I’ve never been able to do this and I feel like a fool wasting 10 seconds in T1.
No seriously though, any tips to help me strap in while on the bike are greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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Check with the race to make sure that you are allowed to do this - some don’t for AG’ers
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Practice, practice, practice. Go to a parking lot and set up a transition, keep practicing it until you get it right and you can do it over and over and over without screwing up. Find a technique that works for you, Know that obviously you can’t do the flying cx mount if you have rear water-bottles Also keep in mind that, you’ll not be solo at the mount line, unless you win the swim. There will be traffic and with all due respect, many triathletes, completely loose their mind at the mount line( It’s amazing how many people learn that they can’t do the flying CX mount because of rear bottles right there just past the mount line!!). Bottom line - expect anything and everything bad to happen at the mount-line
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Check out the actual situation for a given race - the footing in T1, the terrain right out of T1 and so on - it may make more sense to put the shoes on at the bike and then just click in at the mount line.
Hope this helps.
I practiced many many times at home before my first tri.
It was a disaster. Never practiced it with wet feet. My foot kept slipping off the top of the shoe. I fell, dropped the bike and lost at least a minute in this debacle
Steve makes some good points, I’d like to expand…
Firstly, the shorter the race the more concern over 10 seconds - so, the importance of that for a sub 1 hour race vs a ten+ hour race could be a point of discussion.
There is a skill progression one could follow:
- be able to run with your bike while controlling it with just one hand on the saddle. Best learned with running shoes on and just jogging about.
- …still with running shoes on…move hand from the saddle to bars (both hands on hoods or bull horns) and - stop. Then swing your leg around the back of the saddle so that the back of your mid thigh lands square in the middle of the seat. Push off so the bike rolling and then settle your sitting position onto the saddle.
- Slowly and progressively reduce the “stop” that your using before you throw that thigh up on the saddle so it gets shorter and shorter. At some point it’ll become a bit of a skip to get up on the saddle. Then it’s time to…
- Commit to the small leap it takes to get from a light run to a “flying mount”.
----again, don’t rush this. Some folks get it in 20 minutes, some folks need 3x week for 3-4 weeks 'til it’s dialed in.
It’s really nice to repeat this on a flat stretch of road or parking lot where (still with running shoes on and no bike shoes involved at all) you are rolling along - hopping on and off the bike practicing both the flying mount that you’ll use out of T1 and the proper dismount you’ll use coming into to T2. And that proper dismount requires the left leg to remain on the pedal while the right leg swings around behind the saddle and then - and this is the important part - swings between the left leg (still on pedal) and the bike frame. If you set that right foot down on the ground behind the left leg that’s resting on the pedal, without swinging it through, it’ll set you up for problems on race day.
I also have to mention that one short season of cyclocross…say, 5 races over 3 months - even on a borrowed or rented bike - can solidify the mount/dismount skills into muscle memory. A decent cross course will require you to get on and off 3+ times per lap for, perhaps 5-6 laps and you’ll master this same move we use in triathlon.
The follow up skill of getting bare feet into your shoes is not as complicated as the actually flying mount - I’d only beg you to keep the bike going safely straight while you do it to respect other athletes you are passing and who may be passing you during that action.
Ian
Mechanical setup:
The cranks should be horizontal, and the rear shoe needs to be connected to the rear QR with a rubber band (through the heel loop, or strap or whatever). The shoe also needs to have the main strap undone, 90% open but not so it flaps around, and if it isn’t long enough put a piece of velcro on to hold it open.
The cyclocross mount:
Practice this a lot, first maybe with platform pedals, running start etc. Practice makes perfect. Get the mount right in running shoes before you try it barefoot. Lots of videos for this on youtube.
Strapping in once mounted:
Pedal for 50m first to get speed up and avoid the mounting line crazies crashing behind you. Basically you need to master reaching down, holding the shoe open (or by the heel loop) and jamming your foot in, and strapping the shoe closed. You can practice this on the trainer. The trickiest part is getting your foot in the shoe without twisting the tounge/straps etc. Again, practice makes perfect.
No matter what else happens in the process of getting on the bike and strapped in, the most critical step is to get WAY away from the mount line before you even try to slip your feet in the shoes. Just get on the bike however you want, put your feet on top of the shoes, and go. Pedal like that for a quarter mile or so before you even think about looking down or worse reaching down there. Not only will you have more space from everyone else, but also your bike is a lot more stable at ~20 mph than it is at 5, and that will make it a lot easier for you to get strapped in no matter what your process is.
Mechanical setup:
The cranks should be horizontal, and the rear shoe needs to be connected to the rear QR with a rubber band (through the heel loop, or strap or whatever). The shoe also needs to have the main strap undone, 90% open but not so it flaps around, and if it isn’t long enough put a piece of velcro on to hold it open.
The cyclocross mount:
Practice this a lot, first maybe with platform pedals, running start etc. Practice makes perfect. Get the mount right in running shoes before you try it barefoot. Lots of videos for this on youtube.
Strapping in once mounted:
Pedal for 50m first to get speed up and avoid the mounting line crazies crashing behind you. Basically you need to master reaching down, holding the shoe open (or by the heel loop) and jamming your foot in, and strapping the shoe closed. You can practice this on the trainer. The trickiest part is getting your foot in the shoe without twisting the tounge/straps etc. Again, practice makes perfect.
To amend the bold part: Sometimes MORE THAN 50m is needed to get out of a pack of weaving cyclists, around a corner, etc…The trick that MOST people miss when they are learning this technique is that you DO NOT need to get in your shoes right away…pedal with your feet on top of your shoes until you have your speed up, can hold a straight line, and can safely get your feet in your shoes.
Also…I don’t think this was mentioned here…tri shoes better than classic road shoes…one strap, velcro, no ratcheting straps (whatever those are called), and often a loop on the heel to help pull the shoe on.
I’ve never been able to do this and I feel like a fool wasting 10 seconds in T1.
No seriously though, any tips to help me strap in while on the bike are greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
all good advice. but I have a little different way and I will save it so you can figure out your own little variation and twist to it…
but…best advice i can share…peddle faster, I hear banjos…joking!
- Jump on your bike and power up for at least :60 seconds. Find rythm in your breathing before anything else.
- Slip ONE foot in. Continue hammering for 15-20 sec.
- Slip the OTHER foot in. HAMMER for 15-20 sec…
- Strap one strap on one foot…hammer for 15-20 sec.
- Strap another strap from the other foot…hammer for 15-20 sec.
- If you have more straps, continue with the above.
- KEEP YOUR POWER UP. If you slip-&-strap all at once and come to a stop/slow there is no reason to mount-with-shoes-clipped-in to begin with.
- This style/method is meant to keep VELO-MOMENTUM-FORWARD.
And remember…Transitions are part of the race!
That’s a good point- my coach when I was doing the junior ITU stuff back in the day just had me pedal around in a parking lot on top of the shoes quite a bit. There are really 3 separe skills:
-running with the bike and not eating shit
-mounting the bike and not eating shit or having someone else take your sorry ass out
-getting your feet in the shoes on the bike
each can be practiced separately
Practice a lot on an empty street and start/end your rides this way. My tri shoes virtually NEVER leave my bike. Every ride starts and ends with practice!