Can a local or someone that has ridden this course or these road fill me in on the conditions.
I run 28 mm tubeless but many clients going are on 25 mm.
Would switching to a 32 mm feel better on the chip seal. not faster but just comfort and bounce.
Is the course all chip seal , mostly chip seal.
Also does this course have any areas with speeds over 60 km/ hr. does it require some bigger chainrings to hold powers or is it mostly 30-50 km speeds.
I will ride it online once the weather changes but I might need a new chainring?
There is another thread from a couple of months ago that covered a lot of the gearing part. Cyclenutnz has some very good modelling of gearing for optimal performance/efficiency.
For tyres, itās almost all chipseal. Possibly few hundred m of asphalt near transition, not even certain of that. 100% 28mm recommended, not sure about needing more than that. 25mm fine if thatās the limit of the frame, but 28mm with a latex tube would be my recommendation for those who arenāt on tubeless. Iāve ridden it for many years on 21mm at 110psi for the full distance and still got most of my fillings left. Did lose my left extension one thoughā¦ So seriously, it is worth making sure all the bolts are tight and possibly use some blue threadlock. Normally day after the full you can drive along and collect enough CO2 canisters, behind tge seat bottle/tool holders and spare tubes/tyre levers that have rattled loose to last a year.
Yes there are descents where you can get high speeds, but not many - the run into town after Broadlands Road (Centennial Drive) is the longest fastest bit I think and at that point youāre getting ready to transition to run and will depend on how they do the traffic management, but for the full ironman you need to be alert to traffic.
Have you remembered that it goes up SH5 now, not just up and down Broadlands road? Iām 90% sure that SH5 is just crappy chipseal, probably even worse than Broadlands road, but I havenāt ridden it for a couple of years so couldnāt be certain. Everything in your post still stands, just checking about the chipseal.
Have you remembered that it goes up SH5 now, not just up and down Broadlands road? Iām 90% sure that SH5 is just crappy chipseal, probably even worse than Broadlands road, but I havenāt ridden it for a couple of years so couldnāt be certain. Everything in your post still stands, just checking about the chipseal.
Yep remembered it and itās still chipseal. Been ages since I did ride it, and I was in the shoulder versus the 70.3 where people will be in the main lane. I rode the bypass one time and that was even worse than Broadlands, so State Highway does not mean better for cycling.
Cool, I thought it was but wanted to double check. And no, in fact, Iād say the exact opposite was probably true. State Highway (other than the TEL) probably means far worse for cycling!
How much slower will the chip seal be from decent asphalt surfaces. Thinking about race duration; may have to adjust my nutrition. I am typically a little under 2:30 for a rolling HIM bike.
Itās all in the margins - wonāt be more than your usual good-day vs bad-day variation. But your body will be more fatigued. The wind is the bit that will make the biggest difference. You can almost count on a headwind on the way back in on Broadlands Road. Itās pretty much fully exposed nowadays, and as the day goes on the temperature rises and then you get the āsea breezeā off the lake.
(Not OT for this thread, but I canāt stress enough to those of you that havenāt swum in Taupo before that the water will be cold. Itās early in the season and the lake is fed by the snowmelt.)
How much slower will the chip seal be from decent asphalt surfaces. Thinking about race duration; may have to adjust my nutrition. I am typically a little under 2:30 for a rolling HIM bike.
Expect to be closer to 2.40 (allowing for more people on the road than normal Taupo races, otherwise Iād say 2.45)
To the original question, itās not hard to hit 80 down View Road, but I donāt think many people will want to be pedalling there. Iād plan for eating over pedalling on any of the downhills that do let you get fast enough to have a rest. Anything that looks like it could be a long stretch of gravity supported pace will probably just be your speed from a smooth surface race.
Itās all in the margins - wonāt be more than your usual good-day vs bad-day variation. But your body will be more fatigued. The wind is the bit that will make the biggest difference. You can almost count on a headwind on the way back in on Broadlands Road. Itās pretty much fully exposed nowadays, and as the day goes on the temperature rises and then you get the āsea breezeā off the lake.
(Not OT for this thread, but I canāt stress enough to those of you that havenāt swum in Taupo before that the water will be cold. Itās early in the season and the lake is fed by the snowmelt.)
how cold are we talking like Utah 13-15 Celsius or oceanside 11-12?
Ironman said it was 18 which I can handle below 15 I am in trouble.
In fairness Utah. But can certainly feel cold on the bike until you warm up, especially if itās cloudy. Past few years thereās been a 2 degree kick around then, so you could be lucky and it will be a perfect 17 degree water.
In fairness Utah. But can certainly feel cold on the bike until you warm up, especially if itās cloudy. Past few years thereās been a 2 degree kick around then, so you could be lucky and it will be a perfect 17 degree water.
OK that might be live able. And 28 mm tires are good to go.
A few years ago I found some time series data that showed the daily lake temperature over a few years. In the 5 or so years the data covered it was always between 15-18C in December, which has aligned with any time Iāve swum there in December. There is a slim chance it could be less, but I think youād be unlucky to get anything outside the 15-18 range.
A few years ago I found some time series data that showed the daily lake temperature over a few years. In the 5 or so years the data covered it was always between 15-18C in December, which has aligned with any time Iāve swum there in December. There is a slim chance it could be less, but I think youād be unlucky to get anything outside the 15-18 range.
Ok that sounds reassuring as I am a hot water guy. Fingers crossed .
Iām a Taupo local - lake always feels a bit chilly in December compared to March, but if thereās a good wind leading up to race day it can make the water cooler as it mixes up the lower (colder) layers a bit.
Rode the bike course last weekend, pretty much chipseal the whole way. SH5 has more hills than the out and back Broadlands course, with one of my least favourite hills just after you start on SH5.
As others have said, thereās a downhill on View Road where I typically hit 70kph (but then Iām āheavyā!!). Not really long enough to impact gearing choice tho.
Iāll be watching as Iām not racing (havenāt qualified but TBH I didnāt really try as I know Iām not fast enough).
Bit of a shame that itās the last December 70.3 it seems. Bit of a loss especially as I remember it before it was an IM branded event. But I guess thatās a whole other storyā¦
Best of everything to everyone who is racing!
Itās a normal road triathlon. True, chipseal is slower and rougher but itās not actually a gravel TRI and youāre only out there for about 2 hours, itās not like the 6 hours + many will be doing on the full (Iām factoring in this is world champs so field will be quicker in general.
I think 32s would be overkill as regardless of your view on aero or rolling restistance youāre adding weight there over 25c or 28c. 28c would be my pick but Iād have zero qualms with going on 25 for the half.