike and I like it, but I don’t change gear much in the tris, they’re mostly flat around here. And I don’t find it that much faster. The flat courses make weight matter less too. These are Aussie dollars btw… The P Series with Di2 was upward of $10k from memory.
Thanks @Brennus that’s interesting! A new trisuit is in the post on its way to me now. I will also (eventually) get a rear wheel cover. I love the idea of having a disc wheel for a fraction of the cost
That’s interesting about the helmets. I’m pretty happy with my Wing. It’s a lot better than the non-aero helmet I was using before.
Not sure maybe 20 seconds (Im not great at transitions though), plus it the extra toll of adding to the whole process, enough to drop off the podium or even the top 5 in a tight race.
Also when I have its been T2. Sweaty wet socks from the bike leg do nothing for comfort and stopping blisters on the run imo.
EZ gainz wheel cover has to be the best bang for ££££
What have you tried to improve the run, whats the limiter? What level (time for 5km) are we taking off the bike?
Get the optimal bike fit and get your bike/run fitness in order and youll be surprised how close to a open 5km you can run in a sprint.
Regarding latex vs tubeless after extensive back to back testing I cant say I have not found any time advantage between the two.
If anything the latex might be a touch faster but its within the noise / margin of error.
So then the decisions it more about flat protection, I’ve hardly ever had any flats except when I was overweight or a damage to a tyre that tubeless would not have saved. In that situation its longer to put a tube in tubeless than non-tubeless. Having said that in a sprint is effectively race over anyway.
The latest incarnation of the Wing is a really fast helmet, for sure.
One more thing to think about, @moonman , is your big ring. I’m not sure what you have on the crankset now, but putting an aftermarket big ring with a few more teeth…provided you can comfortably ride at pace with a straight chainline…will definitely net you several watts. Not an aero gain but still a pretty tangible gain.
Of course if you had a little extra cheddar but wanted to keep the frame, replacing the cockpit is going to get you some REAL watts. Like, double digit watt savings.
Haha that’s funny about the sweaty socks. Mine are on the thicker side (Balega Hidden Contour) and I haven’t noticed any moisture - in fact I always reckoned I was saving a few seconds on the barefoot guys because my feet slide into the runners that little bit easier.
The whole run vs bike thing is interesting - both from a training point of view and how hard you go on race day. In my case I feel that I may have just missed the boat on ~10 years of running training in my 30s because of injury and now that I’m getting closer to 50 it’s super hard to improve.
Some data:
5k PB is 20:35 and that was in 2023
I ran a 4k in 15:52 in Jan (based on Garmin distance) which in theory shows some improvement.
In tri’s if the run course is flat I’m usually just under 4:20/km pace. This tallies with my rule of thumb that you’ll be ~1 min slower over 5k in a tri vs standalone 5k. (So I’m interested in your comment about the run leg getting close to a standalone 5k time…)
The best guys in my age cat are all running 18,19.20 mins in their run legs, so I’m giving up plenty of minutes on the run.
Back in 2013 (before my back flared up) I was making good progress and I think a sub-20 5k was just a matter of time. These days that progress doesn’t seem to come so easily.
I’m also conscious that:
Running improvements seem to come from running more weekly kms ( = more time, which I don’t have) whereas I can get better on the bike just by training harder (not longer) e.g. higher PLs, FTP goes up, etc.
Running training seems far riskier from an injury perspective
I’m pushing riding at the moment (3 hard rides/week) and will get a yellow day maybe once or twice a week. Doing hard run sessions between hard rides is tricky!
I was speaking to a physio here (good runner, ran marathons for Australia) who said 40km/week should easily be enough to go sub-20 and he wondered if my ankylosing spondylitis medication was limiting adaptation.
I did start a Runna subscription and felt it was helpful. Got sick not long after and haven’t come back to the structure I had before - have been focused on the riding the last couple of months. But I think there might be cause for hope there.
@noahphence what about shaving legs? I don’t see much mention of this on the forums, so it either doesn’t make much difference or it’s assumed the rider would do that anyway?! I’m no gorilla, but I have a fair amount of fluff.
Pretty sure it does make a difference from places like the Specialised Win Tunnel testing, and it definitely would make a difference in water since that has more drag than air.
One the bang for buck scale it’s probably the biggest one since it doesn’t cost anything at all. Even if it was 0.01w saving for zero pounds it’s the most effective ratio, especially as I swear some tests put it at a few watts.
Easy watts there and some people will shave arms as well (or cover arm hair with long sleeve speed suit or arm covers). From the testing I’ve seen, shaving legs is good for 5-15 watts depending on speed. I always question wind tunnel data compared to real world, but it’s a no-brainer even if the real world numbers are only half that.
Arms also significant, just not as dramatic as legs.
For triathlon, especially if not wetsuit legal, shaving arms and legs is a no brainer. I do not shave my beard despite it likely hurting me on the swim. I still do shave my arms and legs for races even if wetsuit legal, let the arms grow back right away but will usually keep legs shaved for rest of the season.
