http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/dr_pete177/DSC00310.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/dr_pete177/DSC00307.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/dr_pete177/DSC00308.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/dr_pete177/DSC00309.jpg

Unreal doc - please let me know when you break the sound barrier with those wheels! Seriously, with a wheel that deep, how much time can you pick up in a 40k TT? I've really been trying to do my homework on aero wheelsets hoping to narrow in on a good all purpose set (thinking Flashpoint 60 or 80 type depth). However, I love the look of those 101s. Don't give in to the tempatation to peel the labels off, the whole package has a killer look!

Unreal doc - please let me know when you break the sound barrier with those wheels! Seriously, with a wheel that deep, how much time can you pick up in a 40k TT? I've really been trying to do my homework on aero wheelsets hoping to narrow in on a good all purpose set (thinking Flashpoint 60 or 80 type depth). However, I love the look of those 101s. Don't give in to the tempatation to peel the labels off, the whole package has a killer look!

Thanks... The 100mm Blackwells are roughly equivalent to a Zipp 1080 in terms of aerodynamics, and according to the guys at BR they're within 2-3 seconds of each other over a 40K TT, and both are within 2-3 seconds of a disc wheel. There's no hard number given by Blackwell, but Zipp claims a 92-second savings IIRC against a Ksyrium SL. Those tests were done with Fabian Cancellara in a wind tunnel, putting out a continuous 300 watts on his P3C.

As for me, all I can say is that it's nice to be 10 beats below my LTHR going into a headwind, looking down at the speedometer, and seeing that I'm going 24.7mph. :)

And no worries--there will be no decals removed. I love the race-bling look!

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc254/agarose2000/CERVELO-1.jpg

My new bike: CERVELO P2C dura-ace. $2700

I went all-out on my first road/tri bike ever. It may have been one of the few "ballsy" moves I've made with purchases in my life, but as I'm eyeing a future Half-iron or possible Full-iron in 1-3 years (I'm a marathoner now), I decided to go for the gold on this one. It's exciting, scary, and unbelievable to sit on a bike this fast - I'm normally a mountain biker, and this thing is so fast that I'm afraid to ride it on the roads right now because I can barely control it!

I went all-out on my first road/tri bike ever. It may have been one of the few "ballsy" moves I've made with purchases in my life, but as I'm eyeing a future Half-iron or possible Full-iron in 1-3 years (I'm a marathoner now), I decided to go for the gold on this one. It's exciting, scary, and unbelievable to sit on a bike this fast - I'm normally a mountain biker, and this thing is so fast that I'm afraid to ride it on the roads right now because I can barely control it!

Did you get a pro fitting job? The frame looks a little big based on the amount of seatpost showing and the lack of any saddle-to-aerobar drop. But if you got fitted and it works for you, then disregard everything I just said. ;)

I got it "pro" fitted (took nearly 2 hrs) - we were debating between 48cm and 51cm, and ended up going 51cm. We did have to swap out the stock aerobars for adjustable ones which were pulled back toward the seat, however. Hopefully it'll work out - I admit that with my complete lack of experience on an aero bike, I had no idea whether the fit folks were getting it all right, and am just hoping for the best as of now.

I just noticed your point about the lack of aerobar drop relative to the seat - do you think this can be a problem? (We already took out some spacers from the head, but there are still more that can be removed.)

Another budget Leader owner here, a great frame for 200 bucks!
Dwayne

I just noticed your point about the lack of aerobar drop relative to the seat - do you think this can be a problem? (We already took out some spacers from the head, but there are still more that can be removed.)

So from the little bit of this that I know, the lower/longer you can get the more aero you become (generally). For my bike, I run about a 5-inch drop from the saddle to the aero bar pads in order to get my back mostly flat. This is a pic from my work-in-progress fitting process:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/dr_pete177/DSC00298.jpg

But the bottom line is if it's not comfortable, it won't work, because sacrificing power to get more aero is counter-productive.

So from the little bit of this that I know, the lower/longer you can get the more aero you become (generally). For my bike, I run about a 5-inch drop from the saddle to the aero bar pads in order to get my back mostly flat.

But the bottom line is if it's not comfortable, it won't work, because sacrificing power to get more aero is counter-productive.

@agarose2000 Nice purchase. :thumb:

Don't be too concerned about saddle bar drop at the moment.

What is most important is that you can comfortably ride that position for the majority of the bike leg - especially when riding 1/2 and full IM's. Far more time can be lost trying to ride a greater drop and then being forced to sit up for the last 1/3 of the ride due to back pain which then could impact the run also! Better to slowly remove spacers over time if you feel the need so you can adapt to the position changes...

As Dr Pete has commented, trying to go to low can also impact power output, plus depending on your build may not improve aerodynamics anyway (swimming shoulders don't help with aerodynamics).

I went into the wind tunnel a couple of weeks ago with two other riders. One was a triathlete and regardless of how low he went using a look ergostem, little to no change was seen in his drag numbers due to his wide shoulders. So it ended up being better to stay up and more comfortable plus produce more power!

Thanks for all the helpful advice guys. I'll ride it from here and see how it goes - we did spend some time trying to straighten out my back in the aero position; I think part of the different setup for me is that I've got really, really short arms and legs and a relatively longer torso. I'll let you all know how it turns out!

Not a bad looking fit Doc. Maybe you should be sitting a bit more on the nose of that saddle. Are those the stock aerobars? My 07 P2C has the Vision bars.

I like the P2C, pretty smooth and comfortable. We'll see this weekend at the SC half IM.

By the way, nice front wheel block.:lol:

Not a bad looking fit Doc. Maybe you should be sitting a bit more on the nose of that saddle. Are those the stock aerobars? My 07 P2C has the Vision bars.

I like the P2C, pretty smooth and comfortable. We'll see this weekend at the SC half IM.

By the way, nice front wheel block.:lol:

Hey, it worked in a pinch. :)

My P2C's actually a custom build with SRAM Force and Oval Concepts bars. I've changed the extensions out since that pic--those were too short.

I've also changed the saddle... part of the problem with that position was that my boys weren't very happy with it. Since changing to a Profile TriStryke it's gotten a little better.

So from the little bit of this that I know, the lower/longer you can get the more aero you become (generally). For my bike, I run about a 5-inch drop from the saddle to the aero bar pads in order to get my back mostly flat. This is a pic from my work-in-progress fitting process:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/dr_pete177/DSC00298.jpg

But the bottom line is if it's not comfortable, it won't work, because sacrificing power to get more aero is counter-productive.

Congrats Dr. Pete, you look like a pro! How long have you been a triathlete?

http://xj.cdevco.net/cycling/ttbike.jpg

Here's my "Budget" TT bike. I think I did "OK" but the head tube is just WAY too big. Right now I'm waiting for a Pista 23 degree drop stem. If that doesn't work I'll try a Look ergo stem. If not that then I will buy a TT frame, which is what I probably should have done from the start!

Shimano Ultegra all around except DA shifters and Cane Creek 200TT brake levers. Thomson stem and post. Profile T2 bars. Price without wheels, including wheel cover $1200. ZIPP 303 front and 404 rear.

Congrats Dr. Pete, you look like a pro! How long have you been a triathlete?

Well, I don't think it's official until I cross the finish line this Sunday. I mean, I've been training, but Sunday is my first Tri. Should be fun. :beer:

HOT wheels Doc, let us know how they ride....

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i116/tigerbike97/08P2C.jpg

Thanks to my lovely bride, I am finally able to post on this thread - I am blessed in many ways!

HOT wheels Doc, let us know how they ride....

They're stupid fast, super smooth-riding, and much more manageable in crosswinds than I ever thought they'd be. Just an awesome wheelset.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i116/tigerbike97/08P2C.jpg

Thanks to my lovely bride, I am finally able to post on this thread - I am blessed in many ways!

That's pretty sweet. What contraption is that under your saddle?

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i116/tigerbike97/08P2C.jpg


plainsman, how is the cervelo saddle? I have heard mixed reviews.

Thanks! The contraption is a Beaker Concepts Hydrotail. Same concept as the X-Labs wing. It was a toss up for me as to which to buy, I went Hydrotail because it came with two bottle cages, and I liked that it held the bottles a little lower, making the bike easier to mount and placing the bottle at more natural reach for me. I was going to get one of those sonic nuts so I could attach an inflator and some co2, but now that I've seen Vittoria Pit Stop (fix-a-flat) for bikes, I'm trying to come up with a way to mount that on the hydrotail instead.

plainsman, how is the cervelo saddle? I have heard mixed reviews.

Honestly, it's too early to tell for a ride of any real distance. I actually have a PD Tri Stryke in the box waiting on standby. For the short distances I've ridden it so far, the stock saddle (a Selle San Marco Island Trilon, try saying that 10 times quickly!) has been fine. I feel like it will be good to go for a Sprint. I tend to be pretty tough as far as saddles go, and even prefer the Bontrager Race lite lux for my roadie, which many consider uncomfortable. My last tri saddle was the Forte T1, which I can currently recommend. I will race on this Trilon in two weeks and give you an update after that. Let's just say I would love for it to work out, but I'm not returning the Tri Stryke just yet.

Hey Doc, where did you get those nifty covers for the hole in your seatpost?

$1805 ebay special wearing $600 craigslist wheels.

http://i36.tinypic.com/2j42i5l.jpg


http://i38.tinypic.com/wjx4d4.jpg

Okay, so what is it going to take for me to hire you to be my personal craigslist shopper?

Okay, so what is it going to take for me to hire you to be my personal craigslist shopper?

Luckily, living in Southern California Triathlon and Cycling is huge and there are a lot of great deals on craigslist if you're patient and fast. Many people get into the sport, buy a nice bike and a bunch of equipment only give it up after a few months. I've actually done ok at "flipping" bikes and accessories on CL. Paid for much of this bike that way.

Well done and congratulations. That's a great looking bike (even if I an a wee bit biased :) ). I'll be keeping my eyes posted for deals in my neck of the woods.

Thanks! The contraption is a Beaker Concepts Hydrotail. Same concept as the X-Labs wing. It was a toss up for me as to which to buy, I went Hydrotail because it came with two bottle cages, and I liked that it held the bottles a little lower, making the bike easier to mount and placing the bottle at more natural reach for me. I was going to get one of those sonic nuts so I could attach an inflator and some co2, but now that I've seen Vittoria Pit Stop (fix-a-flat) for bikes, I'm trying to come up with a way to mount that on the hydrotail instead.

Pm me if you come up with anything. I have yet to find a nice way to mount it :p

Please note that I only have a few training rides on the Pedal Force so it is hard to be objective (still has the new bike smell). I have not ridden on the disc yet either, except literally around the block once. What I can say is that compared to my Leader it is much smoother on the road and seems to glide just a bit easier. I have spent most of my time this year on our tandem, training and participating in a few metric centuries so there has been really no time to ride this at all. After Monday, all my planned rides are done for the year, so I will have the opportunity to really test it out on the road. The training configuration will be two 50mm deep carbon wheels, then I will switch to the rear disk for any event I might do later in the year.

One of the things that led me to the Pedal Force is that I was looking real hard at the Planet X Stealth. I had read very good reviews of it on-line. I also had previous experience with Pedal Force as I own three of their road frames. I also saw that last year Willier without their own TT bike rebranded this exact frame in some of their pro races. That was enough to tip the scale in the Pedal Force's favor. That and the low frame price compared to the other options available.

Since this is a picture thread and not a review thread, I will add another picture here:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/bhmmrtn/Bicycles/Aeroblade/SG1S1737.jpg

What bars are you running?

I believe those extensions are the Blackwell Wrist Relief extensions. Similar to "S" bends, but supposedly much more comfortable on the wrists (hence the name).

Beautiful bike and build, WheresWaldo!

http://www.coolrunning.com.au/forums/uploads/1197867028/gallery_14097_96_156701.jpg


Hi All

This is my first post after stumbling across this place.

here's my new race bike. The last one came to a premature end against the front of a car. Lets hope I recover enough to do this some justice. It's only been out a few times and set up is still be played with but my best so far is 100kmTT in 2:43 or 36.8kmh.

I have been doing Ironman distance of late and was only 3 weeks out from my race when hit. Although recovery is long and slow I hope to get back out there some time late next year.

Dave

Nice ride. Welcome to the forum and best wishes for your recovery.

Hey Dave nice ride! I noticed you listed you TT and average in KM, where ya from?
Dwayne

New wheels !

Before:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm215/jerseyboyyeah/P2CRevX.jpg

During:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm215/jerseyboyyeah/DSC00349.jpg

After:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm215/jerseyboyyeah/P2CZipp.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm215/jerseyboyyeah/P2CSharkTeeth.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm215/jerseyboyyeah/4angle.jpg

Sorry man, but i think that those teeth on the side look tacky.. not gonna lie, just throwing it out there. . beautiful bike tho..

Hey Dave nice ride! I noticed you listed you TT and average in KM, where ya from?
Dwayne


Brisbane Australia

Sorry man, but i think that those teeth on the side look tacky.. not gonna lie, just throwing it out there. . beautiful bike tho..


gotta agree

if you must put teeth on it this is how it's done,

full custom paint
http://www.velociti.org/blog/wp-content/gallery/bike-porn-7-july-08/trifun_ttbike.jpg

I'm doing TT's and trianthlons on a very limited budget.

This bike came up local to me on eBay so I went for it - it's a mid-'90s Gitane Mach 320. The whole aero position was a bit extreme with the original stem so I swapped it for the touring stem you can see on the picture.

The bike had hardly been used, everything was original.

The saddle is now more horizontal. The strap pedals on the photo are now replaced with cleat ones.

Projects for next season - putting the drop bar shifters on the Aero bars (somehow), a decent set of tyres, a CH-Aero rear wheel cover and a better front wheel (I just got a Mavic Axium for pennies on eBay), swapping that saddle over for a better one, losing 20 lbs, training more, drinking less beer, etc etc.

Anyway, it's a bit out of place in the midst of all the incredible carbon machinery on the thread, but I feel pretty much the same when I rack it in the bike park of a Tri event! Best times - 10 mile TT in 24'01", 40km tri split 62'. I'm 220 lbs.

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v360/63/34/664664251/n664664251_1478219_9509.jpg

In action:

http://photos-f.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v257/63/34/664664251/n664664251_916837_2623.jpg

I'm all for the teeth. They don't look good, but they represent something. Were you in the USAF?

Well I only have an old school C dale CAD 3 roady as my Tri bike...It is a 54 cm so a size smaller than my road ride, A new Bianci 928 full carbon.
I just bought a new BB so I may use my old school square BB Dura Ace cranks. The Rolph's are old but as light as any newer wheel and fast....they were a gift.

Peace:)

http://www.valdoracycles.com/images/08_Valdora/PHX_750/Phx_Wht.jpg

Okay...I'm side tracked now.
I was looking for road teams / clubs for the Valdora grass roots program (carbon road bikes) but ran across this thread.

This is the 2009 PHX Pearl. You might not recognize the brand unless you take Triathlete Mag or visit slowtwitch.com . This is not an open model like a number of the carbon bikes that pop up on the web. It's made with UHM carbon and weighs 1.2 kg and has earned the highest independetnt fatigue/strength certification possible in the industry. Geo is semi-compact with skinny head / top tubes. A favorite of Ex NFL centers and 110 lb girls for that matter. :)
http://www.valdoracycles.com/images/PHX_Bikes/SOMAKB2.jpg

Dude your huge....are you a beast on the bike ...canya run?:(

Ha. No, not me, but this guy caan run! Ex Professional athlete who wasn't ready to be done competing. Can you dig?:thumb: That's why I think this sport is awesome.

At my last race of the season (a duathlon in Marshall, IL), my girlfriend took some awesome pictures of me on my awesome (at least, I think it is) bike--a 2008 Giant Trinity Alliance with a "ghetto budget homemade" spec--the only stock part left on the bike are the brakes! I've posted my bike on this thread before, but I wanted to repost with some cool action shots.

Specs:
Frameset: 2008 Giant Trinity Alliance
Wheels: Vuelta Carbon Tubular 50mm rim depth with rear disc cover
Tires: Vittoria Evo Corsa CX
Aerobars: Oval Single Bend extensions w/Profile T2+ pads and mounting equipment
Basebar: Nashbar cheap thingy
Brake Levers: Tektro cheap thingys
Brakes: Xero cheap thingys
Saddle: Profile Tri-Stryke
Shifters: Shimano Dura-Ace 9spd
Cranks: Shimano Compact 50/34
Derailleurs: Shimano Ultegra 9spd
Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace 9spd 11-23
Chain: SRAM 9spd
Pedals: Shimano R540

http://martinmccrory.com/public/giant_bike/marty_aero_nov08.jpg
http://martinmccrory.com/public/giant_bike/marty_aero_nov08_2.jpg

It´s easier to pedal with your feet in the shoe.

Seriously though, super shots amd the bike looks fast.

Just got a new (to me) tri/TT bike, bought it used from a fellow who was sponsored and is getting rid of his old gear. Still haven't fit it out with pedals, or hydration equipment, but it is a sweet ride when I used my road bike's pedals on it to make sure it would fit and all. base bike is a Cannondale Slice, with Dura-Ace components throughout and Reynolds Solitude wheels. Size is 58 cm, and the geometry is all set to a TT bike. Need to adjust the seat forward a bit, and maybe get a stem that is not quite so aggressive.

Looking forward to taking this one out on my next tri!

Agressive = good. Nice bike.:thumb: