This is my second tri season and I’ve went all-in with new equipment after riding a road bike with clip-ons last season.
I’ll be riding a Speed Concept 7.5 (scheduled to be in this month) with Flo 60/90 wheels (which I have) and also a disc cover that I plan on using if it will fit the frame which some have said might be an issue. I also went with a Stages PM so I’ve got a lot of new equipment to add to the mix this season.
When it comes to the race day wheel set-up, or maybe I should say preparation what would you guys suggest. Here’s what I’m planning as of right now:
I’ll be running latex tubes in GP4000S tires and Flo 60/90 wheels with disc cover. I’m going to need valve extenders with both wheels since my latex tubes are 60mm.
So for spare tires here’s my plan: Carrying standard butyl tubes for spares so I can get away with an 80mm spare with no valve extender for the front and then a preloaded 60mm with a 50mm valve extender for the back wheel. I could also potentially carry a third preloaded 60+50 that would work on either wheel if needed. But I like the idea of tubes with valve extenders already in place so I don’t have to fumble around with them on the side of the road. Probably carry 3 Co2’s as well.
BTW, I’m gearing this set-up toward a half and full Ironman. What do you guys do?
always tricky, I always assume 2 tubes is more than enough and I have them setup for the deepest wheelset. I also carry a patch kit, the new ones are tiny, work really well and make me feel better. Its really a JIC situation and at 0 weight or aero penalty.
Issue: What about air? I usually don’t do CO2 and a hand pump but I can do it. I’ve also “accidentally” dropped a cartridge when I saw someone struggling in a race with a flat and I hope Karma pays be back.
find latex tubes with 80mm stemsget a few 30mm extensionsput 80mm in the front and 110mm (80+30) in the rearhave a spare butyl at 110mm to use for either front or rearif there is special needs, put another 110mm in therecarry 2 co2s and have 2 more in special needs(if there is no special needs midway, then consider an additional spare. If I had to change tubes 2+ times in 56 miles, I’d probably call it a day)
I did a pretty extensive search online and couldn’t find any 80mm latex tubes. Where do you buy yours?
I got mine from my LBS… I loved that I didn’t need valve extenders on my ENVE 6.7s… Now that I’m on 8.9s, I just buy the shorter ones and run longer extenders (for the latex ones, spares are what ever combo I’ve got easily available)
I can see racing without any flat kits on shorter sprint races but not on anything longer. I shudder to think about how much time and money I have invested into an IM race and would be forever pissed if it ended because I didn’t have any insurance with me.
IMO, 2 different length valve spares is over-complicating it. In my case, I’ve got a rear disc so that’s the shorter one, which is the reverse of yours, but in either case I’d buy spares that fit the shallower rim without an extender, and then pre-load the extender for the deeper rim which you’d simply remove if you flatted the shallower rim. I only roll w/ 1 spare which could be used for either F/R, and then stash another one in spec needs (if available for a full IM, in case I used the first one before then).
For air, I just carry one CO2 in my flat kit with the spare, stash one in SN along with the extra spare, and also have one semi-permanently stowed under the saddle nose zip-tied to the seat rails. There’s just enough elasticity in the zip-ties I can wiggle the CO2 out but it won’t vibrate loose on its own. So why 2 CO2 for only 1 tube (or 3/2 in a full)? I’ve had a couple slow leaks before where an extra CO2 refill would buy me another 30-50mi (more than enough to finish OK) without having to do a full tube change.
I have a '14 Speed Concept 7.0 with Aeolus 7s front and rear running 23mm Continental GP4000S with Vittoria latex tubes… so hopefully my setup can be of some relevance.
I run the draft box where I keep an extra tire, tube, tire lever, and CO2. I run Bontrager Seal Safe in my tubes. The way I look at it, if I blow through sealant AND a spare tire over the course of a race I’m going to call it a day.
Supposedly the draft box makes the bike/rider combo more aero and I tend to trust Trek’s proclamations on such matters (they certainly have the budget to research such things). The draft box is also a great place to stick your race number
