I am new to triathlon’s and am planning to do some sprint and olympic distance tri’s in 2005. I have a Giant Tcr Comp bike and would like recommendations on any changes that I need to make to the bike to get it ready.
Ride it as much as you can!
Just go over routine maitenence stuff (see bikesport michigan) for a good list.
Perhaps most importantly is to determine the best setup in terms of seat position / height etc.
The TCR is a great bike. Luke VanLierde won IM Kona on one.
There are two ways to go IMO.
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Leave it as a road bike but with some ITU legal short aero bars on it. All the major companies - Profile, Syntace, Vision Tech, Oval make the shorter bars now. Stay away from longer bars or you’ll be too stretched out. Works fine for the ITU racers.
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You can get into a “multi-sport” position in the TCR by purchasing a neutral setback seat post for tris. Put the seat forward on the rails and this should put you into a 75/76 degree effective seat angle instead of the 73/74 road position. In theory this will save your hamstrings for the run a bit, but I never noticed any difference in speed in either position on my TCR. However, I always felt better going into the run in the more forward position. I’d recommend getting a second saddle also then all you have to do is undo the posts and not dicker with changing the saddle. If you go this route, get longer aerobars. I ride a medium TCR and used medium Syntace C2’s in the forward position but small size C2’s or Profile Jammer GT’s in the road position.
I wouldn’t recommend a “forward” seat post. Tried it and felt the normally excellent TCR handling was compromised too much being too far forward with too much weight on the front wheel.
You can get a good set of aero wheels cheap off ebay. The most bang for the buck would be a CH Aero disc cover ($60.) and something like a Hed Jet 60, Hed Cx, Campy Shamal as a front. Your total investment for the wheels would be around $200. and you’re near state of the art. The aero disc cover should be used with a box rim for optimum fit unless you are willing to trim it.
Do this stuff and you’re on a very decent tri bike.
Thanks for the responses.
I will probably try the short aero bars first ( Profile Jammer Gt’s) and then decide if I need to change the seat post. I have Mavic Ksyrium Sl wheels. Are these okay or do I need to look into the wheel recommendations suggested. I sure would like some Zipp 404’s.
As you probably know, the Ksyrium SLs are very nice wheels. The criticism of the SLs from a tri perspective is that while they are a solid and relatively light wheel, they are not very aerodynamic. Going with a more aero wheel may buy you a little free speed. For most of us, it comes down to how many $$s per second saved we’re willing to spend.
FWIW, I have a friend who did a half-IM on a road bike with shorties and Ksyrium SLs and finished 3rd overall. First place finisher went on to win Kona that year, so 3rd wasn’t too shabby. As they say, it’s the motor, not the machine.
Good luck!