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The Corner: The Right Bike
By Gordo Byrn
8/7/2009 |
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We are in the middle of a training camp this and I was asked my thoughts on the “right bike” by one of the crew. Here’s a recap of a conversation about speed, performance and budgets.
Price – you don’t have to spend nine grand to have a decent ride. Down-spec your bike purchase so you can afford a powermeter. There is a lot more “speed” to be had from learning how to ride efficiently than from having a tricked out bike.
Road or Tri – I recommend you start my learning how to ride a road bike with clip-on aerobars. When I started, I did it backwards and bought myself a tri-bike before I knew how to ride. A road bike is more realistic for athletes with limited time to train, ‘average’ flexibility and ‘normal’ bodies.
The athletes that tend to do best on tri-specific geometry have: lots of time to train, decent flexibility and lean bodies. These athletes (elites) are also racing on courses that are relatively clear of obstacles – if you chase-the-white-line in an agegroup race then you’ll probably end up crashing.
I have a few elite pals, with great positions, that have ridden straight into the back of cars, motorcycles, you name it. Athletes have died due to an ability to see, then react to, unexpected obstacles.
With the road bike (with drops and STi shifting) – you will corner faster, descend better and have superior power transfer when climbing/standing. It takes thousands of hours to build these skills on your TT bike.
Materials – I’ve broken frames from some of the best-known brands in our sport. In fact, I’ve destroyed more frames than I’ve managed to resell. It surprises me that more people don’t talk about broken frames. I can’t be the only one!
For my money, a very stiff titanium frame would be my first choice (it’s what I’m riding now). If you are a stronger rider, or heavy, or like doing big gear work on your trainer… then you will want to choose your frame quite carefully. It could be my riding style but I’ve cracked most my carbon frames, eventually.
Fit – fit systems are only as good as the fitter applying the system. Of course, you don’t find that out until after you’ve parted with your money. I’ve spent thousands.
Here are some tips from a guy that’s been fitted by the best, visited a wind tunnel and tried a wide range of positions:
Whether we like it or not, agegroup racing is quasi-draft legal – your position should reflect this reality. A position that favors comfort, digestion and your run split – carries much less of a penalty than the bikes that we see riding off the front in Kona or at the Tour de France.
Your starting point should be a comfortable road position, then adjust your saddle slightly forward (and up) to get yourself comfortable with your clip-ons. For what it’s worth, this was the position that I used to win Ultraman Hawaii as well as my best race at Ironman Canada (mid-8s). I think you’ll find that you achieve better comfort, power and fueling from using this as a starting point. This will result in better overall economy, giving you a superior run leg.
Consider your body on the bike – the longer the event, the greater the role that comfort plays in your true aerodynamics. The super-aggressive positions (used by riders that often have 10-50x our lifetime mileage) might be doable over the first half of your race but… are we really going to be able to hold that position? Figure out your most comfortable position – that’s likely optimal.
Pedals –lollypop shaped pedals often cause Achilles problems due to pronation in your pedal stroke. If you have this combo (Achilles issues and lollypops) then I suggest your switch to a more stable system (I use Look-Keo). Make sure that your cleats are replaced once your foot can rock laterally when clipped into the pedal.
Wheels – I will be travelling this winter so recently faced the question… “if I could only travel with a single set of wheels, which set?”. My choice was a pair of Zipp 404, clinchers with a built in PowerTap. For the money, I think that is your best all-around wheel choice. I have bought dozens of wheels over the years and would have saved a ton if I had simply chosen a single set of wheels that met all my needs.
Which Powermeter? I love my Wireless SRMs but the battery system is a pain and the system cost more than most my friend’s cars. In terms of proven value, it is tough to beat PowerTap. I have a pal that put 100,000 miles on his PT hub.
If you don’t have the budget,then get yourself a powermeter and borrow a front aerowheel when you race. Even if you have to buy your pal a new tire each time… it will still work out cheaper over the long run.
Final tip – until you run faster than your pals in aerohelmets, best to use vents.
Hope this saves you time and money!
gordo
Check out more on Gordo at Endurance Corner |
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