Seeking some thoughts for upcoming Pumpkinman race in the Las Vegas area. Do you think it is worthwhile riding a Tri bike with 60mm front, disc rear on a course like the following? It is only an Olympic, but has about 3,900 vertical feet, and net gain of over 1300 feet (it is a point to point race). Typically I can average close to 23 mph on a flat course, and will probably be closer to 18mph average on this course. The last 9 miles are uphill, and the last mile and a bit is more than 9 %.
ride with both 60’s and ride the tt/tri bike. You will do better than you think. The more aero you can hold the better. You can climb well in the bull horns, almost as well as a road bike if you are dialed in. The aero benifits from the first part of the course trump a road set up, IMO.
You need to look at how steep the climbs are and what position have you been riding in while climbing ? It’s fine to say rock the TT bike but if you’ve done very little climbing on that bike and substantial climbing on a road bike then you need to consider it.
I routinely do a ride from the beach to the mountains (6,100 ft) here in San Diego with 7200 ft of climbing over a 65 mi course. I can always do it about 15-20 minutes faster on my Shiv (without race wheels) than my road bike with similar power. I think that the height of your bullhorns relative to your crank is a very significant factor in how hard you can climb. For example, the Shiv’s (nosecone edition) all have the bullhorns at the same height across all sizes, so if you are a taller rider, you still get them down nice and low on a L or XL – which makes for better leverage when climbing. This isn’t discussed much when it comes to aero bike climbing theoretical debates, but I bet this simple thing (bullhorn height/fit and related leverage) has a more impact than wheel selection on serious climbing courses.
Bit of a general question, but does anyone on here ´relax´their position a bit on their TT bike, slackening off the ST angle, for a really hilly course so it´s maybe a bit easier on the hills? Would that work? Am I in a world of my own?
x2… just remember to shift to the gear you need to complete the climb before you stand up. Speaking from experience, if something should happen don’t try to clip back in while facing uphill ;0) ya I know wisenheimers rookie mistake. I was caught up in the moment
only use a road bike if you are terrified of descending on your tri bike or if your tri bike is 10lbs heavier.
Seeking some thoughts for upcoming Pumpkinman race in the Las Vegas area. Do you think it is worthwhile riding a Tri bike with 60mm front, disc rear on a course like the following? It is only an Olympic, but has about 3,900 vertical feet, and net gain of over 1300 feet (it is a point to point race). Typically I can average close to 23 mph on a flat course, and will probably be closer to 18mph average on this course. The last 9 miles are uphill, and the last mile and a bit is more than 9 %.
