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tri noob (and bike noob!)
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Signed up to Jönköping 70.3 2021HIM here in Sweden.

This will be my first tirathlon (unless i pick another event as a training run before)

My race experience so is a 10km run, and a 2km and 3.2km openwater race so i know i have alot of work ahead

Swim is my most comfortable - i did a regular 2km swim acorss the local bay and a 4-5km jog back (carrying my gear) most weekends over the summer

Im heavily into to researching stuff at the minute and putting a training plan in action, and it has become quite clear that info on the bike element can be bogged down into a lot of technical stuff to do with the bike - (a friend said a triathlon is just a bike race with a couple of minor incoveniances) - and that costs soon get high - where as the swim is a wetsuit and the run is a pair of decent shoes.

I will be the first to admit that know nothing really about bikes.
I bought this https://whitebikes.com/gx-pro-20/b/2459/ as my first bike in well over a decade,

In the uk the aim was to have a bike that was so bad no one would steal it, so even if this is cheap by modern bike standrads, for me its dead fancy - but I have no real idea what i have actually bought - so if any one fancies a peak at the specs and could give me some feedback it would be much appreciated.

I have ridden the bike on 3 (not so) longer rides for me - around 45km with an average speed of 25-27kmph which includes getting lost, detours / riding on mixed surfaces (including a fair amount of gravel!) and just wearing running shoes on flats.

So for this first post im wondering if all the standard info on getting some clip on areobars, clipless pedals /shoes and getting more road based tyres to say 32 - 30mm is the right way to go (if so what do folk reccomend?) - also wondering if its not better to have a seperate set of wheels? i.e one for the 37mm for when its a bit rough outside, and then a spereate set with the thinner tyers on?
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Re: tri noob (and bike noob!) [skutter] [ In reply to ]
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You have a gravel bike.
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Re: tri noob (and bike noob!) [skutter] [ In reply to ]
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Your bike will get you from T1 to T2 just fine. Mods will make it a little faster if that matters to you, but they're certainly not necessary.

If I were to mod it, I'd probably start with that you suggested - road tyres (maybe 28s, and tubes to suit), plus clip on bars. If you went a little further, a tri saddle would be much nicer while on the aero bars, and dump the stem as low as possible. Bike shoes - again, nice but not necessary. They do help you spin without losing contact with the pedals. On that bike I'd probably look at SPD (MTB type) pedals.

I wouldn't bother with another set of wheels ($$) unless changing tyres is just too inconvenient for you and you plan to do it frequently.
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Re: tri noob (and bike noob!) [skutter] [ In reply to ]
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In my opinion, race with what you have. It's not ideal with those wide tires, but if this is your first, just go out there and get some experience. You'll have plenty of time to upgrade and improve. Don't try to do it all on your first race. For now, think of the expereince.

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Re: tri noob (and bike noob!) [skutter] [ In reply to ]
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For training it doesn't matter a huge amount what tyres you use but slick tyres will feel noticeably smoother so if youre staying on the road, I'd switch for that reason alone. But good tyres like GP5000 or numerous others will also be much faster.
Shoes are a minor thing for some people and a major one for others. I know my enjoyment of cycling is hugely helped by using "clipless" shoes and pedals. They make me far more comfortable and make me feel way more connected to the bike. I do perform better "clipless", but more importantly I'm more comfortable.
These are the 2 improvements I'd invest in before any others.

Clip-on aero bars can wait. Get comfortable on the bike first. It's not a triathlon bike and will handle best, and be most comfortable with normal drop bars. If you decide to add them in a few months that's fine but I think it's worth just getting comfortable and strong on the bike with the standard bars first. Clip-ons without a triathlon type position are a compromise anyway and not the best intro to cycling even if they can add some speed later. You'll be in a much better circumstance to make decisions about aero bars and other tweaks later once you've figured out how it feels to ride hard on a bike for 2 or 3 hours.

The style of bike you got is an ideal all-rounder. I did my first few adventure races, duathons and triathlons on a Specialized Tricross which was kinda the equivalent 10 years ago to a Gravel bike now.

Enjoy the new bike and have fun!
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Re: tri noob (and bike noob!) [skutter] [ In reply to ]
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I was intimidated by triathlon for years, in large part because I thought you had to have a fancy bike. Then I literally ran into a triathlon happening near and through the park where I ran. There were people with hybrids and mountain bikes and junky bikes.

I did that triathlon the next year with my 1970s touring bike. I did it at 25 kph, which was just below the median of 26 kph. The top guys in the race, who are among the top guys in the region, went 35 kph. The course did have hills.

Most people had pretty good bikes. I think the previous year the people I saw were the back of the pack. The hybrids and fitness bikes were the exception, but there were people with bikes just as slow as mine.

I would say your gravel bike is fancier and faster than average.
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Re: tri noob (and bike noob!) [HardlyTrying] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the feedback! it's much appreciated.

Think I will try some thinner tires and also just focus on building up the actual endurance needed...no point starting out chasing sub 5hrs if I can't even cover the individual distances in any sensible fadhion...also can rest easy knowing whatever my time in the event it will be a PB 😉
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Re: tri noob (and bike noob!) [skutter] [ In reply to ]
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This forum is a great resource for keeping costs low, we often see people lament at how the sport is expensive and is keeping the entry bar high but we also have lots of helpful and knowledgeable people who point out how and where to get cheap triathlon set ups that top performing AGers use. Get comfortable with the search bar and look out for threads about bike costs & mods. Hope you enjoy it and hope to see you at a race sometime in the future! (Assuming us Murricans are EVER allowed back into Europe)

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