I’ve just bought a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and i’m curious about what is the established best method to use Garmin/GPS/Watch etc for a triathlon.
I’ve got a Fenix 3 which i usually use for the whole race, but with an upcoming IM i thought i’d try and use a bike computer as well/instead of the watch for the bike section.
What do you usually do about using the bike computer on a Tri? Do you set it up before the swim and then hope it doesn’t auto shutdown? Do you just use a watch for the swim and then the run later?
Setup the bike computer in transition before the swim. Turn it on and disable auto shut down. Then put your run watch on in T2. I’ve been doing this for years. I use nothing for the swim.
Swim - nothing (usually swim with a old timex but never checked the time anyways)
Bike - Use my bike computer, Garmin 520 and will calibrate, etc…before swim
Run - putting Garmin 235 in bag and put it on in t2
Maybe it’ll be better to just focus on each segment and go as fast as possible.
I wear the watch the whole time and hit my lap button (when I remember, haha) during transitions, etc… But I really don’t even look at it for anything but the run.
I set up my bike computer to not auto shut down and set it all up right before transition closes (calibrate power meter, etc.).
I use both for every IM I do. I start the bike computer in transition before the race - I start it so it won’t shut down and I leave it running.
Start the watch in the swim, use it through the whole race hitting split when need be. When you grab your bike in T1, you stop your head unit, then start it again at the start of the bike.
This way you can record the whole race on your watch and also have a head unit during the bike for data.
Setup the bike computer in transition before the swim. Turn it on and disable auto shut down. Then put your run watch on in T2. I’ve been doing this for years. I use nothing for the swim.
Same. One thing I also do is set the auto pause for anything less than 10 mph. This way it doesn’t pick up me running with the bike through transition, only gets the bike split.
I use both for every IM I do. I start the bike computer in transition before the race - I start it so it won’t shut down and I leave it running.
Start the watch in the swim, use it through the whole race hitting split when need be. When you grab your bike in T1, you stop your head unit, then start it again at the start of the bike.
This way you can record the whole race on your watch and also have a head unit during the bike for data.
I do the same. I like to have ALL of my data on one activity afterwards BUT the computer allows for much more visibility (more data on one screen). If worried about overstating mileage, I suppose you could delete the bike activity later, but I keep it as I have my power, cadence, and HRM all connected to my computer, only have HRM connected to my Fenix.
Swim - nothing (usually swim with a old timex but never checked the time anyways)
Bike - Use my bike computer, Garmin 520 and will calibrate, etc…before swim
Run - putting Garmin 235 in bag and put it on in t2
Maybe it’ll be better to just focus on each segment and go as fast as possible.
I do the same thing. No swimming or biking with a watch. I put it on in T2 when I’m starting the run.
This is exactly what I do also. The watch gathers all the data. The bike computer is just a bigger screen that’s easier to read and presents more data per screen.
I wear my watch on the swim, but never look at it. I do have it set to alert me every 200 m, so I know where I am, if I want to know.
I just turn the 510 on when I get to T1. Probably takes 2-3 seconds to depress the button. I start the data recording when I get on (mount line) the bike.
I just got the 935. Benefit is…I no longer need a HR strap. Only reason I need the watch, to this point, is to broadcast my HR to the 510.
I’m wondering if the 935 has enough battery life to broadcast for several hours and still be tickin’ through the marathon. I know the battery life is exceptional, but I haven’t heard anyone say they’ve used it for 17 hours. I don’t plan to use it that long, but it won’t be 10 hours, either.
Something that someone hasn’t mentioned (and this only applies to IM) is that you need to make sure you either stop your ride on your bike computer and save it or shut it off before you leave your bike in T2. This may only apply to garmin head units but if you let your bike computer stay powered on without saving your bike file, your bike computer battery is going to die during the IM run and you will lose all your data.
I have the Wahoo Element Bolt. I changed the Auto-Off to 2 hours, and turned it on and set it up before swim start (gave the crank a spin to activate my Power Meter). Then when I got the bike to the mount line I just hit start and off I went.
It even found my HRM when I got back within range of the bike.
I didn’t shut computer off when I got to my bike after the race, so Wahoo shows me with 5+ hours of “cafe time” The bolt was on for 10:35, and the battery was at 11% when I shut it down.
Swim I use nothing, and for the run I use my Forerunner 920.
Ok - in the last few weeks of prep for my first Ironman, and I’ve been reading this (and other threads similar) for what feels like too long.
With a Garmin 945 and a Wahoo Bolt, but a two-transition race (St. George), what’s the go to recommendation for running the watch/computer? I’m not so worried about the 945 running out of battery, and I’d like to be as aero as possible (which likely means losing the watch). I like having the metrics from the swim but I don’t think I’d be heart broken to not have it, and I believe I’d swim a bit faster, but I think these logistics mean that I’d be leaving my watch in my T2 bag overnight. Am I overthinking this? Are the aerodynamic impacts great enough over the course of an IM bike to even worry about this? Last year at St. George I just raced with the watch on the whole time.
This post may also reflect the fact that I’ve already hit the overanalyzing, marginal gains stage of the taper.
I have no idea what the impact of a Watch is on the bike. Going to follow this thread to see if people have any data on it and the general opinions.
I only use a Watch, mostly because my arms are very narrow and on my setup there is nowhere to really put a computer that is visible. That being said, I don’t follow the metrics/data too closely, I more ride by feel and use the data as a sounding board to make sure I am not going too hard or easy. Also, to have numbers for post race analysis.
One piece of maybe anecdotal information is that Kienle only rides with a Watch and no computer. As someone that is probably one of the more aero riders in the field that might be an indication. However, his position is very different to most people’s. So who knows. The aero impacts of a Watch are probably small and my guess is largely depend on position and hand/arm angle etc.
Some of the newer Garmin watches and head units support extended display mode, but from what I recall you can’t modify the data screens on the bike computer when in that mode. I ended up just using my watch to record the whole race, and like you, turned on my bike computer in T1 to see my numbers. After the race I just deleted the activity from my bike computer. I’ve found this to be the simplest approach, since it only really requires you to remember to hit the lap button on the watch coming in and out of transition.
I wear my watch on the swim, but never look at it. I do have it set to alert me every 200 m, so I know where I am, if I want to know.
I just turn the 510 on when I get to T1. Probably takes 2-3 seconds to depress the button. I start the data recording when I get on (mount line) the bike.
I just got the 935. Benefit is…I no longer need a HR strap. Only reason I need the watch, to this point, is to broadcast my HR to the 510.
I’m wondering if the 935 has enough battery life to broadcast for several hours and still be tickin’ through the marathon. I know the battery life is exceptional, but I haven’t heard anyone say they’ve used it for 17 hours. I don’t plan to use it that long, but it won’t be 10 hours, either.
I’ve raced a 17hr extreme and my 935 lasted for the whole race. Can’t remember if I turned off some features but it tracked the entire race.
I have the Wahoo Element Bolt. I changed the Auto-Off to 2 hours, and turned it on and set it up before swim start (gave the crank a spin to activate my Power Meter). Then when I got the bike to the mount line I just hit start and off I went.
Don’t do what I did at a famous race involving a ferry jump. From setting up in transition to returning to T1 was even longer than 2 hours - cue frantic efforts on my part to turn my Bolt back on and re-upload my bike course data (was using Best Bike Split for power targets). Thankfully it is an easy process, my smartphone had made it back to T1 quicker than I did (took it on the ferry but the organizers bring your bag back to T1 for you), and it was a long day anyway!
I do the same as most on here. I wear my watch (Garmin Vivoactive 3) in the swim but don’t really use it other than to glance at the time when the gun goes off and again hitting dry land. Bolt on the bike, remember to stop it and then start run activity on my watch in T2.
My 935 watch is my main recording device. Turn bike computer Garmin 530 on in transition before race, let it get gps, get to the Road activity or the course map if I’m using that then turn it off. When I’m in transition after swim I push On button then Start. I don’t need to remember to turn it off since I only use watch to gather data.
