i’d appreciate any advice regarding the bike setup for im coeur d’alene. specifically…
better race wheels - light or aero? a bike shop suggested 202’s which are lighter and would benefit more due to the climbs vs. 404’s which are more aero - less flats to take full advantage.
gearing - what gear ratio would you recommend for a slightly above average biker?
aero helmet - a coach told me recently an aero helmet is worth as much in aerodynamics as an aero front wheel. never heard anyone talk about this before - seems almost too good to be true. any thoughts?
1.) Did the bike shop have extra 202’s to sell. There are a couple hills but they make up a very small minority of the miles on the course.
2.) Most would be fine on a 39 x 23. 39 x 25 if you want to play it safe. I wouldn’t think an above average rider would need a 27. YMMV. I’ll be running a 39 x 25 again.
Having studied the course profile and a number of rider power files (which show power and speed for various parts of the course), what I will be riding is:
The deepest aero wheels I can get. In my case, that’s an 808 in front and a disc (wheelcover) in back.
My regular compact crankset and cogs. I ride a 50/34 front and 12-25 rear. I don’t think I’ll be needing that 25, but I also don’t think it’s worth the trouble to go out and buy a new cassette or new chainrings. FWIW – I’ll do that course at around 160 watts. I rode a 2:40 at the Cal Half course, if you’re familiar with splits there (it’s v. hilly).
I’ll be wearing an aero helmet. I have a LG Rocket.
Considering the profile and your “aeroness” what do you realistically believe your split will be riding at 160 watts?
Ahh…the magic question! First, I will say that everyone knows that we should just go out there and ride. Don’t think too much about it. Do your best. Let the day come to you. Yada yada yada.
Still – we can’t help it. So…I’ll go out on a limb and say that 160 average watts will be a 5:37 bike split. Give or take a minute. Or five. Depends on wind, and depends on how crowded it is and where I come out of the swim.
I raced cda in 2005, and i would bring the deepest wheels you can ride. I had 404s, but would have used an 808 or a disk in the back if possible ($ said it wasn’t - already had the 404s). There are a couple of good hills, but they aren’t too steep, and there’s a lot of flat (about the last 20-30 miles of each loop).
for gearing i had 53/39 with a 12-23 cassette with no problems. I am always using a 11 or 12-23 though, and i had plenty of similar hills to train on.
as for the helmet, it can get warm in cda, but i think most people could get away with running an aero helmet (especially if you’re coming from a relatively warm climate - I was not). I think at 75-85 degrees, an aero helmet would be fine, but that depends on your own tolerances and how warm it is where you’re training.
good luck, it’s a good race, and a beautiful venue
I rode a Renn Disk and a Zipp 404 in '05 for a 5:12 split. For what little it’s worth and based on a completely unscientific analysis of my own performances, I think an aero-helmet is worth three or four minutes over 112 miles. My training didn’t change much between '05 and '06, my equipment didn’t change at all except for replacing an old Specialized helmet with a Rudy P Syton Open and I went 5:07 at Canada and 5:05 at Hawaii(404 front and back). They are all different courses on different days but over the years i’ve found my times stay pretty consistent from bike course to bike course (except Wisconsin).
If nothing else, I don’t walk away wondering if I gave away a couple of minutes to the guys I’m competing with because I didn’t have an aero-helmet.
I just wish someone would come up with some aero-running shoes. That’s where some cheap speed would really be nice;)
As far as gearing, any 9 or 10 on the back will do just fine. Only two short steep sections. Nothing extraordinary about any of the climbs (there are some fun descents though.)
LOL, yea… “all things being all things” I was just wondering where the expectation would lie. I just figured that you, of all people, would have worked out an estimate on bike split for your power output. I know for myself, 160 watts isn’t going to get me anywhere near that bike split! Lake Placid a couple of years ago I averaged very nearly 160 watts, that took a mere 7+ hours…
What do you think 160W would get you for a bike split at IMOO? (Sorry…not trying to hijack this thread)
I’m not as sure because I don’t have as much experience on courses with the high number of short hills that Moo has. It’s also a lot trickier to model.
If the course is anything like as slow as Cal Half – I did Cal Half in 2:40:08 on 191 average watts. 160 watts would have been about 10-12 minutes slower (at most, 12). So, that would make my IM time at the old Cali IM somewhere around 5:40-5:44…?
Lake Placid a couple of years ago I averaged very nearly 160 watts, that took a mere 7+ hours…
I didn’t have a power meter back in 2002 at LP. My best guess based on what I learned later about my power output is that I rode lap one around 160-170 and lap two under 130. Hard to say for sure. I rode 6:20-something, as 3:00 and 3:2x. So, there’s at least a 30-watt dropoff between the two laps. Did I ever mention that I used to be a genius at pacing?
I was also on those danged Tufo tires. Live and learn.
Sorry to hi-jack you thread. I’ll be running a deep section rim (not yet purchased) either 808’s or a Hed 60/90. Gearing will be 50/34 12/25 and that should be more than enough. I haven’t ridden with an aero helmet, so I can’t help you there.
I’m planning on racing IM CDA too. Maybe I’ll even get to try to average 160 watts if I can get my CP60 up a bit…especially if we keep getting no snow = I’ll bike more.
I went 7 hours at Silverman on 152 or 154 watts. How fast do you think I can go at CDA with those watts? I don’t think I can match your time estimate - thats a quick time for those watts.
How fast will you swim and run? Are you talking PT watts?
