I’d be willing to bet that if you were to average out everyone that does or attempts to do a flying mount versus just taking a few seconds to mount the bike normally you’d find that it would be an overall loss of time. Some people are good at it. Most are not.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Bigger savings usually had by running with your bike past the mount line until you are clear of those trying to flying mount and messing it up, those stopping 1inch after the mount line to do a normal mount, those wobbling all over the road etc.

I think part of the calculus is what the first 100-200 meters after the mount line are like. Technical turns, hills, overly crowded with wobbly riders, etc factor into my decision.

Now a flying dismount? Every single time. I think there is more time savings getting off the bike quickly while keeping momentum.

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The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

I think the flying mounts are debatable, as it can turn into a bit of a gong show - but unmistakably flying dismount is faster. Flew by a couple of people stopped at the dismount line a couple weeks ago, and in a sprint distance those handful of seconds can make or break a race.

Practicing a flying mount is free. If you practice it you'll know how much quicker you should be and if you aren't going to practice it then don't do it.

If 15-30 seconds over a long bike leg isn't important then we should really question what we're all doing here - which might well be the correct thing to do.

I'm debating with myself trying to deal with this T1 question. I'l be doing my first Sprint tri next month.
I have S-Works 6 road shoes to put on after the swim. These shoes are TIGHT !! I'm thinking there is no way I can jump on the bike and be efficient at opening them an getting my feet inside while on the bike. I will lose less time by getting my feet in them first, and then jump on the bike with a little momentum.
Am I thinking it the right way ?
I still have lots of stuff to think about, learn and practice, in a short period...

Louis :-)

I really think you can only try it and see. Maybe if you've got a turbo then try seeing how easily feet go from on top to in while on there. You're absolutely right that is big factor in what you should do. How wide can you get the opening and leave it like that? Other factors are what does T1 look like? 400m on garvel to the bike line and then flat is very different to 20m on smooth tarmac and then straight into a hill.

I don't mean it in a disparaging way at all. If you don't have time to practice then the best decision is almost certainly to not do a flying mount. Equally, assuming the shoes allow it, a couple of 30 minute seasons practicing and you might feel comfortable doing it and it's a bigger time saving than almost any other way you could spend that time.

Agree, but ya gotta practice those as well. I remember flying into T2 in an Olympic length race, and for some reason, my brain decided it would be a good idea if I did a flying dismount like the pros (having never done this before in my life). So, I duly unclipped my right foot and swung it over the saddle and balanced with my left foot still clipped in (note: this is a very bad idea). Still moving at a pretty good clip, I'm coming up on the dismount line and now I'm trying really hard to unclip my left foot with my right leg crossed behind it, hopping like mad trying to keep up. The marshal for T2 is staring at me doing a super fast, comical one legged hop while trying very unsuccessfully to unclip my left foot from the pedal (imagine trying to simultaneously twist your left leg left whilst hopping along very quickly with your right leg crossed behind your left leg). Needless to say, my brain overloaded at this point and I collapsed to the left, right at the feet of the T2 marshal and right on the dismount line. The marshal tried really hard not to laugh, but the hilarity over took him and he covered his mouth and looked away while shaking with laughter. Of course, the humor of the situation was not lost on me, and while I struggled to unclip while laying on the ground (harder than it sounds), I couldn't help but chuckle as well. All things being equal, I'm pretty sure I lost some time on that one....

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

I did the exact same thing a few weeks ago but I was away from prying eyes and just doing a few practice runs. I guess I should have reviewed the YouTube videos before I gave it a try. To my credit I picked a nice grassy area to fall on. My problem is that I go all out on the bike and I'm not very steady in that last 200 meters attempting to fool around with my shoes that won't come off.

I would hate to arrive at T2 in a pile of wreckage 50 ft from the timing mat.

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

Like with all things in life, practice makes you better. Flying mount is faster as long as you practice this. I start every ride with a flying start. Place my feet on my shoes and put them in just down the road from my house. The only difference in races is that I have elastics that hold my shoes level which makes it a little easier.

I save a fair bit of time with flying mount and dismounts and a few other tricks I have picked up. I can pass a lot of people in transition but less out on the course.

I once watched a local sprint where close to a third of the triathletes tried the flying mount. It was both awful and amusing to watch. In the span of 3 minutes, I watched 12 people wipe out. Even the athletes that were good at it were getting crushed by guys who had no business doing it. A lot of people don't pay attention to those around them in those chutes. Those sprints are full of newbies.

I've also had a teammate rip a muscle in an Ironman when mounting her bike. She pulled to the side and mounted safely but the guy running up behind her wanted to do a flying mount. He wobbled and fell right on top of her. I choose to run and pull my bike way to the side to mount safely.

In terms of time savings the flying mount itself is small compared to running from your rack to the mount line. If its a long run and you're fit you can run at a 6min pace barefoot for 200m, 300m, 400m. You can't run that fast in a typical road/tri cycling shoe. If something is going to be timed to determine the advantage - it's that run rather than the mount itself. Once you really own this skill it feels so crazy good to be running at 6-7min pace and mounting a bike that is moving at 8-10mph. It's a nice bonus taking the bike from that speed up to race pace rather than from a dead stop up to race pace.

I'm a triathlon coach and have been for a long time. Much of my coaching has been in the Olympic pipeline with Youth ID, Junior Development, U23s. CRP, and Senior Elites. In draft legal racing the flying mount and dismount is critical (although I still see some tough mounts even at the WTS level). When a fast age grouper is competing for a high bar then the flying mount/dismount is justified. There are a few aspects of this that are important:

• Shoes with a fast tightening system - I prefer one or two velcro straps but a boa dial works too - no laces, no buckles.
• Some sort of band attachment at the heel of the shoe - I've put a tiny hole in the back of a shoe once with a dremel tool but a loop is best. Flying mounts can be done sans rubber band but if you're going to commit to this it might as well be done right.
• The skill of running with the bike with one hand on the saddle and no other contact - this takes some folks a bit more practice that others. It's a must so that you don't get your run stride tied up in the pedals when holding the bike at the bars.
• The skill of a legit flying mount - it can't be a skip, it's gotta be from run speed to the saddle. This takes more time than any to learn (and as a respectful reference point, a single forty-five minute cycling cross race will have you do more flying mounts in that event than prolly an entire season of racing tris). Start with helmet on and buckled and running shoes on. Start by walking and progressing hands to the bars and placing (very deliberately) the upper thigh on the saddle. Then jog and put a skip into the move. Then a run and start to remove the skip (that's when we place a foot on the ground at the moment we meet the saddle to protect that impact)
• Back in the day I found it acceptable crush shoes with a bare foot and get the bike up to speed. Then - sometime later - short moments of coasting with the foot was placed into shoe (pedal back up to speed) then strap it down (pedal back up to speed) then get other foot in (pedal back up to speed) then strap that one down. But it is FAR better to execute the flying mount and have shoes that rest very wide open so that the flying mount is combined with slipping feet into shoes at the same time. Then is a very brief coast later on (on a descent?) to strap 'em down.
• One note on the dismount - it really should be done in a manner where the feet are taken out of shoes well in advance of dismount line. Then one foot, typically the right, swings around the back of the saddle and....this is the critical bit....BETWEEN the bike frame and the left leg which is standing on the left shoe. This keeps the hips square and allows you to run off the bike at a maximum of 10mph just before the line rather than the right foot touching down behind the left foot, twisting the hips and causing a stumble. This is commonly called the "swing through".
• Lastly (and it's been mentioned on this thread already) practice this twice a week for 30min each time in a safe, wide open area - starting from 6 weeks out of your race. That will result in only 6 hours of practice and I think that's the bare minimum.

Ian

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Ian Murray
http://www.TriathlonTrainingSeries.com
I like the pursuit of mastery
Twitter - @TriCoachIan

Holy sh*t that was funny. I live for this stuff.

I don’t think I’ve seen people stay clipped in when doing a flying dismount

Is that a method?

I’ve only done it while feet were on top of the shoes

It is a method - but not a very good one. Put it this way, methods of that quality and effectiveness are usually preceded by "here, hold my beer..."

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

That was very useful, thank you.

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

It is most definitely NOT a method.

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

Just got done with some practice and stubbed my toe... Not off to a good start.

I know you guys don't like to read it, and I'll avoid another session of back and forth over it, but I won fastest bike split today over two stronger riders b/c I did flying mounts / dismounts (while wearing my bike shoes).

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To breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive.

Please explain

I’m always looking to learn

So then you run with your shoes on?

I would think that with practice it could be ideal if you also can confidently tighten your shoes to an ideal level quickly after the flying mount because a loose shoe is bad news. For me, I would rather just lose the 20-30 seconds getting that right in transition (for a half or full) rather than fiddling around with it on the bike when I should be drinking water and refueling after the swim.

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808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

If you can't tighten your shoes mid ride you've got more to worry about than trying a flying mount/dismount

Yep, normal mount for me; but always a flying dismount.

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29 years and counting

The two ways I get on the bike when my shoes are already clipped into the pedals are the traditional flying mount and by stepping on the mounting side pedal and swinging my leg over the back of the seat.

You can see Flora Duffy do that second one in a lot of her races.