You want to ride faster or just a new bike? If you want to ride faster, I would suggest you to buy an altitude tent.

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"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

new ride samrtasscoach

Buy two P2Ks. Send one to me.

or

Spend 4000 and buy me some new shoes and shorts with the left over money.

or

Go see Tom D

or

Jon Cobb

or

sponsor me in my up coming duathlon season and buy me new shoes, shorts and pedals.

or

Sponsor me. Put all the money into a Richardson Bikemart gift card and have them hold it for me.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

If you can't find a used P2, my all-time favorite TT bike, I would suggest a P3. There's a reason behind all the groupies, it's a great bike.

Also I remember seeing you in 650c bike? If that's true, you should definitly switch to 700.

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"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

For that amount you could get just about anything you wanted - wheelset included.

For your size and strong biking - the Trek TT is a great ride. If I were over 6 foot and had the dough for project 1 bike, I'd get that.

I have a P3 and it's great...but it's heavy and the customer service has been really poor.

Just be aware - if you start riding a Trek, people might acuse you of doping!

"Just be aware - if you start riding a Trek, people might acuse you of doping!"

No, we will know his doesn't have any sould and is just a poser.

(I kid. I like Trek bunches.)

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

That will get you damn close to a Yaqui Carbo with DA 10 and Zipps. Droooolllll...

Beats me...but if the Patriots cover this weekend, I decided this morning I'm getting a Front Hed3!

$4500 Probably a P3 or Felt B2 and use the rest to pay off CCs!!

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TheBikeRacer.com

$4500 ? I'd be looking at a Calfee Tetra Tri. www.calfeedesign.com Truly unbelievable bikes.

I don't understand. You say you love your 2000 Hilo but want to replace it. Why? How can one recommend a replacement when you don't tell us the shortcomings of the current bike. So before even guessing at a replacement, shouldn't you identify in as much detail as possible what it is about the Hilo you want changed in a new bike. What is it you want the bike to do more than the Hilo, what less, and what different. If you can't tell us how you want the new bike to differ from the old, I'd recommend the blue bike. I like blue.

Ken-

Your self description precisely matches how I would describe myself; size, strenghts, style--- dead on. I love my Guru Crono. I love my tri spokes for just about all conditions. Go find one and ride it. Apparently they make a Ti version now too. Check that out, the $4500 should cover it.

Ken,

A short story for you. I started triathlon in 2001 and put together a tri bike off ebay using a Scott Waimea frame. I rode it for 18 months and dialed it in until it felt perfect. After 18 months I decided I needed free speed and ended up buying (eBay again) a used P2 with Visiontech bars. Now after 12 months of riding I am going back to the Scott. Why you ask? There is no such thing as free speed for most of us! I didn’t go any faster on the new bike just because it was more aero.

Companies do all their wind tunnel tests at 30 mph because that’s about the lowest speed they can collect data.

How many of us ride at 30 mph? Darn few. A friend of mine who has been doing tri’s for 16 years (and is a former bronze medallist at age group worlds) told me that the people at the company he rides for found that aero tubes didn’t make any difference below 27 mph. So why, I asked, do they make aero-tubed bikes? Because that is what the customer wants. The company could not sell round-tubed bikes.

There are a lot of companies out there selling bikes with aero tubes (and even more that purport to be aero that really aren’t) that make a lot of money giving the customer what he wants.

Sooo, if you just want a new bike then keep the time trial machine and buy a bike for some other purpose. Put together the ultimate, lightweight (relative for a big guy) climbing bike. Or better yet, take a tour by bike of France. The Alps are an incredible place to ride and you will never see cycling the same afterwards.

Chad

Keep the bike you have, and take the family to Disney World as another reminder to how much you love them, and as another opportunity to spend time with them, and to show how appreciative you are of all the time they give you to do your tri thing.

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"What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind and body can achieve; and those who stay will be champions."

Good idea,

Or even better, go to Disney World and do the Great Claremont Triathlon in the spring while you are down there like I did one year. My kids have a great time cheering at races and its a lot more fun after the race than a lonely drive home by yourself.

Chad

Look Jack what you said is the best thing to do. It makes perfect sense. I can not and will not say you are not %100 correct. But I'm trying to work a sponsorship deal here for Team Secondhand Racing. So we need to keep the good ideas to a minimum.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

Dude, get the bike that makes you want to head out the door everyday and ride it...in all weather conditions. Passion for biking can be bought. If we all had our dreambikes in our garages (Damn, I just wish I had a garage....damn condo living) we would all ride more, it's just human nature.

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"The more you sweat today, the less you bleed tomorrow"

P2K, Renn disc, Hed 3, Vision tech bars, Dura-Ace

Then perhaps a cheap assed nasty training road bike, $200 heavy aluminum frame, used 105, bombproof wheels.



Then take the leftover money and buy your SO something nice.

Crack and hookers... that is way I would go. This is really a great example of good marketing, if you love your current bike why would you change- you won't go any faster.

P3, DA10 and some sweet reynolds stratus tubulars. Awesome bike and very fast. If you've got a road bike don't get rid of it. I love going back and forth from my tri bike to my road bike. It's like going from from an old "caddy" to a 911 turbo. I also got the new Easton Attack bars which are very expensive but I think they're worth the money.

"I love my current 2000 Hilo."

So why spend $4500. You won't be any faster.

If you don't already have a disc and want to a bit faster then drop $59.95 for a set of CH Aero covers and save yourself $4440.05.

Hey Ken,

I'm a bigger guy like you, too, and we shared the same IM coach. Great result at IMF. This whole "cash to burn, gotta buy a new bike thing" was in my head for some time.

Here's what I recommend: Either buy 2 or buy a high-end road bike. I opted for the latter. I also love my tribike and had it dialed in. The only rationale for a new one was pure sex appeal. I ended up getting a Colnago Ti Ovalmaster, a stiff road bike that Ernesto specifically designed for bigger guys like us. This bike has now become my choice for long rides and group rides and I use my tribike weekly for solo rides. It has also opened up my view to crits and road races, and have done a couple already. Like you, cycling is my strength, and this just opens up many options.

If you are just dying for a new tribike, there are so many incredible options in the 3K range, leaving you 1.5K for a decent road bike, like a Soloist or Giant.

Happy training. Any IMs this year? Drop me a line if you come to Orlando and we'll drag Mad Marty out for a ride. I'm riding with him this a.m if he gets his lazy butt out of bed on this otherwise mildly wet, cool day!

Robert (ralfert@broadandcassel.com)

How much do Altitude Tents cost nowdays?

I like Mr. Tibbs. He makes me laugh.

http://www.griffenbike.com/Vulcan.cfm

That's gotta be one of the sexiest bikes out there!

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It's ALL about the bike!

I don't think Griffen's are worth the money. A vulcan w/Ultegra will cost you $5000. I think you're better off getting a Cervelo, Litespeed, or Kestrel. You'll get a lot more for the money. it's also tough to find Griffen dealers. Griffen does give a sweet discount to military folks.

[reply]I don't think Griffen's are worth the money. A vulcan w/Ultegra will cost you $5000.[/reply]

I won't argure with that, but remember it's Ken's money I'm spending and not my own. :P I myself have a Cervelo P3 and couldn't be happier. I just think the Vulcan is a slick looking machine.

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It's ALL about the bike!