Numpty IM Bike Thread

I have orbea brakes...........................brnaded 105 brakes. no fecking diffrence.

My orbea TT bike has them on. Started life as a 105 model but now most major parts upgraded to ultega/dura ace or speciaized makes. 

Right,

this is 'sposed to be for newbies, so here goes what must be the daftest questions ever ! am new to this, but cycle okay ( 15mph ave. over my hilly 10 mile off road commute ) run better ( 1hr38 1/2 mara) and swim like a seal ( NOT USNavy Seals, I mean the slow, podgy ones seen on our coast. lumbering slowly from water to land.... )

looking at pool based sprint tri, as first event.

have mountain bike, on soft compound knobbly tyres - it's good + stable + trusted, but has low gearing. will I be a) left behind ? or b) the only one on an mtb with 2 inch wide M+S tyres...... ? or c) hoping for lots of rain ?

Pedals are studded Weatherforce V8 clones,  will rip most shoes to shreds.... but provide huge grip levels.... does anyone else need to change hoves at T2 ? as I will need to   don't want to ruin my run shoes, as have several 1/2 mara's soon.

next

swim's okay, but what happens in transition ? ( have swim shorts NBG for running in ) Also, do I need to take a bag/basket/bin for my kit ? - car has acres of space, so that's no problem.

all 3 separate bits are easy compared to the logistics  just got to link them up + that's my percieved difficult area of the event.

 last Q, anything "odd" I need ?  ( apart from a small,quiet, engine ) bike tyres are already filled with slime, fitted with kevlar anti puncture band, and kevlar/nylon puncture resistant tyres..... so not going to bother with pump.....  do the BTF insist on cycle lights for daytime races ? how many water bottles do I need to carry on MTB to satisfy rules ? ( I will probably need more than the minimums, but anyway )

I'm not interested in fitting racing slick /bald tyres to my MTB.... as I'll use it the following week for getting to work once or twice, and want to be confident when I turn in on race day. Might sound like a vuvuzala if it get up to speed, ( done 40mph downhill, fully spun out, head down.), but I know it will stop v.quickly everytime / everysurface I haul on the anchors.

Please be polite, I'm new to this Tri. thing, and am visiting you from Runners World....

Re the tyrers,

A) yes

B) No

C) won't make any difference, you'll be wet from the pool and still get left behind by 80% of the field.

But it doesn't matter.  Because first off tri isn't like a run race where anyone is snooty about who comes in laater on in the day, and because even with £6000 of carbon tri bike you'll still make enough other bloopers in your first race to still be off the pace.  Just do your first one to get a feel for the process, learn transitions and get an idea of pace. 

 In the medium term slick MTB tyres will be a good idea, and you can instantly become semicompetitive on the bike by doing that.  But there will be other people on MTBs, so don't worry about it too much. If it's a pool swim, and you're swimming isn't Phelps like then you'll be off early, and so get a 2 hour head start on the the fishes, so you'll not be out on teh course on your own anyway.

Shoes, almost everyone changes shoes, mainly as most people would be using bike shoes that clip into the pedals

Shorts - the only rule of race 1 is not to get naked, that's a big no no.  So you really should consider spending £30 on some tri shorts that are designed to swim / bike /run and won't rub your nads raw.  You can just about manage for a sprint wihout, but it's not going to be fun.

Water, entirely up to you.  For a sprint then I tend to take a 500ml on the bike and only drink half, but it's your call.

Other things, then don't pin your numers all the way through your top, it happens every race I referee!  Put your top on, then pin the numbers on, or get someone (you trust) to do it for you.  Then roll up your t shirt from the bottom as you take it off into a donut so that when you're wet and you put it on then it sticks and rolls down.  If you eave it flat then as you're wet the bottom sticks on your shoulders and it all goes pear shaped.  If you want to see what I mean then try putting a t-shirt/vest on just after a shower before you get dried.

Make sure your helmet is stickered with 'EN1078' and make sure you put that on before you touch your bike, and then rack your bike again before touching your helmet.  Not even unclipping the chin strap.

Transition box.  Don't take too much stuff.  Classic newbiw mistake.  First, your car may be huge, but your space in transition won't be.  Second, then when you're in mid race then you really just want the essentials there.  So top, bike shoes, helmet, glasses, run shoes and possibly run bottle.  Keep the rest in the car, including your pre and post race clothes.  The more that's there, the more that you;ll end up faffing with in mid race.  And no walkman/i-pods at any time, even pre-race in transition.

Thank you D74 !

just back from my local pool, did 2 x 400m, 12 mins first 400, then short rest while re-setting watch, and the clocked late 14:30's for 2nd 400m.  Less Phellps, More Seal, but pool was crowded, more so on 2nd 400m

will be shopping for those tri-shorts, sounds a good idea. Double pinned vests are a thing of the past, done that once too often on runs + comps. ( not a good look at the National XC.... ) 

ipods frowned on during most runs now, summat I welcome ( I marshall sometimes ) so no worry there.

Thanks,

wiggrun - have a read of this... plenty more info on the Pirate site.

Have fun.

wiggrun wrote (see)

Right,

this is 'sposed to be for newbies, so here goes what must be the daftest questions ever ! am new to this, but cycle okay ( 15mph ave. over my hilly 10 mile off road commute ) run better ( 1hr38 1/2 mara) and swim like a seal ( NOT USNavy Seals, I mean the slow, podgy ones seen on our coast. lumbering slowly from water to land.... )

I would have thought averaging 15mph on a MTB on a hilly off road commute was pretty good - let us know how you get on in the race.  

wiggrun,

Only a few things - they will likely give you a swim hat to wear in the pool: when you get out take it off. It is a bad look in T1

When racking your bike on return remove your cycle helmet: trying to get out on the run with it on is bad look.

Take the minimum, your brain will freeze in transition and all you will care about is getting out of transition. You will be in Transition forever, at least 4 hours, in real time it is less than 2-minutes but it seems to take forever. The less you have the less you will forget the things you want/need.

Tri-shorts are worth it. I use mine for cycling if all the cycle shorts are in the wash, for running if the run shorts are in the wash and swimming if the swim shorts are in the wash. If I run to the gym for swimming I wear them. Highly recommended and the only bit of kit worth worrying about for your first Tri.

meface

I have another "help, I've broken my bike"  question (sorry)

Has anyone had problems with Schwalbe tubes?
There was a small bulge in my tyre, so I changed the tube before riding at the weekend.  It was fine fore the ride, but went to get on bike tonight & it's flat as a pancake.

Changed tube again, but got pinch flat - it is impossbile to put tyre on without lever.  Second time tyre would not seat around inner tube where valve is, and could see bulge in other part of wheel when started to inflate.

So, do we reckon I've got really shite technique at changing tubes? 

As a matter of interest I pumped up the original tube from tyre (that had gone down between sun & tonight) and last tube.  Both look as if there is almost a stricture where valve is... i.e. they don't inflate as much and therefore section round it bulges.  There's another section that also bulges next to some ribbing on the tube (on one tube the ribbing is also like a stricture).  Does that make any sense?  Have I just been sold a load of duff tubes??

Tubes do bulge oddly if you inflate them outside a tyre.  The tyre is what holds the shape.

If you have a bulge in your tyre then you should consider replacing it.  It sounds like it's damaged.

You need to seat the tyre properley on the rim, a bulge in a tyre is usually the tyre not seated properley on the rim so as you inflate it starts to push off the rim.

Once youve stuck the tube in, push the valve back towards the tyre, this will allow the tyre to drop into the rim behind the valve which is stopping it. before inflation make sure the tyre is sitting squarely on the rim both sides, part inflate and check again before pumping all the way up.

All tubes are like that in essence, doesnt matter once they are inside the tyre as the tyre itself stops overexpansion at those points in the tube.

Squeaking BB ... unlikely to be the bb, sometimes its the whole bb moving by a tiny amount in the frame. greasing the threads of the bb sorts it. But squeeks can be referred. I had a BB one which turned out to be a rear wheel hub. 

I had a brain wave....

I had a friends wheel he lent me in case my spoke didn't get sorted - I've taken the tube from that (different brand) and popped it on my wheel, and 1) it is possible to get the trye to seat properly, 2) It inflates properly by the valve.... but 3) there is still one small bulge in tyre, so guessing it is damaged (which is slightly annoying as I said that when I took it to shop after spoke incident & they said tyre ws fine)

So bearing in mind I'm working all the hours the bike shops of sheffield are open & that I'm trying to cram in traing before the vit as I;ve missed loads due to injury.  I'm going to put my faith in wiggle & order a new tyre.  Any suggestions?  You may have guessed puncture resistance would be a bonus!  I've currently got Schwalbe Lugano that came on bike.

I'll got with everyone and say that tyre is damaged....

Tyre suggestion? Conti's are pretty good ...haven't been dissapointed with them...

What sort of BB have you got ?   I mainly use square taper but I've got one of the new style ones on the TT bike - it developed a really bad creak but I just took the crank off and put some grease on and put it back on.   Seems to have done the job anyway - it was only two allen bolts.   If there is no play and it's still smooth then it sounds like the bearings are OK anyway.

I use Michelin Pro3 for racing (or tubs) but Michelin Krylions are a good tyre if you wanted something that you could race on but a bit tougher for training - you can get them about £20 at chain reaction.    I wouldn't go for a proper puncture resistant tyre or a  cheap tyre.

Hi All

real numpty query with lots of answers but looking to get a feel for it ..

I have registered for Regensburg 2011 as my very first tri (but will do a sprint or two before then I would thin), but enough waffle, I need to get a bike.

 I am not in it to win it and need a bike to get around so does anybody have any opinions on the Specialized Allez range or the Boardman.  These come in between £600 and £700 and i can get it on the bike to work scheme so thta comes in handy.  I'm also thinking about hanging on a month or two and then seeing if they do deals on the 2010 range before the 2011 ranges come in

Thanks in advance

M.Bob,

You may to consider a half as well - if funds allow.

Swashbuckler will see a few pirates if you are in the south and is early in the season. Most of the full distance riders treat it as a long training session at Ironman pace rather than a race in itself.

meface