Is there somewhere here to post bike photos. I wanted to show off my First Tri Bike fresh from the washing machine.
Here you see my Felt S32 which is pretty much a stock machine with a few mods. One major mod was the stem was turned upside down to reduce the bar height. Big improvement in my speed and steering. I cut the straw to short on my PD aero bottle so its pretty much useless until I get to the store to replace the soft straw.
Below are the before SlowTwitch critique and After SlowTwitch Critique. Damn the peer pressure!
I recently replaced the bar tape with a layer of Red and then another layer of cork at the hand holds to give my long fingers something to grip.
Thanks to my new friends in this forum I now have a hastle free Aero Drink with the corrected “brillo” setup. I am also now smoking weed since my new ST friends told me “it was cool” and “everyone is doing it.” I think I need to replace the wheels for my next big improvement. I am getting more powerful on the bike and want to get the bike as fast as possible.
I can just here it all now. We’ll see you on here next week bitching about that damn plastic mesh/sponge allowing liquid to splash all over your and then ejecting out of my bottle. Then you’ll get all kind of “loofa” suggestions and McGyver fixes and suggestions. Just read the directions and use the mesh correctly because as you have it now is incorrect.
With a Bento Box, what’s with the touring saddle bag? And just so you know, it is “customary” to make sure your chain is on the big ring before posting Pedal hard and often!
LOL. I love it! Im getting slammed on a thread sure makes it more bearable than on my next group ride.
The Bento box is where I keep my GU gels, cell phone, key, cash etch. The big momma bike bag stores my tools and spare tubes.
As far as my splash guard on my Aero bottle, I saw a lady about six months ago with hers like this. I just assumed it was how it was supposed to go. I will check with the instructions again.
Oh and big ring, Got it!
I get the feeling Im getting ready to be booted off this thread due to all of the obviously newbie screwups. Glad I didnt tell everyone I was an experienced Triathlete.
Because that “brillo” pad implies that it is new, hence “newbie” that no one seems to want to be (even though we all were at one time). Eventually, as the yellow plastic mesh gets all funky from sugar/InfinIT/Gatorade/Mold mix, you need to wash it, dry it, etc. Then, it will never go back in and look like that! It will just be a wadded up mesh mess like the others
If you leave it sitting in the bottle like in the picture - first bump you hit and it will shoot over your shoulder and you will never see it again. First race of the year you can see 1/2 dozen of those yellow mesh’s laying on the ground.
smash it up - and shove down in the bottle - it will not fly out on you and keep your fluids in the bottle.
You can typically fit a tube, 2 CO2 cartridges, CO2 inflator, tire levers, and a mini-tool kit in to a bag about 1/3 that size. Even if the bag is big, there is no excuse to have it dangle so low from the saddle. Cinch that bad boy up there!
What is the thing that looks like a silver ball by the rear brake cable?
Welcome, I wont bad, not just yet. But take the yellow pad, unraveled it so it looks almost like a 12X18 sheet, then stuff that into the bottle. This reduces the splash and loosing it all together as mentioned.
Good start. Totally unwind the yellow mesh until it’s about four foot long. Then stretch width wise the entire length of the mesh. Then re-wrap starting with about a three inch wide wrap. Continue until the entire thing is folded over. Leave a couple of inches sticking out what will be the bottom. Then wrap it like a cinamon roll like it is now and insert in opening all the way until flush with lid top. The excess two inches on the bottom will serve to keep fluid from splashing out the center. Make sure your straw is inserted before installing the the mesh.
Thats pretty much how I did the mesh in the Aero Drink. I took it out and measured the distance from the top to the bottom and folded it until it was wide enough that it fit in the top hole and long enough that it touched the bottom and covered the top. Big difference in that the splashing is NIL now. I turned the bottle over, as if it fell off and the mesh stayed put.
This information should be listed somewhere on the PD website. Or maybe its in the inscrukshuns, I threw them away already so I dont know.
After I moved the patch kit to the Bento box I only had the spare tube left, so I noticed that the pros in Ironman simply band their spares to the seat so that is what I did. See Chris McDonalds Bike in Triathlete magazine for the idea.
Now I was thinking if I bought some “ZIPP like” wheels, would that be the next suggested upgrade? Or maybe some new bars?
“After I moved the patch kit to the Bento box I only had the spare tube left”
So where’s the rest of the stuff (tire levers, CO2 or pump, tools). IMHO, the bento box is the wrong place to be storing tools. To much chance for stuff to fly out when you reach in for a gu. It’s one thing to lose all your gu’s on a course. It’s another alltogeter to lose the stuff you need to fix a flat.
I second that. Mine is TINY TINY… may have to adjust some for my im… I saw a lady on Sunday out riding where I train for the most part, with a lunch box cooler type thing strapped to the front of her handlebars… my husband and I both looked at each other, grinned, and kept on pedaling. I thought I was going to choke i was holding back the giggles so hard!
Pedal hard and often!