I am racing Savageman in a few weeks and am trying to figure out my gearing situation and what the best approach is.
I have two bikes, a Cervelo P1 (50/34 & 12-25 10-speed) that I have been riding all season and a Fuji Newest 2.0 (52/42/30 & 12-25 9-speed) that is a few years old and the first bike I bought. When I signed up for Savageman the plan was to switch back to training on the Fuji as this race approached and ride that since it has a triple and a bigger gear range. Now that I have been training on it I am realizing I much prefer to ride the P1 and if at all possible would prefer to race on the P1 and officially retire the Fuji (I just kept it around for this race).
I don’t come from a cycling background so I am not sure how much I am “giving up” if I ride the P1. Also, if I was to change the cassette on the P1 to something like a 12-28 will that give me equivalent gearing to riding with a triple?
If riding with a triple is the hands down best approach then that is what I will do, but if at all possible I would prefer not to ride that bike. For reference, almost all of my training has been on hills with an average of 3k of climbing over a 40mi ride. While this is not the same as race conditions it is by no means flat.
Given that I don’t have a cycling background I apologize if I butchered the terminology in the above questions
Lots of people ride tri bikes at Savageman. Some of us even use disc wheels! A compact crank with the biggest cassette you can fit is advisable. I spent a lot of time in 34/27 and did pretty well there. I personally don’t think you give up anything by using the P1. You’re probably on the drops for about 10-15 miles of the race at most if I recall. That makes for a lot of time on the aerobars!
Agreed, gearing wise, I think a compact double with a big rear cassette is fine. I’ve raced it with that rig and ridden the course a half dozen times. For sure alot of people are on tri bikes there, and you’ll really appreciate it for the last 15 miles or so, especially if its windy up top in Garrett County. That said, the descents on course are no joke, so another consideration is whichever bike you feel best descending on. Sounds like you’ve been training alot with the P1, so maybe its best for you here. Overall weight of the two rigs is something else to consider…
I was in the exact situation as you last year, and fortunately was able to test ride the course a month out. Could do the entire course except for the Wall with the 50/34 and 12/25. Changed the cassette to an 11/28, and made it up the Wall on raceday.
I’ve since gone back and done the route on my road bike (same gearing as yours), definitely easier, but also slower.
Get a 12-28 for your P1 and race that bike. You’ll be much faster on your tri bike there. A compact crankset + a 28 is perfect for Savageman. I’ve raced it the last 2 years with that gearing and it’s what you need to get up those hills while leaving enough for the run. Trust me, with a 34x25, you will be searching for more gears and wishing you had them.
If you call yourself a climber a 25 will be fine even when you’re dead by Killer Miller(which is harder than the wall because it’s late in the bike leg, IMHO). I went up the wall standing in the 34/23 by accident and made it but was thanking god for the 25 later on during the bike leg. Aero for the first 15 miles is great and the last miles as well so if you feel comfortable descending on the tri-bike then it’s a no brainer to go with it.