I am entered in the Kona 1/2 Ironman next may, I know it is some time away however I was wondering which type of gearing I should use for those of you that know the course.
I have a P2K with 700’s, and I believe a 52/42 up front with a 11/23 cassette in the rear. Should I change any of this setup? I know I could run a 12/25, or a 12/27 in the rear or possibly go different in the front.
Thanks,…
I’ve never done the 1/2 there, but I’ve done Kona IM on the same set up you’ve got, P2K, 53/42 and 11-23, with no problem. As I recall, the portion of the course over which they hold the 1/2 doesn’t have much in the way of climbs, just rollers. A 12/25 would give you a little more on the rollers, but not much, and you might well spin out on the descent sides. If anything, I’d consider changing out your small chainring to a more standard 39, that would allow you to use the 11/23, get more gears for climbing, and still utilize the 11. I’ve made that change, but I live in an area with LOTS of climbing.
I’ve done this one twice with the same gearing. I say stay with it. You only have 2 minor climbs (for someone from SF area - hardly even meets the definition of climb). You have a bunch of rollers and some nice flat stretches so your set up should be perfect. Good luck - this is a great race.
Thanks, would there be a downfall to switching my smaller front ring to a 39 from a 42? My rear cassette on my ace wheels is a 11/23 and on my training wheels a 12/27. I will use the 11/23 cassette I think for Kona, I am just wondering if I should switch the front small ring to a 39 for both training and racing?
Thanks for the help…
I don’t see any downside to the switch…but to be perfectly honest, you won’t be in the small chainring that often anyway so I also don’t see much advantage. Its your call. If you want to be safe, sure switch away.
On the ride, you exit transition take a short flat section and then a very short (1 block) climb and turn left. That becomes an incline eventually bringing you to the Queen K. The first section remains mostly flat, with some rollers. I want to say that you don’t get to any sort of 'hill" until maybe 10-15 miles out. It will be short and you may want to stand if for no other reason then to stretch out. You get a couple more of these. Then maybe around mile 25 or so (this is pure speculation from memory) you get the only real climb (and its more of a climb when you hit it coming back…of course the headwind made it bit harder then also). Then a nice downhill stretch and a few rolers towards the turn-around. Since the return is the same as the out, just reverse it. however, once you past the start you keep going - I’m think it was about 5 miles more through town and on the Alia Drive to T2. This is mild rollers. The course has very few turns (mostly all around the start area).
Have fun. Let me know if you have any other questions (sites, restaurants, race hints, etc.)
Alan
Alan,
I appreciate your help, I am sure I will have more questions in the future, so this will help me out a great deal. This is my first triathlon, and I want to make sure that I am ready for it. I would like to stay in touch.
Thanks,
Werner…
Sure - no problem. E-mail me at: Alan@sftriclub.org any time.