- In Kona, I calculated that I was taking in about two litres of fluid per hour, consistent with races like the PTO Championships.
Wait a minute. Are those Gatorskins?
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I don’t blame him if he doesn’t use the bladder. Super hard to get fluid through with that tiny valve in the middle of the straw. Anybody have a solution to this on the Canyon’s?
Are there any ventilation ports?
no
Ditlev actually tested a similar setup using electrical tape and pieces of yoga mat to make a monocoque and found it to be faster. it is basically a small fairing piece, it should be faster.
Seems crazy this was only 3 years ago.
I’ve forgotten already. Where do the rules stand on this. Illegal or still allowed?
I think all DIY stuff is banned. It is annoying because we could make all of our bars monocoque style with yoga mat and duct or electrical tape. Now we would have to invest thousands of dollars for similar equipment, which is a no-go for me.
The rule says “Protective screens, fuselages, fairings, or any other devices or materials (including duct tape) added or blended into the structure with the intent to reduce (or having the effect of reducing) resistance to air penetration are prohibited. Aerodynamic assemblies and protuberances on the head tube or elsewhere are prohibited;"
Incredibly open ended and annoying. By the language given there’s plenty of stuff that comes stock on bikes that should be illegal. Front brake covers surely run afoul, disc wheel covers and fuselage-shaped hydration bottles as well.
So tape is explicitly prohibited. But what about a glued on piece of plastic that ostensibly holds gels? Or a piece of sheet metal cut to shape that bolts to the bottom of the bars to increase stiffness? Both of these can be the exact same shape as the tape and only cost a couple dollars more.
It’s ironic because with some rudimetary metalworking you can make DIY parts at much greater quality than bargain basement Amazon stuff.
I don’t think you need to go down the metalworking route - I’m thinking that some gumption and some Kydex (or similar product) would do the trick and would look professional enough if you get it right. Though I’ve never done this myself so I don’t know how hard it is to mold.
I asked this question earlier before the rule first came out - though my methods were a compression sock and some legos. I never did find out if it was faster, but I did run it at IMAZ last year and no one blinked
Yep, that’s a better option. Also does a better job of pointing out the absurdity of the rule as written. Make it look neat and it’s ok, but if seams are showing it’s a no go. Pinnacle of endurance sport right there
That’s just a reflection off the bottle (if it was fluid, it would be parallel to the ground…or arced if it was accelerating)
You can also see in the videos early in the bike that the bottle lacks fluid (no sloshing, and bouncing much less than the bottle above it). Check out the livestream at 1:09:50
This is exactly what i did a couple years ago with a piece of aluminum. I added a .99c travel soap box from Walmart that snaps closed for my salt tabs. So it has a purpose other than aerodynamics. I painted everything black and ziptied it on with small foam strips between the plate and bars.
At Ironman Wales a few weeks ago, the refs were not allowing bikes into transition with this Absolute Speed BTA System.
I know a few people that had to cut the front off (fuselage-shaped) before they could rack the bike. Which is pretty surprising since Matt Hanson for example has used one in many Pro Series races without issue. Not saying these refs were right or wrong, but there needs to be consistency with stuff like bike set-ups. Making people do DIY mods on the day is mad.
The easiest policy is just to say that anything on your bike has to have function beyond pure aerodynamics and that anything on bike needs to be safe. And then leave it at that.
There’s a big grey area there, and the line between a $3000 front end and some bar tape still remains, but at least it gives the refs (and participants) an easy rule to follow.
Absolute madness. Bring a prototype or a brand new component and you can expect that it may be disallowed. But a power tripping ref deciding that a previously ok’d part is now foul? Courts call it stare decisis, precedent, that which has already been decided.
Hard disagree. Too simple to get around. Food storage is the classic, tape between the bars for rust protection, aero fairing on the brake is a dust cover, Joe Skipper’s bottles over the hands are for hydration, a clear motorcycle-style fairing in front of your face keeps dirt out of your eyes like sunglasses do.
I would be a fan of defining the area where hydration/food is allowed to be and just let anything go within that box. Not hard to define boxes behind the seat and in the normal between the arms area. Then you show up knowing 100% you’re either legal or not, no grey area, no interpretation, no power tripping officials.
Actually, that’s not a bad rule.
Food/hydration must be directly attached to (or inside) either the frame, seat, or be located between/above the arms. Other than above the arms, it may not be pedestaled and must be directly attached. Hydration located between/above the arms may not be pedestaled more than x cms above the stem and may not protrude more than x cms beyond the athlete’s wrist or elbow.
Food/hydration may also be located on the athlete’s person in a rear-facing pocket or on the thigh.
Maybe a similar rule for flat kits / tools.