I would think it would be beneficial for Ironman to give an interested party seed money to re-start a shipping company that transports fully assembled bikes. I wonder how many have not signed up for races that are too far to drive because of this conundrum.
Just based on the shear volume of bikes normally in the TriBike paddock at races I would say a not insignificant amount.
N=1, but it played a part in me deciding against a race this season that I’ve done 9 times (IMTX). I live in CA, and it is just so convenient to drop my bike off at the local bike shop and have it waiting for me in the IM Village. The convenience sure is nice, and I hope there’s a service soon that replaces TBT.
“JJust based on the shear volume of bikes normally in the TriBike paddock at races I would say a not insignificant amount.”
I would interpret this as being huge, as opposed to “not significant.” 5-10% would be huge and it was typically more than that. Anecdotally, I have had quite a number of people ask me about how to get bikes to races and that they may make race decisions based on lack of this service. It is certainly a problem that needs a solution.
Concierge bike transportation was always very expensive…
It’s demise is likely to affect most dramatically:
- The One and done racers, and others who rarely race. They can afford, a one-off gouging.
- Very high earners with loose wallets
- The technically very inept.
Me:
I really like racing…
I spend too much time training to be super well-off.
I thus have to battle against my technical ineptitude.
(Such is life).
Concierge bike transportation was always very expensive…
It’s demise is likely to affect most dramatically:
- The One and done racers, and others who rarely race. They can afford, a one-off gouging.
- Very high earners with loose wallets
- The technically very inept.
Me:
I really like racing…
I spend too much time training to be super well-off.
I thus have to battle against my technical ineptitude.
(Such is life).
Even then the # of bikes that go from tribike transport to the mechanics station is pretty high. Triathletes are pretty bad at maintaining their bikes. I used to know a few mechanics and they said it wasn’t uncommon for each of them to work on 100+ race bikes in the days before an IM.
In the past I’ve saved multiple people’s race by being able to replace a chain, tighten valve stems, change flats (how do people not know this at least), tighten headsets or stems.
“JJust based on the shear volume of bikes normally in the TriBike paddock at races I would say a not insignificant amount.”
I would interpret this as being huge, as opposed to “not significant.” 5-10% would be huge and it was typically more than that. Anecdotally, I have had quite a number of people ask me about how to get bikes to races and that they may make race decisions based on lack of this service. It is certainly a problem that needs a solution.
If you count Tris, Dus, Aquabike & relays, I currently sit at exactly 100 multisport events completed. I have flown to 2 of them & used TBT both times. Of the 100, 5 were 140.6 & 13 were 70.3
My N=1
ETA: 2x Smiley Sprint finisher!
Concierge bike transportation was always very expensive…
It’s demise is likely to affect most dramatically:
- The One and done racers, and others who rarely race. They can afford, a one-off gouging.
- Very high earners with loose wallets
- The technically very inept.
Me:
I really like racing…
I spend too much time training to be super well-off.
I thus have to battle against my technical ineptitude.
(Such is life).
Even then the # of bikes that go from tribike transport to the mechanics station is pretty high. Triathletes are pretty bad at maintaining their bikes. I used to know a few mechanics and they said it wasn’t uncommon for each of them to work on 100+ race bikes in the days before an IM.
In the past I’ve saved multiple people’s race by being able to replace a chain, tighten valve stems, change flats (how do people not know this at least), tighten headsets or stems.
Yeah.
I am super inept also.
And pretty well off…
But not SOOO well off, nor SOOO technically inept…
That I can (or have to) pay someone $500 x 3 times per year- to put my bike in and out of a box, change a flat, or tighten a valve stem.
That said, I have had to pay for all manner of other (probably simple) repairs over the years.
TBT was not that much more expensive than airline fees for flying with a bike and sometimes cheaper if I recall.
If you are driving to the race, you don’t need TBT anyway.
I think it is a real need. Would have been super interesting to learn what went wrong with the company; at what price point is it a viable business?
Has anyone heard of Ironman attempting to rectify this? Or any other stand alone individual ready to step in and fill this gap?
I’m on the fence, and deciding by tomorrow, if I am going to cancel my airline tickets to IMLOU70.3 and make the 9 hour drive since I wasn’t able to procure TBT. It’s either that, or buy the “BikeBoxAlan” if it fits my bike and try to fly with it. I just doin’t care to have to do more than small adjustments. I am not proficient enough to tear down my bike and put back together.
Given your username, I assume you’re in Texas?
Given your username, I assume you’re in Texas? I was. Moved to NC. TX is even further than NC and not remotely doable by car.
Yep, I have a new bike with integrated headset and Di2 which I luckily bought from a friend after getting hit by a car totaled my old friendly bike. I could disassemble my old bike, put it in my hard travel case and not think twice. The new bikes are more complicated, and I’m not comfortable I could re-assemble it race ready. The cases that allow the handlebars to stay on appear to be out of this world expensive if you can even find them. I use to figure that a 12 hour car ride was the trade off between dis-assembly of the bike, get to the airport a couple hours early, flight time, etc. So, anything within 12 hours I’m ok with, but what about races across the country? How are people handling that.
Yup, that’s about my comfort level as well. The 2 issues for me are (1) like you said, the complication of the new bikes and (2) the taking in and out of all the little screws/bolts is not good over the long term unless you plan to replace them often. That BikeBoxAlan is like $900 and just not sure how many more “fly away” races I will do going forward.
On a USAT Team USA call tonight, they announced a partnership with BikeFlights. Few details. Does not seem to be a direct substitute for TBT but they seem to be aiming for that by developing new capabilities.
PM sent.
That’s interesting. I was looking at Bike Flights, and don’t know enough about it, but it appears to still require a good amount of disassembly to ship.
Yeah, right now it seems to be a bike shipping company. You break it down, have it picked up. Then you pickup at the destination, rebuild, race. Then you breakdown again and repeat for the return trip. But they have boxes that minimize wrenching. And they hinted that they may be doing more. I interpreted that as on site rebuild/repack leaving you to pack at home and rebuild at home after the race. That does not seem to be too terrible. But maybe I am dreaming/misinterpreting…