Did he actually say they don't use aero bars? I'm confused.

I think he just puts more value into hard work and training with a long term plan (what a strange concept!). The idea that you can just go out buy a bunch of expensive equipment and then suddenly think you are going to be a Kona Qualifier is not something he believes in. Clearly he has not been reading ST or he would know that is exactly how you become a Kona Qualifier! Hard work? Common sense? Forget about it! Raise that seat post, strap on that aero helmet, and look out Macca the ST Mafia is going to take 1st place! :)

I think that there is a big difference between the utilization of aero equpmet to gain speed, and the thought that aero equipment will make you fast.

IMHO, I'm faster on long straight courses that are typical of Triathlons when using aerobars, and run better coming off my tri bike than I do off my road bike (not that I'm terribly good at running anyway).

I've raced with and w/o race wheels, and on roadbikes and tri bikes and have to admit that there is a time and a place for everything, but in general most of the equipment helps. Obviously equipment is a very small part of overall speed, which is what I think Brett is talking about.

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This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time. - Fight Club
Industry Brat.

He's that convicted child molester right?

What a stupid comment that has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Look up the term "false dichotomy".

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"Go yell at an M&M"

You'd be surprised. I bet many, many people here have no problem with it.

I think you're misinterpreting the points he made regarding equipment - my take was that he thinks there are certain drawbacks to some of this equipment, for certain individuals which he feels might be counter to having their optimal bike AND run (and he also factors in the particular conditions of the course his athletes are racing on).

eg, Due to the bike handling skills of some of his athletes, the aero benefit of tri bars is outweighed by the time spent compensating for their poor handling. Belinda Granger for example has raced a disc wheel, tri bars and an aero helmet and Chrissie did and will use tri bars in Kona.

btw, if you can't hold an aero position for a prolonged period it seems like you might want to have your bike fit addressed. See Dan's articles on fit off the home page...

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www.true-motion.com Triathlete Casual Wear since 2007
(Twitter/FB)

 
I think you're misinterpreting the points he made regarding equipment -
Sorry buddy but I think it is you who may have misinterpreted what he said. I will provide the quote below but he is clearly saying that very few people (he actually says girls but I think it would be fair to extrapolate this to our lesser sex as well) benefit from this type of equipment. It sounds to me like he is saying that using this stuff should be the exception and not the norm and that it will actually hurt most people's (again he says girls but extrapolating) performance over an entire race.
Here is his quote from the article:
"I don't care what they want to tell me about what happens in a wind tunnel. I think there are maybe three girls that are faster with aerobars, full stop, in the pro ranks. And the rest are wasting three or four seconds every turn, every gear change.
And I see all these aero helmets, wonderful-looking pieces of equipment—and there's no air in 'em! The athletes cook their brain and run a marathon. They've saved a minute-thirty, then run 15 minutes slower. That, to me, is a problem. People like that stuff, and that's fine.
Same with discs. There are a handful of girls that can ride a disc properly. And of that handful are only a couple that are strong enough to get off it and run. There's not enough give in the graphite going up through the back. A disc just jars you up."

In my opinion, put ANY race on a proper TT bike/wheels/aero helmet and their time will be faster than it would be without said equipment. The numbers don't lie. Simple as that.

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Dan

The only part of that quote I don't get is the part about losing time changing gears. How would STI be faster than bar ends? I mean, your hands are RIGHT THERE with bar end shifters.

Steve

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Steve

"If you ain't first, you're last." Reese Bobby Talladega Nights

most triathletes can't ride in a straight line regardless of whether they are running a disc.

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my severely neglected blog

then lets agree to disagree.

Back to one of your original points about time lost due to "less aggressive positions" - I don't think switching bars from TT base bar to Drops necessarily means a change to a less aggressive position (when in the aero bars). I think his intent in changing the bars to allow both shifting and braking from the same hand position (ie for safer bike handling) rather than changing the riders position when aero - any loss due to aerodynamics would be due to the greater frontal area of drops versus base bars. Please correct me if I am wrong.....

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www.true-motion.com Triathlete Casual Wear since 2007
(Twitter/FB)

And what numbers are those that don't lie? Let me play devil's advocate here for a bit since I haven't really formed an opinion on the matter.

No one races in a wind tunnel so the only way to test this stuff is to have the same person do the same exact course at the person's exact same fitness and freshness level using this equipment versus using standard biking equipment. This is impossible and impractical. I'm quite certain that the marketing muscle behind all the aero goodies prefer to sell us on how great their stuff is in a wind tunnel but until someone can scientifically prove that this stuff makes you faster in the real world then we are just buying marketing hype.

Am I the only one who doesn't understand the "jarring" from the disc wheel? I ride an aluminum cervelo soloist with a zipp disc and conti sprinter tire and have never felt what he is suggesting. Granted I have never done an ironman, but have done lots of 100km rides and long runs after. Is he suggesting only woman have a problem with this?

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If you keep talking like that here on ST they are going to get you and lock you down in the cellar with me.

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I would agree with everything you just stated, so; what he is intimating is that those girls being referred to in his article need to get some coaching in the bike handling department...........so they can use the TT equipment that will give them the best aero advantage. Man, that kinda makes him sound like he is either sexist or just really behind on his TT/aero equipment research. Maybe somebody should email him a link to J. Cobb's site, for starters...............

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persequetur vestra metas furiose

not too difficult to test using a Powermeter. Search for posts by Tom A....

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www.true-motion.com Triathlete Casual Wear since 2007
(Twitter/FB)

Ha!!! Perhaps aero equipment has a placebo effect. You think it makes you faster so it does. I would say that is definitely a benefit... a very expensive one.

I would be interested to see what other coaches who have coached this many champions have to say on the matter. He does allude later in the article (or maybe it was in part one) that as the team gains sponsorship deals there will probably be fewer individual successes. I think what he might have been alluding to is that less sponsors mean that you can tailor an athletes equipment to only what is best for that athlete rather than having that athlete use what the sponsor wants to sell. That is pretty deep shite if you ask me. Also very telling for the argument at hand.

Okay this example isn't scientific, but it's about as close as you can get.

Our local bike club runs Time Trials every Thursday night. They're held on two different courses (rotating each week) and they've been held on the exact same courses for years. The wind patterns on these courses are (obviously) not identical, but they're generally the same.

Riders in our club commonly use these events as a 'testing ground' for their new gear. Of course your level of tiredness varies from week to week, but when you look at the numbers over the long term (a whole season or multiple seasons), you can start to see patterns based on equipment etc.

Furthermore, each year the club holds an 'old-school time trial' on one of our courses where aero gear is prohibited. - No Aero Wheels (nothing over 30mm), no aero helmets, no shoe covers, no aero bars etc. etc.
I've pulled the results of three riders:
Week 1...............Week 3.............Week 5...........Old School
Rider 1
26:16 26:16 DNS 27:06
Rider 2
24:51 25:24 DNS 27:15
Rider 3
25:05 24:33 24:21 26:19

I realize aero equipment is no replacement for hard work, but in my eyes the two go hand in hand. Why put a V12 in a Volkswagen Bus? I'd rather have that V12 in a Lambo, personally.

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Dan

Or perhaps he is saying that the Team TBB budget might not be large enough to keep the bigger names on the team as they get lured by more lucrative deals elsewhere....

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www.true-motion.com Triathlete Casual Wear since 2007
(Twitter/FB)

Can I add a BTW?

BTW, if you can't handle your bike well enough to take advantage of aero benefits, it seems like you might want to get some coaching...

Rik

I'm guessing you're referring to the second place finisher in this triathlon and not me?
http://www.slowtwitch.com/...z_Triathlon_453.html
Poor thing was only riding Mountain bikes until last year, she just needs a little more confidence building on the descents and then she might beat all the men...

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www.true-motion.com Triathlete Casual Wear since 2007
(Twitter/FB)

Sorry! I was not referring to you! I have no idea what your bike handling skills are like. I was merely using "you" in my post to parallel the construction in your statement: "btw, if you can't hold an aero position for a prolonged period it seems like you might want to have your bike fit addressed."

Rik