Philly Triathlon...bike course question

Triathlon Forum
1

I’ll be partcipating in this tri on June 28th and I have a question. I’ve heard that this bike course has some hills. How bad are they? Grade? Any suggestions for gearing? Disc in rear or not?

2

There are a few hills, but they were all pretty short. Total elevation gain (per hill) ~ 75-100 ft (?). I’m guessing that there are a few grades around 5+%, but they are short enough that you can power up them in the big chain ring.
Gearing - any gearing combination you like should work here.
Disc - if you have it, of course you should bring it.

3

There are a few hills, but they were all pretty short. Total elevation gain (per hill) ~ 75-100 ft (?). I’m guessing that there are a few grades around 5+%, but they are short enough that you can power up them in the big chain ring.
Gearing - any gearing combination you like should work here.
Disc - if you have it, of course you should bring it.
cool…short short hills i can quickly power up. i think i’ll run my standard crank and cassette…and bring the disc rear. thanks!!!

4

I agree with jkenny5150. On each lap there are 4 hills, with the first hill being the longest (about 150 ft vertical over .75 mile). You can really give yourself an advantage in this race if you have decent hill climbing ability.

Use a disk wheel if you have it - it’ll help lots on the flat sections. No special gearing is required.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/philadelphia/153510427551

Mark

5

I seem to recall the steepest section being on Lemon Hill, but it was very short. On your mapmyride link, it was the fourth hill, which was only about 40-50 ft. vertical rise. The rest of the hills were not as steep.

6

I seem to recall the steepest section being on Lemon Hill, but it was very short. On your mapmyride link, it was the fourth hill, which was only about 40-50 ft. vertical rise. The rest of the hills were not as steep.
so no issue whatsoever running aa 53/39 and 11-23 cassette with a disc in the rear?

7

so no issue whatsoever running aa 53/39 and 11-23 cassette with a disc in the rear?
There is no issue running that setup. At 39-23 will be fine for the hills, and although Lemon Hill is the steepest, the most challenging hill IMO is the first one. Its the longest, curvy and by the second lap very BUSY. You have dodge between the later waves, which is a bit of an issue. But the 11 rear cog will benefit you greatly on the decents and the flats.