New transition bag: Ogio M9 http://ogio.com/athletic/ironman/m9

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Gram of Coke and a bag of Weed.....

Either tires or a saddle

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Save: $50 on Speed Hound Recovery Boots | $20 on Air Relax| $100 on Normatec| 15% on Most Absorbable Magnesium

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A frickin' good massage. Without extras. Because I'm boring like that.

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Swim. Overbike. Walk.

Sunglasses or socks. I really love socks.

Good on tires. About the saddle, I have the stock Oval saddle that came on my 2011 Fuji D6 4.0. I haven't had any comfort problems or pain of any sort using that saddle. Would an upgrade to a tri-specific saddle such as a Cobb one (referencing that because it's in your sig) really make that much of a difference in terms of comfort if I'm not having any problems right now? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to saddles.

Also, another question, which is just for everyone...

Shoes like Pearl Izumi's Tri Fly Carbon/Octane shoes. What are your thoughts on Tri-specific shoes? I have really old Shimano road cycling shoes and they've done me well but aren't exactly the most comfortable anymore. Would an upgrade to semi-expensive triathlon shoes be worth it?

Wheel cover and latex tubes

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Dynamic Athlete ProgrammingVIP Endurance Racing | Like us on Facebook Get Your Training Plan Here

Either a new indoor fluid trainer or WKO4.

Trainerroad subscription?

Wko4?

Good option. Also, you didn't mention what you wear to race. Perhaps look into a new tri suit?

If I was given $150 to spend right now, I'd probably just go grocery shopping :)

If you aren't having any problems then I wouldn't bother switching. With that being said, if the saddle doesn't have some cut-out then it is possible you don't know what you are missing. My first saddle was an Fizik Arione Tri way back in the day, I cringe how I made it work back in the day. Shoes sounds like another good upgrade, but I am a fan of specialized high-end shoes for training but they can be pricey - well out of the $150 range.

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Save: $50 on Speed Hound Recovery Boots | $20 on Air Relax| $100 on Normatec| 15% on Most Absorbable Magnesium

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Consider the Specialized Trivent Expert shoes ($175 IIRC). Really well designed shoes, and not too pricey.

For split nose saddles, the Adamo PN 1.1 is a great option at $149.

The most speed for your $$$$ would be the aforementioned tires & latex tubes.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

If I have an extra $150 I'd spend it on race entry fees! :)

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Chlorine is my perfume

^ That's what I spent my last $150 on. Whole bunch of socks.

That said, shoes are also a good option. Shimano's R171 are probably going to be my next pair and they're in that price-range.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

I'd get a new cassette, chain and some tires. Or, if you don't have a good bike light, I guess I'd get that.

Looking at shoes like the Trivent Expert and PI Tri Fly series, a lot of them look like the holes on the bottom are only set-up for Look cleats or SPD-SL cleats.

I have the set-up shown as letter D here:


If I got one of these shoes, I'm assuming I'd also have to change my cleats and pedals to an either A or B style?

This, but maybe bring some "tip" money for the extra.....

I'd get that sweet SILCA frame pump with another $15 of my own monies. I use giftcard money to buy something I normally wouldn't purchase at all on my own.

So looking into it a bunch more, I think I need some new pedals and cleats. I've been using small MTB pedals on my tri and road bike for 3 years of riding now unknowingly missing out on a ton of increased control if I were to go with something like these. http://www.ebay.com/...;hash=item3f5075952b

Any suggestions from anyone? Shimano SPD-SL setup or Look setup?

This is a good point: If you have all the important "stuff," maybe it's worth investing in things to make your life easier: A few months of a cleaning service, a few weeks of meal delivery, babysitter for the next few early Saturday rides, etc.

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http://mediocremultisport.blogspot.com

If I was as set as you are on stuff, I'd probably take out the Wife on a spectacular date. This is a hidden triathlon investment that will pay dividends way beyond the expected return.

(That, or a race entry.)

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

That would certainly be an option, but considering I'm only 18, I'll have to wait another 10 years or so to be able to do that. By that point, all the monthly service fees if I don't actually use the gift cards will take away all the money.

What do you think of new pedals/cleats? I've been unknowingly using MTB pedals and cleats for three years now of triathlon racing. Apparently I've missed out on a ton of control, so looking into either Shimano SPD-SL or Look Keo and I'm not sure which ones to go with.

Then find someone you think is either awesome, or hot, or both (your sig other ideally, but not required if you're not already in a relationship) and make them a wife for the night. Go out and have a good time.

Cleats are good. I use the Looks but some people swear by speed plays.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Couple of bottles of Wild Turkey to help with recovery.

I need to new bearings for my pedals. I may just buy new pedals.

I started out with Speedplays and now use Looks on my road/tri bikes - most of the guys I train with (I think you know at least a couple of them, BTW) use Speedplay and swear by them. I think I have an extra set of Keos (I'd need to check for cleats) laying around that you're welcome to borrow to see if you like them - PM me if you want.

"Apparently I've missed out on a ton of control"

I think you are going to be disappointed at the amount of extra "control" you get by switching to road pedals. It's going to be about none.

If you need to spend the money now to avoid fees I would recommend spending it on something you typically budget for like food or gas. Then you can save the cash you would have normally spent on those items and you still have $150 and no timeframe to spend it in.

Pedals and cleats are a solid option and I would take the guy up on the offer to borrow his before buying. But if you can't decide what to do with it don't forget about something we older guys call "saving". I wasn't particularly good at it when I was 18 but if I could go back I'd be a millionaire right now. But that's a story for a different thread. Seriously though, 6-12 months down the road you may have a real need/repair or find a race you want to enter and having the money set aside would be nice. And of course you could always add to it over time and sooner or later that $150 will be $300 and then $500 and so on. Then you would have even more choices.

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The best pace is a suicide pace, and today is a good day to die. -Steve Prefontaine

Nah, all 'good' shoes will use a 3-bolt pattern which will allow you to use pretty much any road style pedal you want. The problem is you aren't using road pedals right now, you're using cheap 2-bolt mountain cleats. Nothing terribly wrong with that for a beginner, but I agree that getting yourself a set of proper cleats and pedals is probably a smart move.

As for which ones you get, it's a matter of personal preference. The Look and SPD-SL style have nice wide pedaling platforms and the cleats are pretty cheap to replace. I use Speedplay pretty much because that's all I've ever used, they have very easy dual sided entry and I'm very used to the float so riding without it feels strange to me. There could be other advantages to speedplay such as aerodynamics, which is probably minimal, and cornering ability but that's likely not all of a concern for tri. On the downside, the cleats are a little more expensive to replace (I recommend walkable cleat covers) and the pedals need occasional maintenance to pump some new grease in.

Whenever I find myself trying to think of ways to spend money, I stop.

I am really close to buying a Mio Fuse heart rate monitor. I have a Mio Link but the battery doesn't last long enough for weekend training. I do love it however. I am a firm believer in monitoring heart rate. I feel like it keeps me honest.

Which Look style do you use? Not that I'm necessarily trying to go really cheap, but right now on eBay there's KEO 2 Max with all the cleats/hardware for $88 and also Keo Classic 2 with the cleats/hardware for $60. Both products are new. I definitely want a solid product but if I could save a bit of money while doing it, that'd be great as well. The KEO 2 Max pedals for $88 seem like a damn good deal.

They have a full refund upon returning as well if I don't like them. If they didn't have the returns, I'd definitely take you up on that offer and I appreciate you letting me try them for a ride.

What do you think about that deal?

Shimano pedals and cleats have been widey considered to be the most durable and reliable with the lowest amount of maintenance. The new 550's are a good starting point and come in at around the same price as those Keo ones.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ca/en/shimano-r550-spd-sl-clipless-road-pedals/rp-prod106714


I'd use the money to get a disc cover and latex tubes myself. Pedals won't make as much of a time difference for the $150

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

You can get a gram and a bag for 150 bucks?

Sharon

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Festina Lente

I'd have to check on the exact models but I think I have Keo Classics and Sprints.

That Ebay deal for $88 seems like a good one.

I just bought the Adamo PN 1.1 on Amazon for $99 (5 days ago). I was about to pull the trigger a couple days earlier for $125 on Amazon, but a phone call came in that I had to take. When I went to buy it, $99. Price seems to move every couple days.

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_________________________________
The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

150 gels?

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Pete Githens
Reading, PA

Just ordered a PN 1.1 last night, coincidentally ($104 on Amazon when I did it). Reasonably low cost way to try split nose saddles, and can probably recoup most of that if it doesn't work for me.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

 
I use Look Keo Carbon on all my road bikes, been very happy with them.

I'd definitely make the switch to real road shoes and pedals if the money is really burning a hole in your pocket. Wider pedals transfer power a bit better, road shoes are usually stiffer and the bigger pedal can help with hot spots on your feet.

This is a no-brainer. Something for the wife--maybe even kick in a little extra to get something totally awesome...being in good graces with them is PRICELESS!

pn 1.1 i really like, disc cover, running shoes i like altra, and supersonic/turbo cottons tires

You can send it back to Amazon. I did that with another saddle. I contacted them prior and told them I used it for two weeks. It had contact marks from my seat post, otherwise looked new. They just told me to send it back. I'm also a Prime member.

I'm on my third ISM saddle, fifth split nose. The Sietro is awesome, but hard as a rock. Ass is so painful. The other ISM ones my ass can't get use too. I'm hoping the padding with the PN will be the one.

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_________________________________
The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

A copy of Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance and some decent tools.

Power Cal Heart Rate strap that also approximates power on your bike. $88 at Clever Training website when you link from DC Rainmaker's review. It's made by Power Tap folks.

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Sharon McN
@IronCharo
#TeamZoot
Clif Bar Pace Team 2003-2018

Some suggestions:

- more running shoes. Mine usually last about 6-9 months, depends on your mileage. You will always need more running shoes!!
- wet weather gear, trail shoes, whatever helps keep you training through the crap weather months (signature suggests Philly?)
- decent lights for the bike or a head torch, keep you training when it gets dark?
- like the tools suggestion, I find that a bike stand is a very useful thing to have. You can save your money back many times over if you learn how to work on your bike yourself.
- Amazon Prime membership for a year, plus the Firestick HD. For those indoor zone 2 sessions when the weather is just too crap and you don't need the intensity. I prefer Prime to Netflix now, and in the UK we get free next day delivery for any purchases which I guess is probably 2-day in the States?

Have fun whatever you buy, nice to get a bit of bling once in a while.

Normally the standard answer for these sorts of questions would be "hookers and blow", but -
with only $150 to spend, the quality of both would be cut-rate, to say the least.

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float , hammer , and jog

I'd get a mechanics home kit and a really nice cleaning kit, something like this:


http://www.excelsports.com/main.asp?page=8&description=Port-A-Shop+Tool+Kit&vendorCode=LEZYNE&major=6&minor=9


and this:


http://www.excelsports.com/main.asp?page=8&description=Drivetrain+Service+Kit&vendorCode=MORGAN&major=6&minor=21


Unlike most of the crap sold to the tri market, those things will make you faster and enjoy your machine more!

Shimano for sure.

I heard m-2 course jersey can save you 10w at $149.
Assuming you can find your size.

A work stand is great to have and can be built with some basic hand tools and parts from a local hardware store on a budget. No need for a college student to spend $200 on a park tools stand.

i'll second the r550 pedals, as i recently bought a pair for my fixed-gear conversion.
notes:
1 - i have Ultegra 6610 and D/A 7810 pedals, and the r550 are very light and easy to click into(i have not bothered to set the retension level any higher than stock)
as the bodies are resin/composite they may not be as durable as the alloy ones, i just have to remember not to dump the bike or get hit ;-)
2 - they can be found for very little money, i got them for $45 on ebay new-in-the-box.
3 - use the same cleats as ultegra and D/A; bonus for me, three bikes, one pair of shoes(Pearl Izumi Try Fly IV)
4 - the cleats are easier to walk in than most(you can still fall and hurt yourself, don't ask me how i know this)
5 - even though they don't have as good bearings as the D/A pedals, they still feel really smooth
6 - no creaking or squeaking

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"...I try not to ever ride as slow as 20mph. ;) ... And even more than that, I don't race with a speedometer. My computer is set up to show Power // Cadence // Time. I don't actually ever know how fast I'm going. I only know that if I'm in 53/11, and it takes more than 100rpm to hit my target watts, it's time to coast." - Jordan Rapp on '09 IMC