Active Community: Message List

Am I a man if I...

guest — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:21:49 GMT

YES!!!!

Tri Shorts - Anything Underneath??

guest — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:18:13 GMT

Tri shorts and bike shorts are made to be worn without anything between them and you. This means there are no seams in places that would rub you the wrong way, particularly while on the bike. You may want to use chamois cream for a bit more comfort. If it is a, uh, visual discomfort, on the swim and bike it isn't really a problem and on the run just slip on a pair of shorts over the tri-shorts in T2.

Have fun.

Why do people run in the bike lanes?

guest — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:58:17 GMT

I think the relative hardness of asphalt versus concrete is not the reason, as there is very little perceptable difference. Just as road cyclists would rather ride along a road (bike path or no) instaed of a multi-user trail, runners would rather run on the road instead of the sidewalk. Why? Less obstructions. Consider a sidewalk: pedestrians, people coming out of stores (urban area), cars pulling out of driveways and parking lots, the change in the sidewalk for said driveways, your relative speed compared to other sidewalk users and being seen by drivers pulling across the sidewalk. Running along the street, in a abike path or not, has a lot fewer of these obstacles/challenges and you tend to be much more visible to cars.

Wheel upgrade question

guest — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 22:00:23 GMT

For your budget you aren't going to get a new carbon wheelset. You may find some used for that amount. Depending on how many races you are planning on doing, renting can be a good option, especially to try some out. Your bike, Felt z85, is a road bike. If you are just doing triathlons, you may to spend money getting a triathlon fit which will include bars/extensions, as well as an aero helmet if you don't have one already. Those are the two biggest time savers in triathlon bike legs. Third is a set of aero wheels. You can certainly get lighter wheels depending on your size. I like Rol wheels http://www.rolw www.rolwheels.com for quality and price.

Have fun.

Wetsuit Question

guest — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 21:29:24 GMT

I hope your tri went well. Surfer wetsuits are designed to keep you warm, tri wetsuits are designed to swim giving you bouyancy and adequate shoulder/arm rotation as well as keep you warm. I live where the water is cold, even in the summer, so I have a full leg/arm suit as well as a sleeveless suit. Both are from Xterra (xterrawetsuits.com) They are having a sale right now so the sleeveless Volt is $99 with free shipping. They also do rentals. If you go sleeveless, you can also get neoprene sleeves so you have full rotation but the with added warm and bouyancy on the arms.

Good luck and have fun.

Essential road gear??

guest — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 23:13:08 GMT

Good suggestion on the tire boot; I'll add that to my saddle bag. Also, I carry a mini-pump for some of the logic you used. Multiple flats=multiple inflations and you could blow through two-three cartridges easily (especially if mishandled (hello Chrissie Wellington at Kona!)). I carry a multi-tool with a chain breaker that was invaluable on the 200-mile race when my chain broke. Took out a link and only lost a few minutes of time; I wasn't going to cross chain big-big anyway. Love the ALINEs by the way. Thanks for those two years ago.

Handling the Heat on Race Day...

guest — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 22:45:31 GMT

I agree that training to fit expected race conditions is best (if uncomfortable). I live, train, and race at altitude (7,000 ft) so sunscreen/sunblock is important year-round. Not to be a salesperson, but I have used Rocky Mountain Sunscreen for years. As to blocking pores, here's what they have to say:

http://www.rmsunscreen.com/whyrms.aspx#BONDINGBASEDIFFERENCE

Have fun!

Selecting a Bike Seat

guest — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 17:34:31 GMT

You may also look into John Cobb saddles (Google his website). He designed the original ISM sadles has now has his own line. He offers a 180 day return guarantee that I didn't need to take him up on. My local tri shop also had demos to use for a week.I have tried a number of saddles fro tris and road bikes and this one is best for me.

Good luck and have fun.

new to tri's - have questions

guest — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 22:15:37 GMT

Welcome to tris! Ackmann and Wint covered transitions pretty well. I'll add a bit on split transitions where swim-to-bike (T1) and bike-to-run (T2) are in different locations.I have been in several races where this is the case (Vineman in Santa Rosa, Ca is the biggest I've been in). Sometimes the swim location just doesn't translate into a good finish area for all legs of a triathlon. What happens in these races is that you have to set up two transition areas, either the night before or early in the morning of the race. Since you are showing up at the start with your swim and bike gear, it is your run stuff that gets put wherever T2 is located. VIneman sets up T2 the day before and has security at night. Even at T1 you have to be aware of what you bring. After exiting the swim you will put your wetsuit (if used) and any gear you want to save into a bag provided by the race with your race number on it. Volunteers will pick up the gear bags and transport to the finish area for you to pick up at the end of the race. My wife once had a slow swim and her gear was loaded into the truck so she had to wait about 20 minutes while they found her bag. Her bike was still there and there were other swimmers still in the water, so it was hard to imagine what they were thinking.

I urge newbies to go watch a race or better yet, volunteer, to get a better understanding of how a triathlon works.

Have fun and good luck.

A question about taking a bike in a case on an airplane

guest — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 21:40:21 GMT

Mark:

Unless you have a folding bike which can be "disguised" in a suitcase, United is horrible about charging fees for bicycles. It is currently $100 each way within the US and Canada, and $200 elsewhere. Standard bikes with wheels, pedals and handlebars off, don't fit the dimensional requirements. From their website:

http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/baggage/sports.aspx

If you can spare the bike a few days on either end, check with FedEx or others about shipping your bike. You will need a destination (bike shop, hotel, etc) that you have checked with as well, but is is bound to be cheaper. Good luck and have fun.