Timberman will be my first race where I have to check in my bike the day before. Do you even try to keep your bike dry if rain is expected?
If so, any tips?
I’m hoping by preparing for this I will guarantee no rain.
Plastic bag to cover the seat or handlebar area. That’s about all you can do.
Last year, it absolutely poured for several hours before the start, so we are due for good weather. While some people have fancy bike covers, most (like me) just bring a few large plastic garbage/lawn bags and cover bikes with those. The overnight thing made me nervous my first year, but it goes off without a hitch and makes setting up on race day that much easier.
I always lock it as well. if rain is expected, cover it with plastic trash bags. I also dont leave my disc wheel or hed on it…that way if something “does” happen, it wont trash the wheels…
and dont forget the key for the lock in the am…
Don’t use latex tubes in your tires…unless you’ve calculated/tested how much pressure you’ll need to have in them when you check it in to make sure they’ll be at the right pressure when you’re riding. Otherwise, they’ll be too flat.
Plastic bag to cover the seat or handlebar area. That’s about all you can do.
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And make sure you dry off completely after the swim, because we all know that bike saddles aren’t designed to get wet at all. Oh, and try not to sweat while riding either. 
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I never understood the covering of the saddles. You might want to cover your bike computer, or remove it.
Plastic bag to cover the seat or handlebar area. That’s about all you can do.
<\Sarcasm>
And make sure you dry off completely after the swim, because we all know that bike saddles aren’t designed to get wet at all. Oh, and try not to sweat while riding either.
<\Sarcasm>
I never understood the covering of the saddles. You might want to cover your bike computer, or remove it.
I am with you there. I was talking about it with the guys around me in transition at Steelhead. I did not cover anything on my bike, but gave the bars a nice wipe down in the morning.
Heck, looking at some people’s bikes, a good hard rain would probably leave them cleaner than before.
I second covering your bar tape and saddle. I don’t have an all leather saddle and it can absorb quite a bit of water. Race morning make sure to check your brakes. Amazingly, after never having any problems, the cold, damp evening before IMLP had completely locked up my front brake. Nothing like a little pre-race stress…but nothing a screw driver couldn’t fix.
“I never understood the covering of the saddles”
That always cracks me up. I love seeing people run out of the water dripping wet, take their plastic bag off their seat and park their wet butt on it and then proceed to race in the rain anyway.
It’s always been my understanding that covering the seat (and seat post) protects from rain getting into the frame, which would be a problem.
If the RD is cool, he will let you cover the cassette. Just ask before you rack you bike. I usually get a big trash bag and cover my rear wheel, pedals and cassette
Heck, looking at some people’s bikes, a good hard rain would probably leave them cleaner than before.
Well mine wasn’t one of them! I knew Demerly was going to be there so I cleaned mine pretty good! The funny thing is by the time I got to my bike after the swim it was totally dry. (yes my swim was slow, but I was also in wave 14 so I started over an hour after I left transition!)
Depending on when you check in and what the weather is like, deflate your tires. If you check the bike in around noon and it sits in 100 degree temps all day, you’re sure to arrive race day morning with two blown tubes. Deflate when you check in, and remember your pump in the morning.
Depending on when you check in and what the weather is like, deflate your tires. If you check the bike in around noon and it sits in 100 degree temps all day, you’re sure to arrive race day morning with two blown tubes. Deflate when you check in, and remember your pump in the morning.
…only if you’ve freshly changed your tires and didn’t install the tubes properly
I’ve always heard the reason you deflate is because heat expands air. So if you’ve got a tire pumped up to 140 psi and it sits in the sun baking all day at 100 degrees, the psi will increase until the tire blows.
In Reply To
Plastic bag to cover the seat or handlebar area. That’s about all you can do.
<\Sarcasm>
And make sure you dry off completely after the swim, because we all know that bike saddles aren’t designed to get wet at all. Oh, and try not to sweat while riding either.
<\Sarcasm>
I never understood the covering of the saddles. You might want to cover your bike computer, or remove it.
A wet saddle and wet bar tape has to add at least a couple of grams to the bike weight. That could be the difference between placing 1st and placing 3rd in your age group.
Lube your chain well and forget about it.
Rest up for the race. Dont worry about your bike. It will be fine.
I’ve always heard the reason you deflate is because heat expands air. So if you’ve got a tire pumped up to 140 psi and it sits in the sun baking all day at 100 degrees, the psi will increase until the tire blows.
Have you ever done the math on that calculation (i.e. pressure increase for a given temperature change?)
Since the volume is constant, the ideal gas law simplifies to: P1/T1 = P2/T2
Don’t forget, the temperatures used in the above equation are in degrees Rankine if using degrees F (degrees Rankine = degrees F + 460)
Here’s a recent discussion:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/…_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;
Hope that helps
I thought it was funny too, until IM Wisconsin last year. It rained the day/night before and all day during the race. I didn’t cover my bike in transition overnight.
While on the bike I could hear and feel water sloshing around in the frame. After the race I drained about a quart of water out of the frame. Yeah, I carried around some extra weight during the ride and who knows what sort of damage I did.
So, covering your seat/seatpost is not such a dumb idea after all.