General Cycling Discussion - First Triathlon

Did my first triathlon today and ended up tying for first in my age group. Got 25th out of 85 overall. How many triathletes do we have here in the forums? Now, a question to those people, what upgrades would you suggest to make ot my bike for a not too large sum of money? Aerobars first? Im riding a stock Giant OCR1 right now. Thanks and good riding to all

Congratulations on your first triathlon.

I've only done 1, but I'm currently getting ready for a second one this summer. However, I'm pretty tied up with time, so I may just be part of a team.

Aerobars are a great triathlon tool. Other than that, there are triathlon-specific bikes. I guess it just depends on how much money you are willing to spend.

How about triathlon shorts? I haven't tried them, but I imagine that a 3 in 1 short will save you transition time.

Speed laces for running shoes seem to be popular also. Once again, saving time in the transition.

Good luck on future triathlons.

TriDevil: Congrats!

I haven't done a triathlon in years but used to do them regularly when I lived in FL. Adding Aerobars would be the first upgrade I'd make. Just be sure to practice riding with them before your next tri :)

Next I would add a CH-Aero disc wheel cover. You can get these from Excel Sports. This gives you the aero benefits of a disc without the extra weight.

An aero front wheel - something radially laced would be a good addition.

Here's an upgrade you can make for free - practice your transitions! The faster you can get through the transition area the better.

Isn't it a great feeling - those first few running steps you make after getting off of the bike. There's nothing like trying to run on jello legs :)

BTW, what distances did you do in your tri?

Zack

Jello Legs...LOL!!! I know the feeling..One time after a particularly hard club TT I could barely stand up because of Jello legs.

jello legs...yes, a wonderful experience! hahaha. My triathlon was 400m swim, 12 Mile bike, 4 Mile run. I think I was starting to get back to my normal running form halfway through the run! Felt good on the bike, my speed was actually a little higher than I was expecting, I would be cruising at 22-23 mph before Id have to slow down and hit a turn. Thanks to everyone

Excellent first race! I did a 4/16/4 duathlon two weeks ago and T2 was murder. I hope to do several sprints and at least one olympic distance this summer. Depends on work, though.

I have a clip-on aerobar and forward seat post for my Trek 5200. Still haven't dialed in the fit yet. I have to keep playing with it and may have to change the stem.

As some of the others have said, you can make major gains with quick transitions, particularly in shorter races. Practice, practice, practice.

BTW, Happy Birthday TriDevil!

thanks zackjones. Another question on aerobars...I know you have to train with them but surely I dont need to do all my rides with them right? Ive heard you are less stable on them, plus cant reach the brakes as quick. Just wondering what you guys think of that.

No, you don't need to do all of your rides with the aero bars. Once you get used to using them it should be relatively easy to switch back and forth. You could always leave them off most of the time and then a couple of weeks before your next tri put them back on.

At first you'll feel unstable with them but just tell yourself to be very smooth with your movements. Sudden motion seems to upset things a bit. Once you get them find an empty parking lot to try them out.

When's your next tri?

Zack

Im looking at doing an open water tri the first weekend in may. Its a 500m swim, 10 mile bike, and 5k run or something like that. A little shorter than the one I just did. Im going to start swimming longer to try and move up to the olypmic distances. question for zackjones, how often do you do a race? once a month? more?

These days I don't race. I'm currently a ****** out of shape man :( - but I'm working on it :) In fact if memory serves and my math is correct you were about 4 years old the last time I did a tri.

When I did tri's I wouldn't do more than one a month. On other weekends I'd try to either do a long organized ride or run in a 5 or 10K race. FWIW I work with a 2x ironman (last two years) finisher so if you have any questions you'd like to ask him I'll be happy to pass them along.

Finally if you get a chance do a duathlon, they're great fun as well and you don't have to get wet :) I have done one of those not too many years ago.

Zack

Sometimes I think having aerobars during training rides would be great..Especially for hard workouts..

I thought most tri organizers don't allow aero bars?

I've never heard of a tri that doesn't allow aerobars. Maybe those are the newer draft-legal races?

Personally, I think it takes a good amount of riding with the aerobars to get used to them enough for the races.

TriDevil, good luck working up to olys. I'm doing the same myself. The swim is my nemesis!