[All the starving people in the world, and here I am talking about this...]
In the last few months the idea of buying a new (well, probably 2nd hand) TT bike has begun to circulate in my head.
I currently have a 2008 model Felt B2, and I run a 80mm deep rim on the front and a wheelcover and Powertap on the rear. FTP is about 305 watts (but that's only about 3.7 W/Kg). Last year I placed in or around the top 10% for bike splits in the bigger triathlons. I've added about 20 watts over the off-season, and I'm getting in the top ten for bike splits in the small events I've done to date this year.
I have lots of the aero and other bases covered (Lazer aero helmet, between-the-bars horizontal bottle mount, reasonable bike fit (though could get more aggressive certainly), reasonable wheels, latex tubes and Conti GP4000S etc). Maybe my aerobars aren't so good (Vision aerobars with J bend extensions).
So I trained hard for a few months and added 20W to my FTP. Maybe I could add another 20W with a better bike?
On the other hand, I'm probably talking $4-5k to upgrade to a bike that will make that much difference.
I understand that this is a purely subjective value judgement, but would like to hear the opinions/experiences of those who also have a "pretty good" but not outstanding bike. Do you stick with it for a few more seasons, or forever (I mean, it is probably in the top 10% of bikes in the triathlons I do), or go the superbike route?
Or spend some cash on some windtunnel fun, or some time on the poor man's windtunnel optimising my aeroness?
In the last few months the idea of buying a new (well, probably 2nd hand) TT bike has begun to circulate in my head.
I currently have a 2008 model Felt B2, and I run a 80mm deep rim on the front and a wheelcover and Powertap on the rear. FTP is about 305 watts (but that's only about 3.7 W/Kg). Last year I placed in or around the top 10% for bike splits in the bigger triathlons. I've added about 20 watts over the off-season, and I'm getting in the top ten for bike splits in the small events I've done to date this year.
I have lots of the aero and other bases covered (Lazer aero helmet, between-the-bars horizontal bottle mount, reasonable bike fit (though could get more aggressive certainly), reasonable wheels, latex tubes and Conti GP4000S etc). Maybe my aerobars aren't so good (Vision aerobars with J bend extensions).
So I trained hard for a few months and added 20W to my FTP. Maybe I could add another 20W with a better bike?
On the other hand, I'm probably talking $4-5k to upgrade to a bike that will make that much difference.
I understand that this is a purely subjective value judgement, but would like to hear the opinions/experiences of those who also have a "pretty good" but not outstanding bike. Do you stick with it for a few more seasons, or forever (I mean, it is probably in the top 10% of bikes in the triathlons I do), or go the superbike route?
Or spend some cash on some windtunnel fun, or some time on the poor man's windtunnel optimising my aeroness?
