What next? - budget tri bike/equipment

Aug 22, 17 20:23

Post #1 of 15 (1949 views)

Hi twitchers.
Sitting on the sidelines here while my knee recovers from yet another injury... Running and being over 40 don't seem to agree with me all the time.

I'm a total amateur, have done a small handful of sprint events and had fun, but of course want to go faster if possible.

Yes I know the answer is more training. But I have to fit that around a job, kids, renovations, etc. All those things also eat my budget, so I like to build up cheap equipment where possible (or maybe I'm just a tightwad...). As long as I can stay competitive with my work buddies, that's fine, not expecting to be on the podium.

I've got the following kit:
Orca TRN wettie
2XU tri suit

Carbon road bike, which for tri season come summer (I'm in Australia) get:
3T clip ons (too short, need some longer extensions)
slammed inverted MTB stem (110 x 35°)
ISM Attack saddle
25mm offset (forwards) seatpost
http://s614.photobucket.com/...EF34BA6ACE7.jpg.html
All in that's about $200 of mods...

Me not pedalling hard on it while trying to take a photo of myself, not in bike clothing:
http://s614.photobucket.com/...ia/DSCF4560.jpg.html
(All adjustment/fitting is DIY)
Lazer Blade (ie fairly typical road) helmet
SPD (touring) shoes - actually work pretty well for tri though!

Asics Kayano 21 (Probably overdue for a new pair...)

Any opinions on what might be the next thing to spend faster on? I have a shopping list as long as my arm...
Spending on staying injury free would be a sensible start, but that's boring. But maybe some cushy shoes would help?

Otherwise, I thought for the bike (it's not getting replaced on my budget):
Longer extensions that fit me (the ones I have were 2nd hand and cut short)
Tri shoes and road pedals, and learn to flying mount
Deep wheels and/or disc wheel cover
A proper fit session (figure I should wait til I had the right extensions and shoes first though)
Pointy helmet?

TIA.

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [MattyK] [ In reply to ]

Aug 22, 17 20:54

Post #2 of 15 (1928 views)

I can't view your photos on photo bucket for some reason.

Do you have a trainer? Would you like to train indoors? If so, a used Kurt Kinetic road machine will be money well spent.

Otherwise, fast tires (GP TT) and tubes (latex) for race day is pretty tough to beat in terms of bang/buck. If you want to get a pointy helmet on a budget a used Giro Advantage 2 is a solid and safe choice.

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [GreenPlease] [ In reply to ]

Aug 22, 17 21:10

Post #3 of 15 (1915 views)

Bah! stupid photobucket.

I have a dumb trainer (Minoura VFS), but only time to use it before 7 am (ugh) or after 9 pm (double ugh). Most training time is either bike commuting or lunchtime.

Tyres are GP4000SII with the lightest 2 butyls I had; certainly better than the OEMs but I guess a further small gain could be made there.

I might also entertain the idea of a base bar and bar end shifters, but I don't think it's contributing much speed wise...

Last edited by: MattyK: Aug 22, 17 21:19

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [MattyK] [ In reply to ]

Aug 22, 17 21:40

Post #4 of 15 (1890 views)

A Giro Advantage 2 is probably your lowest hanging "gear" fruit at the moment.

A basebar and bar end shifters would probably be your next lowest hanging fruit.

http://www.feltbicycles.com/...t-Alloy-AeroBar.aspx
http://www.feltbicycles.com/...3-Alloy-AeroBar.aspx

Those can both be found for less if you shop around.

You've done a pretty good job with your fit. You might want to actually move your seat back a touch to gain a little more effective reach to the pads. Looks like your hip angle is plenty open as it is. That said, I can't really judge your saddle height.

Those shoes are sneaky good for triathlon! IMO, flying mounts are over-rated. You can do a flying dismount with those shoes no problem.

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [MattyK] [ In reply to ]

Aug 22, 17 21:57

Post #5 of 15 (1878 views)

That bike is not ugly. That's just fine. The fit looks aggressive AF. Impressive that you got it dialed in on a road bike. Most people with road bike and clip-ons push a lot of air in front of them.

The other person's right. Your next low hanging fruit is Giro Advantage 2 helmet. Here in the US they can be found on amazon from a 3rd party seller (a random bike shop somewhere, usually) for less than $100 USD.

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [MattyK] [ In reply to ]

Aug 22, 17 22:36

Post #6 of 15 (1854 views)

This might not be fun, but you think you are getting injured from running, and also think you need new shoes. So. How old are your shoes? You should probably get new shoes. Put a video of yourself running here and let the hounds feast.

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [mpquick] [ In reply to ]

Aug 22, 17 23:36

Post #7 of 15 (1831 views)

Injuries started before the current shoes so it's not a causal thing. But they have about 700km on them, and if a new (different?) pair is likely to help then I'd be keen. I sometimes get hotspots under the ball after about 7-8km too.

Helmets - not so cheaply available in Aus to Australian standards, but will put on the list

Yes the touring shoes actually work pretty well for Tri - I can run out of T1 in them and do a running mount onto the bike. Rubber soles stay on the pedals long enough to swing a leg over and clip in. I just want an excuse to upgrade ;)

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [MattyK] [ In reply to ]

Aug 23, 17 0:03

Post #8 of 15 (1814 views)

MattyK wrote:

But they have about 700km on them

This is about where ASICS recommends replacement (700-900). It all depends on how much you beat them up, which also depends a lot on how big you are. Do you wear them in poor conditions? Do they get wet a lot? Do you use a different insole?

With your hotspots, do your feet slide around in the toebox (conversely do they feel cramped)? Is this with socks or without? If with socks what kind of socks?

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [mpquick] [ In reply to ]

Aug 23, 17 0:51

Post #9 of 15 (1788 views)

I'm 185cm and 70kg. Usually in socks. White ones? Elastic laces. Don't really abuse them, bugger going out in the wet :D No cramping of the toes. Standard insoles.

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [Dilbert] [ In reply to ]

Aug 23, 17 4:33

Post #10 of 15 (1721 views)

I've gotten the giro advantage 2 for under 50 dollars twice (crashed in the first one). walked by a discount table at a bike shop a week after tossing out the first one and there was one for 45 dollars. Crazy deals for a helmet that works so well for many.

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [MattyK] [ In reply to ]

Aug 23, 17 4:50

Post #11 of 15 (1708 views)

MattyK wrote:

I'm 185cm and 70kg. Usually in socks. White ones?

I dont think your size is an issue unless you land really hard for some reason. I'd keep mine for a couple hundred k more. I have some crappy cotton socks that I just can't run in. That's why I asked. They get wet, and then just slide around on the bottom of my feet, get soupy, and its just all around nasty, so I tend to stick to balega (sp?) socks.

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [MattyK] [ In reply to ]

Sep 7, 17 5:22

Post #12 of 15 (1451 views)

Well I haven't had luck getting a cheap helmet yet. But I did find a near new Profile Viper Wing base bar and Profile ABS carbon brake levers for a total of au$80 (~us$60). :)

Just need to find some cheap 10 speed bar end shifters and the cockpit will be sorted. If it doesn't make me faster then it will at least be quicker to swap the whole cockpit and cables over than add clip ons and a stem swap each season.

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [MattyK] [ In reply to ]

Sep 7, 17 6:15

Post #13 of 15 (1408 views)

Quote:

Just need to find some cheap 10 speed bar end shifters

Don't know what shipping would be, but jumped from your thread to classifieds and saw some shifters for $25.

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/.../?page=unread#unread

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [MattyK] [ In reply to ]

Sep 7, 17 6:31

Post #14 of 15 (1389 views)

Disc cover for sure. $99, well worth for the aero advantages. Mildly annoying to take on/off since you have to remove your wheel cassette to place it, but it's not hard, and they are very durable. The instructions say to only use it for races, which I do, but honestly, I'll bet that you could leave it on with little worry as they are made of fairly tough stuff.

Re: What next? - budget tri bike/equipment [KG6] [ In reply to ]

Sep 9, 17 2:32

Post #15 of 15 (1264 views)

KG6 wrote:

Quote:

Just need to find some cheap 10 speed bar end shifters

Don't know what shipping would be, but jumped from your thread to classifieds and saw some shifters for $25.

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/.../?page=unread#unread

Thanks. Dropped in at the LBS next to my daughter's ballet and asked what they had. $30 for some used dura ace shifters, one with a scratched up plastic cap. Easily fixable. The brake and shifter cables ended up costing more! Will report back with pictures presently and let you pull apart my fit. :)

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