The course can be very windy and crosswinds of some sort are more or less a guarantee.

Remember that it's the front wheel depth that influences the handling more than the rear wheel. A disc also acts to stabilize the bike, and not make it more twitchy despite the common misconception.

If I ranked your choices from most stable to least stable I'd go:

404/Disc
808/Disc
404/404
404/808
808/808 (this will be by far the twitchiest setup)

I myself would never run something like an 80/80 or 90/90 at Galveston (or any real windy race). The winds are mostly steady until you get out near the San Luis Pass and then it can get real gusty. For the most part you'd be okay but the gusts can get whipping off the Gulf. If you get caught off guard by one it could spell trouble. The shallower front wheel or disc rear would lessen the chance the front end of your bike goes in a direction you're not expecting.

Old thread of mine that sort of addresses this topic. :-)
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...ill_kill_me_P4925855

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Great, tks!

Plenty of discs out there.

Ran 6.7's the first time, 7.8's the second and will be running the 7.8's again.

Nominal winds last couple years, knocking on wood for the same this year.

Weather forecast is for potentially violent thunderstorms and 20-30mph winds.

Sigh.

Hopeful to even get the race done at this point...

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Jeffrey Sankoff, MD
TriDoc Coaching/TriDoc Podcast
Train hard, train healthy
http://www.tridocpodcast.com
http://www.tridoccoaching.com

808/disc for me. Not excited about the thunderstorms though. Hoping we can have a complete and safe race.

404/disc. bringing an 808 rear. I am not race ready...so I should just bring a BMX bike. Hoping the forecast changes, not a fan of racking the bike and a thunderstorm coming through and demolishing the transition area....which has happened there before.

Not worried about that. The disc will act to stabilize my bike on the transition rack

If we get to race I'll be running a 404/808 combo. Hopefully we get a break in the forecast which is possible, this is Texas after all.

Well, last couple years it's been a crappy forecast, luckily, it usually hits on Saturday. Little less wind and no lightning, we'll be in good shape.

Do you have a disc....curious why you are choosing the 808 if you do have a disc

7.8/disc, but I'm not sure if I should bring an alternative rear (the aluminium one that came with my P2...)

Anyone know if they'd allow the bike but ban disc's? (this was the plan for CapTex tri last year before the bike was cancelled)

I'd rather not drag the other wheel down with me if a disc ban isn't on the cards.

I rode 40 miles of the course last Friday at HIM power with a HED Disc & 9. The wind was 15-20 mph out of the SE which was pretty much a direct crosswind out and back.

I will not be riding the 9 on race day (if we race). I was never in danger of going down, but it was impossible to relax and just push power. Not saying it will be with the 6 up front, but it will be easier.

20-30 SSE will make for a brutal first half (or 2/3rds!) of the bike leg.

Why "if we race"?!
Any posibility of cancelation?!

SUN

APR 2
Thunderstorms/Wind
77°68°
90%
SSE 21 mph88%

UV INDEXSUNRISESUNSETMOONRISEMOONSET

6 of 10
7:07 am
7:38 pm
11:46 am
12:46 am

Windy with showers and thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 77F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 90%.

Of those listed, I'd go 404/disc. Or if you have a regular box section front wheel/disc if the winds will be that high.

If the lightning, wind, and rain were bad enough... sure. Especially the lightning.

The Galveston race used to be an indie event prior to 2010 with a sprint, Oly, and HIM on the same weekend with the shorter races on Saturday and the HIM on Sunday. 2010 was the first year the HIM was a WTC branded 70.3. The weather sucked it the couple of days before the race and they actually canceled the swim for the Oly on Saturday but we did swim the 70.3 the next day and it was pretty freakin' choppy. I was like 8-10 minutes slower than normal. It wasn't a lot of fun at all. The Oly turned into a 5150 event for a few years and I think they had horrible luck with the weather. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I think the swim was canceled once, the bike was canceled once, and the whole race canceled another time.

So it can happen. Not likely but you never know. The 70.3 has had very good luck with weather for its history.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

SSE means crosswinds the entire time with maybe a very slight headwind the first half and very slight tailwind the second half. 20-30 mph sustained winds is no joke, which means gusts (30-40 mph) whipping off the Gulf in spots (especially near the San Luis Pass) could be a handful for many.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I raced the Oly the year the swim was cancelled the day before the HIM. Crazy storm blew through the night before. Power went out in the hotel at about 2 or 3am. White caps on the water in the morning. Buoys blown all over the place. The weather down there is always sketchy. Even on beautiful days the winds can be very strong to the point where the swim could be cancelled and the bike dangerous. So even if you luck out and the storm passes through in the hours before or holds out until after, the wind could cause problems.

I don't have a disc so the 808 rear is gonna have to do it for me.

Hopefully the heavy weather will hold off so we can get it done!!

GMAN's post #2 is spot on. I'll just add that I race at 140lbs and have always raced Galveston with a 60/disc with no issues. Same with IMFL 2014 with the gusts of 30mph. It was fine. I wouldn't go deeper than 60 up front, and it got twitchy a few times, but I never felt unsafe. If I changed anything it would be the front wheel, not the disc. Good luck! I'll be down there this year but not racing.

I was really hoping for a PR on the bike course this year when I signed up for this race. Looks like that's not happening!

All i got is disk and 808, interesting that my BBS time has not changed in the past week though.

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz