Just ordered a blue triad w/ sram group and AC 420 wheels. Got a great deal on it. quick question: should I get a fit before I go to the wind tunnel(as the the seat post needs to be cut) or should I wait until I go to the tunnel? I dont plan on riding it until the spring but I want to make the most out of the free hour there. Any suggestions?
Call Chris at Blue and ask them, but given the difficulty of cutting the seatmast which might eat into the tunnel time I would think you might want to get a fit prior.
Enjoy the bike, saw it at interbike and its a beautifull frame.
Kevin
balls, i was a few months too early getting my bike (the t16), love it though, blue does a great job.
can i come to the tunnle with you? i already have the fit done:-)
From Blue. First let me say thanks for buying a Blue, we apprecaite the support. Second, we recomend that you have a proper fitting before going to the tunnel, and Mike at A2 (the tunnel) will tellyou the same thing.
The seat mast and collar have a 1.5cm of adjustment built into them so you cna move it up and down to make minor adjustments as your leg muscles stretch over the season and to make minor tweaks here and there.
If you get a proper fit they can do it on a size cycle of some sort using the geo from the Triad as the platform…then you can transfer the numbers to your new bike and you wont have to worry about cutting the seat mast too short. Also, we will have a one of each size triad at the A2 for customers that will have an adustable seat post on it…this wya consumers wont even have to fly in with their bike if they dont want to (saving money). when the session is over you will get a document from Mike that will show you exactly how to set up your bike when you travel home.
Of course you are welcome to bring your own bike if you want.
We had our first customer in two weeks ago. A USAT coach from North GA who was moving to Tucson so let him use one of the pre-production frames we have so we could drive up before moving West. he has done 6 or more IMs and typically averages 20mph on the bike. wihtout changing his position from an IM set up we were able to do enough small tweaks to find him 25 watts.
I am sure you will find your Triad to be awesome and your experience at the tunnel to be just as cool. feel free to call us if you have any questions and again, thank you so much for choosing Blue.
chance
PS here are a few web articles that have been posted about the expereince
http://www.roadbikeaction.com/fly.aspx?layout=content&taxid=67&cid=1018
http://jayprasuhn.blogspot.com/2008/11/blue-carolina-companys-quest-to-me-you.html
someone asked about Stack and reach numbers
Here is the reach, stack and front center info for all sizes of the Triad.
SM
Reach – 37.8cm
Stack – 52cm
Front Center – 56.5cm
MD
Reach – 39.8cm
Stack – 53.9cm
Front Center – 59.1cm
ML
Reach – 41.4cm
Stack – 55.8cm
Front Center – 61.2cm
LG
Reach – 42.9cm
Stack – 57.7cm
Front Center – 63.3cm
I am not familiar with that wind tunnel in particular but I did sit in on a testing session here at the UW wind tunnel, and have seen video of the procedure at the LSWT in SD. You definitely want to get fit before you go to the tunnel, and you’ll want to have a very specific idea of what you want to test when you get to the tunnel. The only way to know that is to have your position already dialed in and the available “space” in which you have room to make variations identified. When it comes down to it, an hour is really not a lot of time when in a wind tunnel and depending on their procedure you probably have to spend an appreciable amount of time in each position to get good data. I would probably not want to get tested in a tunnel until I had been riding the bike for six months or so, and already tested some variations. Basically, the wind tunnel guys are not magicians (or maybe these ones are, I don’t know them personally) and you can’t expect to go in there without some preparation and magically come out with the most aero and powerful position for you. Like a lot of stuff you get out of it what you put into it, and the experience will be way more useful if you have done a significant amount of preparation.
awesome have fun in the wind tunnel! I might try and get down there for a testing session this summer
Based on our experience with the Blues we’ve seen in our store they are very nice bikes- well made with nice finish quality. The new design looks even better than previous ones. The shape of the chainstays looks interesting, and I’d like to hear some feedback/comments on that feature.
I think if you look at the article from Road Bike Action’s website it will give you a good idea of the process the A2 guys follow. The A2 tunnel has been included in a “normalized” study to find out which tunnels in the US give comparable data on the same test subject. A2, UW and TX A&M are all very close. SD is the farthest off, not that it isn’t accurate, just need to use the same scale to weigh yourself everytime right?
The beauty of the A2 is they have a full time staff person who works JUST on the cycling side (they actually have two wind tunnels and the guy who built them was head of aerodynamics for GM). They are VERY generous with their time. In SD, you walk in the door and the clock starts ticking. They dont have anyone there to help you fit, they just turn the fans on and off and hand you the numbers. It is up to you to hire someone to interpret the numbers and position you.
However, you do need to have a TRUE baseline to start from. if you have never been fit for the bike you are going to be tested on…then it is a waste of time. I dont think you need 6 months on the bike prior. A professional fitting and a couple fo weeks on the bike should let you know if you are in the right position. Then head to the tunnel and they will work their “magic” within the realm of what your professional fit will allow. (if you are an IM athelte they are not goign to remove all the spacers and drop your front end all the way down like you are doing an 8KM prologue).
If you want to test multiple helmets, bottle cages, wheels, bars, skinsuits…then you will need more than an hour. In an hour they will do a base line (sweeping through a good range or YAW) then start working on some adjustments.
For the first consumer we had in the tunnel we found him 25 watts and he is a USAT certified coach with more than 6 IM finishes and averaged 20+mph on all of his bike legs. We was professionally fit on the bike but didnt log any serious time on it prior to the tunnel and when we got done and compared the position to his old bike it was VERY similar with some minor adjustments to arm reach, elbow width and hand height…all leading to 25 watts.
You can always call the guys at A2 and talk to them. They are super cool and very, VERY knowledgable. After all the reigning Men’s World TT, Women’s Olympic and Men’s Ironman Champions were all tested and positioned there prior to their victories.
The A2 tunnel has been included in a “normalized” study to find out which tunnels in the US give comparable data on the same test subject. A2, UW and TX A&M are all very close. SD is the farthest off
Interesting. That would explain why Kraig Willett has apparently gotten somewhat different values for his CdA in field tests vs. in the San Diego wind tunnel.
Hmmm…now that I think about it, didn’t Armstrong partially base his decision to not go after the hour record on data obtained in that tunnel?
someone asked about Stack and reach numbers
Here is the reach, stack and front center info for all sizes of the Triad.
SM
Reach – 37.8cm
Stack – 52cm
Hmm - so 2.7 cm shorter, but 3.8 cm taller, than a 51 cm P3 (i.e., the smallest with 700C wheels)? Guess I can cross the Triad off my list.
Those are some tall headtubes on the Triad in the small and medium sizes Chance. Thats taller than say a Cannondale Slice. Does that include a tall headset cap?
Kevin
But I can add it to mine!
But I can add it to mine!
Yeah, I didn’t mean it as a slam - just found the differences rather striking.
x2…too tall for these short legs
.
someone asked about Stack and reach numbers
Here is the reach, stack and front center info for all sizes of the Triad.
SM
Reach – 37.8cm
Stack – 52cm
Hmm - so 2.7 cm shorter, but 3.8 cm taller, than a 51 cm P3 (i.e., the smallest with 700C wheels)?
After looking at the respective head tube lengths (and angles) and b.b. drops, as well as pics of the bikes’ headsets, I have to think that there is something amiss with these numbers…either the measurements are being made differently, or the small Blue Triad isn’t as tall as indicated.
I agree with you on this Andrew. If we use the Cdale Slice as a comparison (I have the geometry data here) both bikes have almost identical BB drop, its only 2mm higher on the Triad. The 51cm Slice has a 1cm shorter headtube than a small Triad and the 54 cm has a 0.5cm shorter headtube than a medium Triad. I find it difficult to see why the Triad would have 2.6 more cm of stack in the small and (edit) 3cm more in the medium which is why I asked about headtube caps. The Blue catalog I have with me shows a standard headtube cap.
Kevin
With longer downtube and a sloping top tube couldn’t the Triad have the same bb height and headtube length but still have more stack? I can’t tell from the pictures, so that could be wrong in it’s application to the Triad specifically, but BB drop and head tube height aren’t enough to tell you stack I don’t think.
If you look at the difference in head tube angle you’ll see the Triad is way more upright (73 deg) than the Slice (71 deg) and thus the headtube is higher up in space and that would explain some of the difference in stack.
I think you are on the right track.
Stack is a function of BB drop, fork axle to crown height(this is one of the reason treks have a higher stack for their headtube heights), and headtube length. Though obviously the fork and headtube are at different angles to the direction of the stack, so a steeper or slacker headtube angle may slightly effect the total stack for equal fork and headtube lengths.