Triathlon - REAL newbie question: crank for a sprint tri

Okay, I'm totally green when it comes to triathlons and I want to do my first sprint in the spring. That means I'm already behind in training. I'm curious about which crank I should use on my bike. I recently replaced my Ultegra 53/39 with an FSA 50/34 (but I've held on to the Ultegra). The compact is great for the hills I typically ride in this area, but would the 53/39 be better suited for the 20-something mile long rides you usually see in sprints?

Since we know very little about you, this is a tough call but I am willing to make a guess that you will be fine with the 50/34. I assume you are using a 9-speed 12-25 cassette.

By the way, the bike leg will acutally be 10-15 mi for the spint.

Anyway...here are the mph calcs for your gearing assuming 80 rpms

50-12 - 26.1
50-13 - 24.1
50-14 - 22.3
50-15 - 20.8
50-17 - 18.4
50-19 - 16.5
50-21 - 14.9
50-23 - 13.6
50-25 - 12.5

34-12 - 17.7
34-13 - 16.4
34-14 - 15.2
34-15 - 14.2
34-17 - 12.5
34-19 - 11.2
34-21 - 10.1
34-23 - 9.2
34-25 - 8.5

Look this over and I think you will agree that you will be fine.

Thanks for the calcs. I didn't realize that the bike legs were 10-15 miles for sprints. I guess that's good news. Sorry for the lack of info. I'm 32, and have been road biking for about a year. Pretty decent hills in the area I'm from. I was a competative swimmer as a youth (doesn't say anything for my conditioning now) and I'm still pretty comfortable with distance swimming. Ran a bit (recreationally) in HS, but still think the run will be my biggest hurdle. As I read my own post it occurs to me that my "credentials" off the bike are all at least 15+ years old! :eek: Anyway, I'm in decent shape at about 6'-1" and around 175+ pounds. I switched to the compact (10 speed 12-25) because there are some pretty severe grades in the North and South Carolina mountain/hill country, although I really enjoyed my 39/53 on the flats. At my skill level right now, I see a 50-12 as plenty on a 10-15 mile ride. Thanks!

use the compact & spin it faster :)

It will help your running.

use the compact & spin it faster :)

It will help your running.

Really? Sounds good, but how exactly does it help? (Any help is good help though)

Usually in a triathlon I find that spinning faster uses your cardio system more, leaving more strength in you legs. Hammering on the ride exhausts your legs too much for effective running after. (IMHO)

That makes sense. Thanks!