The X-Lab aero pouch which is a tool bag wrapped around a behind the saddle bottle holder and makes the entire setup the teardrop shape of an aero foil holds a bottle in better than any cage on the market.
I raced the Gulf Coast half ironman in May with a between the arms cage on my aerobars and replacement fuel behind saddle using X-Lab aero pouch. It holds the bottle so firmly that I can’t imagine an inadvertent ejection of a bottle! For me I used, the bottle between arms, discarded whiten empty and replaced with bottle from aero pouch. A bottle in the aero pouch can be removed once, but good luck trying to put a bottle back in while moving, for me it worked perfectly.
It’s a bonus that it provides a place to store flat repair stuff at a minimal aero penalty.
I am on a Pivot Mach 4 SL as well and also experienced problems with front wheel traction. I think it is due to the short chainstays. I am already running a 77m -25degree stem and think about swapping my bar with it’s 12 degrees of backsweep for an almost straight one to get over the front wheel even more.
Cairns Ironman might be what you are looking for not heaps of climbing but enough to make a difference. Great for a family vacation at great barrier Reef, home of the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships . 80 Kona slots up for grabs, fantastic 3 loop run course through the bars and restaurant precinct Voted Number 1 Ironman for Overall Satisfaction 2018.
From their IRONMAN website:
Over it’s eight year history the event has become known as the IRONMAN in Paradise, boasting an experience that extends past the race day excitement. Hosted in Tropical North Queensland athletes and their support crew have easy access to the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree Rainforest and the tropical island surrounds. Take a look into the iconic destination through the eyes of Liz Blatchford.
With arguably the most spectacular bike course in the world, competitors race up the Captain Cook Highway hugging the coastline from Cairns to Port Douglas. From reef to World Heritage listed rainforest, and a run along the stunning Cairns boardwalk, the race finishes in the heart of the city. This race has become a ‘must-do’ on the IRONMAN circuit, and there is every reason to believe the hype.
Good Luck
Just curious. Were either of the drivers that turned in front of Nate Zarlengo or Jonathan cited for their actions? Fatalities for cyclists and pedestrians are climbing.
Good question @Average_Joe. I didn’t hear @Jonathan mention anything about what the driver of the car had to say for himself/herself and would be interested to know.
This. The angle of the cage is just as important, if not more important, than the type of cage. I have seen buddies with bottle sticking straight up have them eject out of Gorilla cages.
Yes - I agree with @Nate_Pearson as well. Most of my training is indoors now, partly because of safety and partly the reality of life being busy. My outdoor rides have shifted from road to gravel. The area I live in has very lightly traveled gravel farm roads. I might get passed by one vehicle every 10 miles. I still have my Varia radar on and flashing every ride.
Thanks to @Nate_Pearson, @jonathan and @chad for an absolutely fascinating deep dive on L-Carnitine. If there’s any scope to do something similar on Beta Alanine and Creatine in future podcasts that would be great!
It depends. This summer I formulated a plan for my long outdoor rides. First, I planned 3 different loops. Second, I had to start early, around 5 AM; this allowed me to do a good 3 hours with very light traffic. Third, once traffic got too busy on Loop 1, I moved on to Loop 2 and finally Loop 3.
This worked well most of the time but there were still near-death incidents even in the lightest of traffic. I don’t think as a bike rider you have a greater probability than a motor vehicle of being hit, but definitely a greater probability of serious injury/death if you do get hit. These days the risk has far outpaced the reward.
That said, we never hear a lot about injuries or deaths from closed-course races or MTB trails (I know 2 people who have died MTBing…but 0 people who have died from riding in traffic).
This is what makes rail trails so great. Long mostly non-interupted chip gravel paths with no worry of vehicles. Biggest worry is not taking enough food.
Nate feel your pain with mountain bike fit. I am 6’-4” and currently race a xl yeti sb5 With a 90mm stem. If you like where your bar height is now I would try a longer stem. You can also try when climbing steep grades to “row” back and downward by dropping your elbows below bar height and extending wrists. Picture loading both wheels down and into the ground with more bias towards the front. It is not pretty but works for us tall guys. Also I am pretty sure 9.8 makes a different heads for set back or fore positioning for certain models of their dropper posts.
My understanding is that the term comes from aircraft where when coming in for landing they have a glide path that says “at this point you need to be in this position/speed/altitude etc” so that you end up where you want to be (I.e. on the runway!).
So for cycling it says "at the end (target event) I want to have this weight and ftp…so 2 months (or whenever) before that I need to be at this weight/ftp…so 2 months before that i need to be at this weight/ftp and so on and so on. Basically posh way of saying that setting intermediary goals to ensure meet final goals!!!
I know that sounds dumb: How do you set intermediat goals (aka glide path)?
Let’s say my ftp is at 300 now and I want to be at 350 in 6 month.
Is the intermediate goal 325 in 3 month? Wouldn’t that mean, that I am improving my ftp during the first month as much as during the last? That doesn’t sound right…
I’ve used an airdyne for longer than I’ve been using TR for indoor training. In the period I was just using my airdyne, my FTP increased by about 15% - so it definitely works to get fitter.
It also uses more upper body, but in particular more core, than riding a stationary trainer, so I think it’s a great tool for training for technical MTB. I live in Colorado, so stamina for long descents is important. I also strength train, so it’s not all the airdyne, but I feel like it helps.
I use the airdyne if I’m time crunched and looking to fit in a sub 45min workout, or if I’m not in a TR plan (like now, off season). It doesn’t record power (does display it however), so I keep track of intervals “manually”. And it makes for a nice mental break vs just riding the trainer.
It’s also great for tabata intervals if that’s your thing.
Plus you can pick up a used airdyne or air assault bike for a few hundred $. So pretty cheap.
All-in, I think it’s a useful tool - but it’s nice to also have a regular trainer so I can follow TR plans, and also do longer rides (I’ve never ridden more than an hr on the airdyne).
I don’t think there is a perfect way - just experience really and estimates. As you spotted it’s unlikely to be a linear path…so maybe if want to gain 50 watts in 6 months then maybe aim for 25w in 2 months, 40w in 4 months and then 50w in 6 months. That’s purely an example but gives an idea!
I am on a Pivot Mach 4 SL as well and also experienced problems with front wheel traction. I think it is due to the short chainstays. I am already running a 77m -25degree stem and think about swapping my bar with it’s 12 degrees of backsweep for an almost straight one to get over the front wheel even more.
