Cycling shoes and pedals

Triathlon Forum
1

hey, I’ve only done one triathlon in may and will be doing another one in september. I’ve been training quite consistently for a couple of months with my running shoes on just regular flat pedals.
is there a lot of time to be gained if i bought cycling shoes and pedals? will the work on my hamstrings hurt my run since i havent trained with them all this time?

assume i can ride at 20mi/hr(average) for 60min. how much faster in your experience could someone get with the shoe being the variable?

i’ve also being training in some nylon soccer shorts… will getting a $40 pair of tri shorts save me anytime on the swim and bike?

thanks

2

You really need both.
Shoes will help a lot. (And no, it shouldn’t hurt your hamstrings.)
Get bike shorts. (Unless you’d prefer to never have kids.)

3

“assume i can ride at 20mi/hr(average) for 60min. how much faster in your experience could someone get with the shoe being the variable?”

I’m told it is about 2 mph for pedals alone

“i’ve also being training in some nylon soccer shorts… will getting a $40 pair of tri shorts save me anytime on the swim and bike?”

The bike shorts aren’t so much for your kids as your crotch. Running shorts and their seams tear up your groin. The tri shorts are about as fast as a speedo on the swim. They may actually help your run.

4

“Unless you’d prefer to never have kids”

thats scary. is there really any relation between the cushion or no cushion and proliferation? :slight_smile:

5

wow 2mph!! that would be nice…! 1mph would be huge already…

6

If you really can ride a 20 mi average speed, you are good enough to look like a triathlete and get bike shoes and cycling shorts. Half this sport is about cool gear anyway :slight_smile:

I’ve seen plety of fat old slow men with 1500 disc wheels, so you can justify a decent pair of shorts and shoes. I think the shoes don’t so much as speed, as they make you more efficient and comfortalbe–i.e. you can maintain the same speed with less fatigue going into the run. I wouldn’t dream of riding without bike shoes and pedals anymore–even on my beach cruiser :wink:

7

“is there really any relation between the cushion or no cushion and proliferation?”

That depends on who you ask. My opinion, why risk it?

8

Half this sport is about cool gear anyway :slight_smile:

my wife would definitely agree with that. :slight_smile: every time i talk about an upgrade… i started with an old $20 1982 FUJI that i got at a goodwill… i can justify every penny i’ve spent since then.

9

“on you ask” :-).

10

I’ll bet your the life of the party.

11

For sprint tris I wear my running shoes on the bike leg and I have not noticed any drop off in my biking or run. In fact, my legs feel pretty good when I get off my bike (just did a 18:42 run split last Sunday). If I were to go back to doing OLYs, I’d go back to wearing my bike shoes.

12

Get bike shorts. (Unless you’d prefer to never have kids.)

if that is the case, I’m ripping the padding out of every pair I own!

13

I ride some of my rides in my DeSoto bibs. I did the Solvang Century in them. They have a standard polarfleece chamois. Your saddle and position have more to do with your genitalia than your chamois. Remember, the older shorsts just a real pice of chamois–hence the name. I thnk that Black Bottoms are still like that.???