Background> long story short> 2.5 years in the sport. No previous sport history other than baseball and football. Moved up to HIM’s last year and purchased first new ride a Felt B12. I worked all summer on a better running base and bike. I did 3 HIM’s this year and my last HIM was 5:44 PR so, a MOP guy @ 36y/o. Swim 38:XX Bike 2:48xx Run 2;10 xx. Next year have 4 70.3 on my schedule before jumping to a IM.
I live in Florida so, will be spending my winter working mainly on bike and run. I will only swim one masters session a week to keep it clean.
Questions:
1)My bike has never been truly fitted to me. I had the gal at the local shop set me up however; it is not close to perfect. It became increasing noticeable on our 100mi rides while I trained with my group of friends doing IMFL . What is the “Gold” standard in bike fitting and what should I budget for?
Plan on adding wheels this year. The wheels I buy I will train on and need to be budget friendly. I love the look of HED3’s and seem bulletproof, the price of the Planet- X is appealing too. My budget is $1,000 or less. What does the ST recommend for under 1,000?
Adding a Adamo saddle for the boys! The Specialized Geomatery was a nice saddle for my roadie but, not a good TRI bike saddle.
If you like the hed3 search the classifieds, I picked up a front last year for $300. the design hasn’t really changed in 20 years. eventually ill get a disc cover for the rear.
1.) About 300-600 if you ate getting refitted, free if you are buying a bike or we can do it for you if you post a fit critique.
2.) Scour the ST classifieds for HEDS, ZIPPS…etc…
3.) hope your boys are happy ;0)
Fit is important for sure. Before you go spend $ on wheels, why don’t you spend some time in the saddle, in the pool and in your runners to get faster? Money doesn’t buy speed…fitness does. You can treat yourself with some wheels and gadgets but based on the times you posted it seems to me that because you’re fairly new to the sport - you can still get faster and keep $ in your pocket. It’s also cool to beat those who are totally outfitted. I sure like to ‘chick’ all the guys that show up at road races and triathlons with the best of the best equipment~ i choose to spend my time in the sport and each discipline. All the other stuff is cool too but put it on the back burner for now. It’s more rewarding!
Fit is important for sure. Before you go spend $ on wheels, why don’t you spend some time in the saddle, in the pool and in your runners to get faster? Money doesn’t buy speed…fitness does. You can treat yourself with some wheels and gadgets but based on the times you posted it seems to me that because you’re fairly new to the sport - you can still get faster and keep $ in your pocket. It’s also cool to beat those who are totally outfitted. I sure like to ‘chick’ all the guys that show up at road races and triathlons with the best of the best equipment~ i choose to spend my time in the sport and each discipline. All the other stuff is cool too but put it on the back burner for now. It’s more rewarding!
Completely agree about training the motor before buying speed! I doubt wheels will really make me that much faster; however not being the 1% I was able to do some side hours doing consulting work to budget for 2012 races and a few extra’s this year. The wife and I alternate goodies when we have a few extra $. We traveled and she ran the Chicago MH so, wheels will be my treat.
As for the JET 6 & Wheelcover… I will be training on the same wheels… Do many of you train with your wheelcover?
Based on your times, you need to run more. It is the most lacking. Your bike times are not nearly as bad as your run times. You may save a couple of minutes with some highspeed equipment changes but running more will knock a 10, 20, 30 minutes off your run time…and won’t cost you nearly as much.
better off spending your money figuring out how to swim/bike/run faster than buying wheels. but, i would suggest you get a saddle your nuts are comfy on and to get a fit if you’re not comfortable with how you set yourself up.
Instead of purchasing wheels, I highly recommend getting power first. That will show you your current bike fitness and how to improve. That purchase is better than ANY set of wheels.
Questions:
1)My bike has never been truly fitted to me. I had the gal at the local shop set me up however; it is not close to perfect. It became increasing noticeable on our 100mi rides while I trained with my group of friends doing IMFL . What is the “Gold” standard in bike fitting and what should I budget for?
Plan on adding wheels this year. The wheels I buy I will train on and need to be budget friendly. I love the look of HED3’s and seem bulletproof, the price of the Planet- X is appealing too. My budget is $1,000 or less. What does the ST recommend for under 1,000?
Adding a Adamo saddle for the boys! The Specialized Geomatery was a nice saddle for my roadie but, not a good TRI bike saddle.
Someone else already said it but I would take some of the harassment on here and post a critique my fit post, there is sound advice on here you just have to sort through about 25 “your seat is too high” comments, and “your (Insert item in your fit picture) is old/ugly/dirty”.
Like DATemple said, power is probably a wiser buy then wheels. But if your budget is $1,000, you should be able to find a wired PT wheel for $400-$600 and then get a HED3 front for $300. That would IMO be your best bang for the buck.
Adamo= very wise choice!
Like others have said gaining fitness is going to help you the most. If you can afford a coach get one, or if you can find someone that will “mentor” you with good advice seek a good mentor out.
Someone else already said it but I would take some of the harassment on here and post a critique my fit post, there is sound advice on here you just have to sort through about 25 “your seat is too high” comments, and “your (Insert item in your fit picture) is old/ugly/dirty”.
I wouldn’t waste your time. Getting a bike fit done by still photos online is about as productive as trying to pick your nose with a brick. You might get some useful comments about being more aero but without fairly exact knowledge of flexibility, etc. for the individual you will probably end up being in pain and slower. Don’t believe what you hear, power production comes first and aero second in terms of priorities. Get a professional bike fit and do it right first time, it’s probably the biggest payback you will get in terms of speed per $$$. A good fitter will probably save you some time and effort in getting the right saddle too so get the fit first. There is no gold standard, most of the systems end up in roughly the same place just by different routes. Get some recommendations from people in your tri club. You do have a club don’t you? If not this is #1 priority, you will get more help there than any forum.
Otherwise I agree with the Powertap over race wheels. You can always get a cover and cheap front wheel when the right deal comes along. Don’t bother using the cover or front wheel while training, race bling is for races and training on regular gear will make you faster when you race with the good stuff. If you like pretty things you can look at them as you pass them on race day.
Of course if looking good is more important to you than performance then ignore everything I have said.
I will agree with you in the fact that ST is not ideal for a bike fit via the forum. But if he is not comfortable right now and not happy with it then it might help a bit, would it be perfect? NO. But if he can’t budget it in a professional fit then why not give the forum a chance to help him. However, I do like your advice on getting someone from the local tri club to help him out, but maybe he doesn’t have one. I have just tweaked my fit over the years and it has worked out quite well, but I would like to eventually get a professional fit. Just haven’t been back in the states in an ideal location to get fitted by someone I trust. Hopefully in the near future though that will work out, because I don’t trust anyone here in Korea to do a fit for me.
Like I say, ST might do fine for aero but with no idea of comfort or power production it might do more harm than good. Better off just making small adjustments based on feel for a while. I spent two years tweaking my setup to the point where I thought I was as comfortable as I was going to get with a good combination of power and aero. A couple of hundred bucks and a few hours with a pro fitter proved me wrong. My biggest regret is that I waited two years…
As they’re looking for wheels and asking about the gold standard for fit I assume that cost (albeit reallocated money) and location aren’t big issues for that. If there are no clubs around races are probably few and far between as well but they can also be a good source of local advice which is worth ten times a couple of paragraphs from the other side of the country (or world.) Unfortunately ST is dominated by some very serious types with “interesting” ideas not particularly helpful for those relatively new to the sport. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some quality here as well but you sometimes have to dig deep.
Why do you have to train on your race wheels? For most wheels it’s not a problem but why not keep training on your current wheels and use your race wheels for racing and showing off?
I was able to do some side hours doing consulting work to budget for 2012 races and a few extra’s this year. The wife and I alternate goodies when we have a few extra $. We traveled and she ran the Chicago MH so, wheels will be my treat.