Tri / Triathlon / Triathlons - do they float your boat?

No recommendations up your way I'm afraid but as your going for an aero fit whoever you see i'd really emphasize that you need an ironman position not a TT setup as there's more of a difference than i thought. I've had 3 "aero" fits plus one wind tunnel and one velodrome cda testing session to find a position that works for me. The first one was too pure aero focused and i ended up with a position that was fine for a 10 but would have needed a lot of practice to hold for a 25TT the second fit was slightly less aggressive but required a helmet change and whilst fine for TT's i would suffer terrible hamstring cramping almost immediately on the run. My final fit that worked we actually did a couple of short tempo bike run brick intervals near the end of the session to make sure i was comfortable running off it. After that we went to the velodrome for some head, hand, body position and equipment testing. Now I've got a pretty aero position that i can ride for hours in very relaxed and when i do Olympic distance i just bring my pads in a little and shrug and turtle up more but the bike set up stays as is. I rather not add up how much unnecessary money i spent in all this and most of it could have been saved by a clear checklist of my requirements and a quick email exchange or phone call prior to the fit.

In our club forum KWCC, Nas at Pearsons was recommended as was Jimmy Wilson at cyclefit

Cheers for the recommendations. I searched around but there was no short term availability.

I was getting niggles and just needed something ASAP and Chris @ cycling performance managed to fit me in with a days notice - hero.
https://www.cyclingperformance.co.uk/fitservices

Lovely guy, lots of experience in other shops around London now going solo. Would recommend.

Both road/TT positions are WAY better. Especially the TT thank god. Didn't have much time to work on specific aero posture, but in all honesty I was so far away from a decent fit it was unrealistic. I will probably focus on that on the follow-up as long as all good otherwise.

Need a couple of bits including 165mm crankset+power meter, specialised power saddle/prologo dimension NDR/tri + 5cm profile design aerobar risers (if you could spare them @Sainsburys_Ed that would be amazing).

Replacement parts are coming out of the coaching budget currently so second hand would be a huge bonus if anyone has anything lying around!

I’ve got a couple of older 165 shimano cranks, chainrings are knackered but you can have them for the cost of postage… not power meters sadly…

Does anyone here use extended display mode on garmin forerunner/edge?

I have a forerunner 745 and an edge 520 plus, both of which support extended display mode, however I cannot get it to display power when in this mode. According to garmin website it’s supposed to reflect the data screens from your watch, but it doesn’t seem to show power data in either bike only or multi sport mode.

Any ideas?

Answering my own question from earlier on here:

Where do you all buy your foam padding for your arm rests?

Ebay, Neoprene EPDM Blend Foam Sheet / Adhesive Backed / Squares & Strips in all sizes

Oh, and swim progress update 6 months in into learning how to swim:
In jan I did my first openwater swims in wetsuit, and it was soo much easier with my legs not sinking because of my kick - or the lack of it. Today I did my first continuous 1500m in pool with no buoy just under 37mins. Starting to believe that it wont be a major issue on my first half :)

Have we been watching Arena games this weekend? Sanders riding 420+ watts at 130bpm was impressive whilst all the other guys were doing 350 max at 170+bpm

Anyone fancy weighing in on bottle options for distance races? Was thinking of a double saddle holder but have no idea how awkward they are to use

Relatively tricky, and have a tendency to eject out if it’s a bumpy road… but if the general data they tend to be faster than them not being there and if you need to carry specific nutrition then there aren’t many other options…

That said if it’s just for water most long distance races have aid stations every 20k or so, and a between the arms is both easier to drink from and better aerodynamically!

I'm guessing you mean with a straw system? I was intending on carrying a bottle with water then another with sugars/electrolytes but I have zero experience with nutrition over IM distance.

Intend to have a decent about of solid food, a water bottle, plus one with the high5 they supply. Rookie mistake?

I suppose I could potentially make do with the one in front.

You can use a normal bottle between your bars too, and just flip it out to drink, or you can use the straw types.
Does your bike have any integrated storage or fixings?

After much procrastination I spotted Planet X had 20% off everything with MADMARCH20 just now so ordered the selcof cockpit which I believe is the same as pdq?

The only difference (other than the stickers) is the level of inspection and verification Ian went/goes through to QC the bars he sells. How much PX do is an unknown.

There's also aftersales support to consider, should it be required.

Slow reply sorry. Running an old school cervelo. Nothing internal. Single fixing with the current cheapo bottle cage and the seat post mount.

I was thinking of a small toptube bag behind the steerer then bottle on the front as you say? Plus a potential extra bottle on the post/bottle cage.

Bought a couple of latex inners but if anyone has any advice for big bang for buck upgrades I'd be interested.

Also need to start using a mirror on the turbo at some point ... Eek

Edit: forgive me, it definitely needs a clean... Only had the time to do the chain last time 😄

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Great bike! I’d go one normal bottle between the bars, a top tube bag or box like you say, and maybe put your tools behind the seat either in a neat bag or one of those storage solutions?

Important science:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37102434/

It's starting to look fast 👍 for behind the saddle storage the elite pria pave cages are great as they've got a boa dial that stops your bottles bouncing out. I'm using a cheap tacx adapter that has mounting points to run one central or 2 bottles on the edges which are still out of the wind. The Tacx adapter, cage and tool bottle only cost about £40. I've had the X-lab multi carrier kits but they're quite expensive and just hold stuff which this does perfectly well. For a full iron I'd have 2 bottles out back one for storage and the other with max concentration emergency carb/electrolyte mix. A top tube bag/bento box is a good idea. You've got a bit of stack on the stem so even a relatively tall one will be out of the wind. I've got a neat looking torhans one with a slot but which i s secure but not the easiest to get stuff out of. Ones with a zip are easier to access. Gel bottles are in there good too.

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There’s a mod you can do to route your cables all behind the stem… does involve a drill though…

I also put some rivnuts in the top tube so I could bolt on a top tube box.

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/299734/

Drilling holes in carbon is probably a step above my willingness/competency... Always thought it was a complete no go in carbon but obviously it can be done.

Loving the paint job. How much work was it? I would absolutely love to respray a/this bike at some point. Would be great rocking up with a bright pink/purple bike.

The TT bag looks perfect too... Will have to consider that specific one as long as no drilling involved!

Really like the rear boa holder idea retro. Think I'll go with that thanks!

When does the list of upgrades end...

I didn't fancy drilling mine and a carbon specialist wanted £110 to do it for me so taped the top side of my top tube with electrical tape to protect it from the strong adhesive and used strong sticky back velcro. It looks really clean and it ain't budging. I've still got some if you want to try that method?

Genius. That sounds much more my level. Definitely up for that.

The other thing I was considering was trying to find someone locally to wax my chain just before the race (obviously cleaning the drivetrain too).

I'm not sure I'll ever be tempted to do it regularly so don't fancy buying everything.

Worth it for a couple of watts or just stick with a decent dry lube?

I'll dig out the velcro for you I'm sure it's in my big box of bits. I sent a fairly new 300 ish dry miles chain for waxing and they said it was over the 15% wear limit so sent it back to me. Maybe they were just trying to sell me me one of their expensive ceramic speed chains but i just bought a cheapish NRG waxed chain. I've not used it yet but there's a waxed chain thread on here which will be the place to ask
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/339074/?offset=525#comment16774800

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X terra uk in a couple of weeks. Has anyone ever done one? Any tips?
I’m experienced at Mtb racing, trail and xc running and done a few tris so I’m assuming those skills combined will be enough?
Slightly worried that my average swimming will leave me stuck behind some useless riders and there won’t be enough space to pass like there is on roads

You'll be fine if your experienced at xc bike and run. I'm only a mid pack swimmer myself but alway one of first of the bike. You'll have plenty of space to overtake on the bike as the courses aren't as technical as proper xc. I'm gutted I'm not racing myself this year. Just go smash it 💪