I’ve never really stood at a mount/dismount line for a tri before. How common is it for age groupers to actually do the flying mount/dismount with bike with shoes already clipped in? Any way of figuring out how much time it actually saves?
Are there typically alot of accidents right around the mount line?
i have my shoes clipped in already, but I wouldn’t say I do a flying mount. I just get on my bike and pedal with my feet on top of my shoes.
don’t do a flying dismount either…yet
Very few attempt the flying mount. Few of those get it right. There is good time to be saved with practice.
Not as many accidents as you might think, but a whole lot of wasted time.
The dismount is a little easier and a few more do it. More accidents here. Some nice ones usually.
Are there typically alot of accidents right around the mount line?
yes. You have to be very careful to avoid the swervers. Check out the London women’s ITU race. It’s been posted before quite a bit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRKajY5GlyI
i leave my shoes in the pedals but when i go to take off i got pretty good at getting my left foot in the shoe then shoving off with my right and getting that foot in the shoe right away, then later fastening the velcro.my shoes open pretty wide so it works good for me.
i have my shoes clipped in already, but I wouldn’t say I do a flying mount. I just get on my bike and pedal with my feet on top of my shoes.
don’t do a flying dismount either…yet
+1
To address the OP’s questions, at the last tri that I was an official for I would guess that less than 10 out of 350 entries had their shoes clipped in at mount. At a duathlon on mother’s day I saw 1 rider actually do a “flying mount/dismount” and he was pretty damn good (and scary) No one else came close to him, and again, less than 10 had their shoes pre-clipped anyway.
I did Devilman last weekend and wished that I didn’t have my shoes clipped in. The run out of T1 to mount was close to a quarter mile and down a gravel lane. Hurt like hell to run barefoot on that stuff. My fault, I should have scoped out the transition area better.
I don’t do it. I have seen a few crashes with the flying mount and a few near misses with the dismount.
When I am losing races by 20 seconds or less, then I will give it a go. For now, the risk of eating sh*t in the hopes of finishing 49th out of 100 versus 50th out of 100 isn’t worth it.
i don’t do a complete flying hope you don’t crush the boys kinda mount, but I do leave my shoes clipped in.
Get the left foot on top the shoe, keep the bike moving, swing the right leg around.
For dismount I bring both legs to one side.
And for the record, the mount line is typically a scene of much carnage.
I can and have done flying dismount in races. Amusingly, I even got some applause for it once. I have not done flying mount in a tri yet, but I can do the “flying” CX mount on my road bike with ease…so I’m going to practice it on the TT bike and expect to use it this summer. I will not be “that guy” who causes the next mount-line fiasco…
Two years ago I crashed in front a sea of spectators during my flying dismount debut (despite perfect practice for weeks on end). I haven’t done one since. These days, I still get my feet out of the shoes ahead of time, but I stop at the dismount line and get off my bike while stopped (like most AGers).
Flying mounts… not happening. I’ve practiced those too. Some go well; some not so well. This past weekend I came out of the swim neck & neck with the woman who ended up winning overall. She had her shoes already clipped in, while I did not. We both entered and left T1 at the same time. She pulled away from me on the bike, but it was due to her cycling skillz and not her flying dismount.
What is a ‘flying’ dismount? I undo my shoes and then get on the left pedal and once I get to the line I hop off and start running. Is that a flying dismount?
I don’t do a flying mount. I even put my shoes on in transition.
I have stood by the dismount line at a local sprint. It was after I already finished so most of the people coming in were on mountain bikes and stuff. Most of them didn’t slow down enough to get off before you pass the line into transition. Its was actually funny to watch, though probably not as funny as people trying flying mounts.
Depends on the race and conditions. When the transition is close to the mount/dismount line and nice surface, I normally will have shoes attached… Not really a flying mount, but not super slow either. I will do a semi-flying dismount and with 1/4 - 1/5 of a mile left be riding on top of my shoes, spinning in a bigger cassette cog, etc.
Some course I have been on have long transition areas, you are running through grass or gravel which can be wet, stick to your feet, and pulling over to kick gravel out of your shoes cost you time as well, and blisters suck. These times I will jog in my bike shoes and do a regular mount.
Failing at the mount/dismount line is an epic fail… A few seconds saved for most people will not make much of a difference, but can cost you everything
I don’t clip my shoes in beforehand but I do run and jump on my bike leaving T1 just as I would on a Cross bike, coming into T2 I ride on top of my shoes then swing my leg through again like getting off my CX bike. It’s not that hard really, not sure how much time it saves but I was behind the guy in front of me at Knoxville by :06 so every second counts right?
You’re not a real triathlete if you don’t do the flying dismount!
All depends. Every second counts but how solid are your mount and dismounts. If you are only solid 80% of the time, how much time do you lose in the other 20%? If it is 6 seconds and you are off, then sure, it is worth it.
If it is 30 seconds and you are picking gravel out of your bloody knee and you never get into a good bike rhythm then finishing a head 1 place 4 times, and finishing 30 spots behind 1 may be worth it.
When in doubt, stick to what you know until you are consistent.
I do a flying mount and dismount.
Just remember you have to run a little past the mount line, because everybody stops there to mount. Use rubber bands to keep the shoes in place during the transition run. Jump on the saddle while grabbing your bars. Start pedalling on top of your shoes. Get some speed and then slip into your shoes. Break the rubber bands if they did not snap off (I never seem to find the size that snaps immediately).
The dismount is easy. Pedal on top of your shoes, swing your right leg over your saddle and stick your right leg before your left. The only thing important for the flying dismount is to slow down enough before you start running, otherwise your feet will hurt a lot.
Just practice it a couple of times during bricks (rubber bands not needed). It is fun for mop/fop guys to have a top 10 transition time in T1.
What I do I would not call a flying mount or dismount.
I clip my shoes in and rubber-band the left shoe so that it’s leading.
During my mount; I jog and place my left foot on my left shoe and throw my right leg over the saddle. By doing this my weight pushes down on the left peddle propelling me forward nearly the same speed as I am jogging.
To dismount I place my left foot on top of my left shoe and bring my right leg to the left side and then place my right foot on the ground and start running.
I use zip ties (that have loops for a screw and cut a v notch in the loop) on my frame to hold the rubber bands in place.
http://www.avxdirect.com/img/p/81-137-home.jpg
i don’t do a complete flying hope you don’t crush the boys kinda mount, but I do leave my shoes clipped in.
Get the left foot on top the shoe, keep the bike moving, swing the right leg around.
For dismount I bring both legs to one side.
And for the record, the mount line is typically a scene of much carnage.
X2
I love working as a volunteer at the mount/dismount area. I think people lose speed perspective when they go to get off their bike and the dismount line comes up mighty quickly. Mount area isn’t so bad, but dismount is funnier than hell.
Timberman 2010 dismount area for the sprint had a little rain and therefore a little slick. We had people skidding 15 feet past the dismount line and that is one area with a ton of spectators.
All depends. Every second counts but how solid are your mount and dismounts. If you are only solid 80% of the time, how much time do you lose in the other 20%? If it is 6 seconds and you are off, then sure, it is worth it.
If it is 30 seconds and you are picking gravel out of your bloody knee and you never get into a good bike rhythm then finishing a head 1 place 4 times, and finishing 30 spots behind 1 may be worth it.
When in doubt, stick to what you know until you are consistent.
I didn’t do flying mounts before I started doing cross, now they are pretty natural. It’s much easier to do them in a triathlon vs Cross where you are mounting, dismounting and running over obstacles while your at your HR limit. The trick is keeping your head up and looking forward while you’re jumping on the bike. If you’re looking down at your pedals or the ground that’s a good way to crash into someone or something.
LOL there are spots to be picked up just running past the mount line before you get on, it’s amazing how many people come to a complete stop at the mount line and attempt to get on their bike.
First, I hate running bare foot. So I put my shoes on & off in T1 & T2. I do both the flying mount and dismount and have never crashed. At least not yet. I have been doing it for 3 years now. I guess after doing bmx tricks when I was younger, it seems pretty easy to do.