This is almost too hard to believe, but click on the link below. I think she needs some technical help in transition…
I’d embed it so people don’t have to click, but it’s a photographer’s copyrighted image. Apologies if this has been posted before, but I have n’t seen it.
Enjoy!
-J\V
I wonder if this method has been wind-tunnel tested. I’d be willing to spend $1,000 an hour to see if it’s faster… how about you?
looks like i’ve been wearing mine backwards. i feel like such a tool!
lol
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Looking at her bike setup and style, I’m betting she lost a bet!!! No way did she put this on backwards by mistake or lack of knowledge.
Looking at her bike setup and style, I’m betting she lost a bet!!! No way did she put this on backwards by mistake or lack of knowledge.
Don’t bet on it. I’m sure I’ll get hammered for this but as a veteran of about 40-50 multisport races I did this last year. It was a 2-10-2 and I’m typically lightning fast in transition. I don’t change shoes at this distance and anything I might be using other than a helmet, such as gloves for a cold day I run with. I operate on pure auto pilot and my aero helmet is set on the aero bars to grab, pop it on and click the buckle. I don’t even look at it. Well dumb ass me set the helmet on the bars 180 degrees out of whack and I blew through transition, had a little trouble with the buckle, and didn’t even notice it untill about 1/2 mile into the bike. Boy did I feel like a tool blowing down the bike course on 5 grand worth of equipment and my helmet on backwards. I think only 1 or 2 people noticed it, (probably because I was in the top dozen or so getting out of transition and only 1 guy passed me and I passed about 5-6 riders) and it was one of my fastest splits ever on that course. I’m not sure if it was because I was in such a damn hurry to get back to transition to get the stupid helmet off before too many people noticed it or I’m starting to believe I just might have been more aero and faster with the damn thing on backwards. I haven’t yet gotten the balls to try it again to test out theory 2. So flame away, I’m a big boy, I can take it. (fortunately for me nobody got pictures of it)
JJ
no flames here, takes balls to admit it, that said i do feel bad for the 5-6 people who were passed by the guy with the backwards helmet:>)
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damn… the secrets of the mountain bikers have been discovered!
you can’t tell from the picture too well, but maybe she thought it looked like it was going to rain. 
or… maybe she realised that the photographer was called ‘Birds Eye View Inc’ and so stopped 100m before the camera and switched the helmet around so that she looked more like a bird?
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either way… i can’t joke to loudly as i have done the ‘front xentis wheel around the wrong way’ in a race
I won’t flame you…but I"ll still stick with my version. Thats can’t happen all that often. I looked at the other pictures of her on that web site. I"ll stick with the “lost a bet” : )
We’ve tested it with a Spuik. Very similar drag numbers forwards and backwards… backwards (looking like a penguin) might actually be a tad faster.
She is a female and started right in front of me in a TT swim at Parris Island. I passed her in T1 so I didn’t get a chance to see her on the bike. If I saw her or anyone, I probably would let them know. Kinda a safety issue, too. It was windy at Parris Island and she probably had a difficult time with the disc wheel.
I won’t flame you…but I"ll still stick with my version. Thats can’t happen all that often. I looked at the other pictures of her on that web site. I"ll stick with the “lost a bet” : )
I’ve seen it before, but it was typically in a kids race, along with the old helmet hanging off the side or back of the head trick because nobody ever adjusted the straps for them. Glad to see at least one other adult managed this feat, (intentional or not)
JJ