Yes.
You dont want to be THAT guy running a road bike on a HIM… You need to look the part…
TT suit, aero helmet. full disc wheel on the back!
Interesting, what this tells me is I need to become a faster runner overall if I want to hit that 4.5hr time .
Or faster on the bike while keeping the same run.
You can probably cut 5 on the bike if you get a TT bike (maybe)…
and then 10 on the run. 1.30 based on your HMP is reachable…
I feel like I was pretty aero, for being on a road bike with clip ons, and at least didn’t look THAT lame . You guys tell me, how much good would a TT bike do vs this position?!: https://www.finisherpix.com/en/photos/4452/373
To paraphrase a popular golf phrase - Bike for show, run for dough.
There is no such thing as a “great bike” followed by a poor run. Tri is a 3 discipline sport, but the only measurement that matters is the time when you cross the line. I would recommend playing a bit with your bike legs and seeing if going just a bit slower can net you a substantially faster run. Seems to me you have the physical capabilities to run faster…you just need to adjust your training and race day plans to execute.
Not bad… could be better… but not bad…
I have seem far worse positions on much expensive Tri bikes!
The neuromuscular benefits in the form of a more efficient cadence and better coordination seem to be major areas of improvement for me with more frequent run sessions. Almost like my legs are learning the patterns and remembering them better with more frequent sessions.
Please don’t take this the wrong way…but that hurts my aero sensibilities. In all seriousness, I am probably more aero on my road bike w/o clip-ons than you are with them.
You have the opportunity to cut massive chunks of time from your bike leg…which, TBH, scares the crap out of me given your time in AZ with a bad position.
Here is a pic of me from a few years ago…now compare things like shoulder height and head position vs. your set-up. You are basically bludgeoning the air into submission.
Dannngg… yeah that helps put it in perspective. Would you say you’re pretty flexible? I feel like some of that fast looking position takes some flexibility right? I am constantly trying to get myself to commit to more yoga as I always feel like my tight hips/hammy’s are limiters.
I wish i could ride like this…
How can you look up?
The person fitting me told me i should be able to look 20’ in front of me.
I tried to lower the front as much as I could but the pain of the neck was real!
Its that something you can train?
Is it related to flexibility?
I had to raise the front a bit more and now is much comfortable…
Oh god no…I can barely touch my shins, let alone my feet. Dead serious.
The myth that you need to be flexible to get aero really needs to die. The key to getting aero is hip rotation. You need to roll you hips forward, which allows you to get lower in the front. Moving your saddle forward also helps and proper saddle selection is critical. A lot of people use a snub-nose saddle to help achieve a lower position (it let’s your “dangly-down” parts actually dangle down )
I have a natural “head down” position…even on my road bike. But by peering up and occasionally lifting my head higher, I see just fine. 20’ is no issue for me.
I don’t change my position for the length of my races, either…my OLY position is my full IM position.
It is definitely something you can train, but it has always come natural for me. That said, my neck and shoulders were definitely sore after The Rift gravel race this year…but that was also ~10 hours.
Good luck Justin!!! Just be sure to have your race vlog up by Nov 1 . I have another trip to CA via Seattle and need more videos to binge on!
Oh sigh ! Was just looking at my so called aero position - I still look like a large whale gaping for krill . But then I have a lot watts to work on.
So since I started training more for tri than cycling 20 months ago I’ve actually gained weight… I am built a bit like a gymnast rather than a cyclist, not very tall and lots of chest and shoulder muscle. The past 10 years of serious riding, I’ve been able to maintain between 160-165 fairly consistently, but in the past year I’ve been more in the 170-172 range. I attribute part of this to swimming, and filling my chest and shoulders back out, but also partially to covid (cough, beer). It seems crazy when I eat pretty darn well and train 13-15hrs a week. Has anyone else experienced this? And I guess my functional question is, I am obviously clear how much weight matters in cycling w/k, I have justified that a bit in Tri because the courses tend to be pretty flat, but what I don’t have a grasp on is how much does weight affect running (assuming flattish courses)?
When I was a full time runner 4 years ago, my weight was steady at 150…
Since then I am happy to see the scale down to 155…
I haven’t seen 150 in at least 3 years!
I blame everything but my unhealthy eating habits.
Not as much as we would like to think. Unless you have 10kg of spare body fat hanging around, and I’m pretty sure that you don’t.
Just going back to the splits point, I look at the stats on coachcox to see average splits and qualifying splits, which is fine guidance for MOP like me - run is a clear weakness compared to average MOP guys my age. But I do think there is a fair amount of variability in the top ten finishers and I think it is quite likely that to get on the podium you have to play to your strengths and get the best splits you can do, not the best splits other people can do.
This and getting your saddle higher is also important. I’m 193cm but my fitter in working to get me aero suggested 155mm cranks…why? So I could raise my saddle up more. I’m pretty damn aero now and like @Power13 am not exactly a ballet dancer in terms of flexibility.
Interesting.
I use 165… So from 155 to 165 is not much difference.
Wonder if that could help me move the seat higher…