During the Kona coverage I saw quite a few pros coming out of T2 putting on their watch. Why wouldn’t they wear the watch during the swim and bike?
The better question is why would they wear a watch on the swim and bike?
It’s completely unnecessary at minimum, and possibly a hindrance in hydro and aero.
Swim: They don’t care about pace. All that matters is trying to stick with person in front of them. And, to a much smaller reason, they are not hydrodynamic.
Bike: Most will have a bike specific computer anyway. Also, the wrist hits very clean air while biking, so there is some, probably, aero benefit to not wearing a watch.
Will this shave off 20s from my IM bike leg?
Kienle used to ride with a watch. He didn’t this year at Kona, and had his fastest bike split of his career.
Science.
I’m going to take credit for this trend. There was a thread here on ST in April/May and people made fun of me for not wearing a watch on the swim/bike for these exact reasons.
Looks like Sebi & Lionel took notice.
During the Kona coverage I saw quite a few pros coming out of T2 putting on their watch. Why wouldn’t they wear the watch during the swim and bike?
Pretty much what was said above. Why bother. You know what was really funny is I got thrown into a triple mini sprint ITU race last year. It was a mix of ITU kids and long course triathletes. I quickly learned that even a bike computer was futile. You don’t even have time to turn it on let along look at it.
For Ironman the data is not necessary as you swim hard from the gun and just grab feet, and then onto the bike where you have a bike computer. Who needs the extra weight + negative hydrodynamics and aerodynamics.
I am with Sean on this! The only reason I sometimes wear a watch is if i am trying to hit a specific time at the end of the race or want to see if my swim is in a straight line. But, there is no real point to wear a watch.
I put my watch on as I’m running out of T2. I hate swimming with watches and don’t see the point on a bike.
I am a slow fat guy but in my opinion, it’s pointless on the swim (unless your lapping short and want to make sure your time is still realistic … pink) and a watch just plain pisses me off on the bike lol.
It’s redundant due to the bike computer and the buckle taps against my computer mount. Same for the buckle on my road ID so I swapped the band out for the plain type.
If you want to know your swim split whilst still on course, get a mate to shout it to you at bike mount 
WD
During the Kona coverage I saw quite a few pros coming out of T2 putting on their watch. Why wouldn’t they wear the watch during the swim and bike?
I think quite a few do. I am driven by racing for overall time in a race. I think what makes me have fun is seeing faster times consistently. It’s my motivation.
Now on the other hand… I am no Kona caliber pro.
Guess I never noticed that.
I don’t do long distance races and just wear my watch the whole time. Mainly to record all my splits including transition times. I do run a dedicated bike computer though. There was one race I had a horrible T2 time reported but was reported to have a godly paced run. My T2 was reported at something like 27 minutes but made up for it with a blistering sub 1 minute miles average pace…according to the results posted a little after I finished. They eventually fixed it as a lot of people were also pretty laissez faire in T2 but crazy superhuman fast at the run too.
I don’t see a lot of point in having a watch on the swim or bike for the reasons orhers have given, but I still wear one.
Why?
Because I want it on the run and I don’t fancy leaving sitting in T2 where it could go missing. Also it’s one more thing to think about in transition.
Finally, although I don’t race any better for having a watch on the swim and bike, I do end up with a nice set if data. I like data.
wait, but… if its not on Strava… did it really happened??
The newer Garmin watches have optical HR monitors so you might see more of an uptick in their usage on the bike for people that are paying attention to HR.
It’s useless on the swim. The only reason I usually wear a watch on the swim is so it doesn’t get stolen or lost from my transition area or gear bag.
Kienle used to ride with a watch. He didn’t this year at Kona, and had his fastest bike split of his career.
Science.
Brilliant.
Reminds me of the drug commercial when the actor states, “I do my own kinda research…”
wait, but… if its not on Strava… did it really happened??
No. If its not on Strava, it didn’t happened.
- negative hydrodynamics and aerodynamics.
I tested the aerodynamics of the watch in wind tunnel. I shared the results with my friends that don’t compete in my AG or those willing to pay.
Guess I never noticed that.
I don’t do long distance races and just wear my watch the whole time. Mainly to record all my splits including transition times. I do run a dedicated bike computer though. There was one race I had a horrible T2 time reported but was reported to have a godly paced run. My T2 was reported at something like 27 minutes but made up for it with a blistering sub 1 minute miles average pace…according to the results posted a little after I finished. They eventually fixed it as a lot of people were also pretty laissez faire in T2 but crazy superhuman fast at the run too.
This use of the watch has always been my reason for wearing it during the whole race, so that I have an accurate record of my splits including transitions. In my first year or two of tri I had a similar experience to your run split except mine was on the swim. They had me at 12:06 for a 1200 m swim; man, if i could swim that fast i wouldn’t even bother with triathlons.
Bike computers are for bike riding, not watches.