I have a race tomorrow morning and I have not decided whether to leave my wheel repair kit on the bike or just leave it in the transition area. I do not think the 1 lb. extra will make any difference so I should probably just leave it on the bike. Even though if I blow a tire I will be pretty much out of the race anyways.
Does any of you take it off for races, and if so what is your reasoning.
I always have carried a spare through 20 years of racing and over 150 races. The one time in 20 years that I had no spare, I flatted on some cobbles in Belgium and DNF’d (which to date was my only DNF).
I think it is bad karma to carry no bail out gear. It is almost like tempting the evil gods. Similar to driving with no insurance. You are sure to be stopped by the cops :-(.
I look at it this way…I would rather be “out of the race” losing 5 min to change a flat than have to wait by the side of the road to come back in the broom wagon.
Carry bail out gear. It is always more fun to ride back to T2 on your bike than to return perhaps 3 hours later in a pick up truck after sitting on the side of the road in the cold rain, watching 500 people whip by with smiles on their faces, while you wallow in the misfortune of having flatted 
Ditto!!!
The extra weight does not affect my speed at all; I am still slow on the bike.
I carry a spare tube and repair kit on the bike because I figure that even if I lose a lot of time making a repair of some sort, I can still salvage a good workout out of the day even if I end up finishing last as a result (it takes me a while to repair some things).
I raced today (sprint tri) with NO spare…I’m racing again tomorrow (40K TT)…NO spare!!!
I’ll keep my spare in the transition area if: 1) The bike leg is multiple loops, or designed in such a way that I never get more than 3 miles away from the transition area. or 2) The race is un-important enough in my schedule to risk a DNF.
I get a psychological boost when I clean & strip down my bike before a race. Taking off an extra water bottle cage and/or the spare kit makes me feel faster, even if I’m still in the back of the pack.
Depends on the importance of the race. But I never carry a spare or any of the other stuff (glue, lever etc.) for a sprint.
T.
I think it was around '96 when I traveled about 2000 miles to Wildflower. During the race I had my first flat in several months… Damn glad I had my gear to do a quick change (and got lots of good vibes from everyone zipping by). Heh, it was also that race (before the flat) that I got hit by someone on the bike. I remember, it happened right in front of Cam W (who was watching). in my somewhat confused state I was just kind of looking down at myself and all I remember was him saying, “go like hell dude you are ok”. Finished the race pretty bloody and slower than I’d have liked but I finished it dammit! Hmmmm, this could be a fun thread…
just did a half Ironman, slashed my back tubular pretty good at mile 13, glad I brought a spare, still had a great race and passed 55 people on the run to make it back into the top 30. This was a B, hell more like a C or D race so I wasn’t pushing to hard and not taking it very seriously but if it had ended with the flat I would have been VERY dissappointed. don’t risk it, having to pull out because of a flat sucks no matter how short or how non-important the race is.
Better to
have it and not need it
than
need it and not have it
.