Best gear improvements for bike by $$ value

Diamondmaker

Hi all

Im starting to dip into this forum a bit now, my season is fully underway as you poor freezing feckers plan yours

I have completed my 2nd tri this w/e with improvements and Im happy with progress on the bike especially over the 2.

My bike set up is a Felt AR3 with the standard wheels. My query is:

What gear is going to make the best improvements:

1. Tri / Aero Bars, any suggestions for these I have never used them and I have no idea on them. How much to spend carbon or not etc etc.

2. Wheels, I would be investing in wheels in time for my 2nd Olympic tri which will be at the beginning of next season ( Sept / Oct ).
Likewise they are pricey mothers any comments would be great.
I am 72kg so too deep a rim is a problem ? and full discs are a total no for my weight ??

thanks and everyone good luck in your pre season.

On a similar note Ben Shaw who I have been following here as I am competing in the same events s him won the last race outright and fell off his bike this w/e, you would think an Irish fella could handle his bike in the wet a bit better! I hope he is ok though, he dominates the swim and bike, needs some new runnners though...

MrCreosote

Tunney is your man for the definitive answer here but from what I know the rank for aero (and time) gains are

1: Position (i'd include tribars here)
2: bike frame etc
3: clothing and helmet
4: wheels

1 and 3 are relatively cheap. I'd get a good bike fit if you've not already had one, preferably with tribars attached. Deep-rim Wheels are expensive but look and sound great, and as your race wheels will run true and smooth on the day. If money isn't an issue go for it, but they gains they give aren't huge. There might well be places you can rent race wheels for an event there.

For all the aero gains the biggest speed gains are at higher 35kph+ speeds, but the biggest time gains are at slower speeds.

What's the tri scene like over there? Might be making the move myself in a year or so from NZ.

RayCun

MrCreosote wrote: »

Tunney is your man for the definitive answer here but from what I know the rank for aero (and time) gains are

1: Position (i'd include tribars here)
2: bike frame etc
3: clothing and helmet
4: wheels

If I know Tunney, his answer will be more like
1: Lose some of that weight
2. HTFU
3: Position (i'd include tribars here)
4: bike frame etc
5: clothing and helmet
6: wheels

:pac:

Diamondmaker

Thanks Guys

1: Lose some of that weight
Thats in hand I am at my leanest ever. Always chuck my drinks bottle away and any unwanted fluid, on the 3rd lap to the back up crew ( the wife ). I noticed some athletes have 2 bottles on a sprint and end the race with fluids in them..thats a waste !

2. HTFU
Huh ? Whats this ?

3: Position (i'd include tribars here)
Ok must get TBs,

4: bike frame etc
Im pretty good here, the AR3 is super Aero and all carbon light.

5: clothing and helmet
Helmet, need one of those rocket shaped ones down the line I guess for the Olympic tris where the diff will be more notable.

6: wheels
Im surprised that wheels are rated so far down... .. .

Diamondmaker

MrCreosote wrote: »

Tunney is your man for the definitive answer here but from what I know the rank for aero (and time) gains are


What's the tri scene like over there? Might be making the move myself in a year or so from NZ.

Its very enjoyable and the weather just makes it so pleasant. You may have to spedn some time reconditioning for the heat and humidity but there is never a wet suit required, the water at the w/e was 26.6 degs !

There are 2 mobs that runn them so there is at least 2 tris to choos from every month and there a few of the major ones of course such as Noosa and Mooloolaba on the door step in stunning locations..

MrCreosote

Diamondmaker wrote: »

6: wheels
Im surprised that wheels are rated so far down... .. .

Here's a bit about the helmet vs wheels debate:
http://www.active.com/cycling/Articles/Gear-Face-Off-Aero-Helmet-vs-Aero-Wheels.htm

(although mostly it says get the positioning right)

Still a set of deep rim wheels looks pretty damn good, even cycling to the local shops. An aero helmet mightn't get as much use outside of events.

tunney

Diamondmaker wrote: »

Hi all

Im starting to dip into this forum a bit now, my season is fully underway as you poor freezing feckers plan yours

I have completed my 2nd tri this w/e with improvements and Im happy with progress on the bike especially over the 2.

My bike set up is a Felt AR3 with the standard wheels. My query is:

What gear is going to make the best improvements:

1. Tri / Aero Bars, any suggestions for these I have never used them and I have no idea on them. How much to spend carbon or not etc etc.

2. Wheels, I would be investing in wheels in time for my 2nd Olympic tri which will be at the beginning of next season ( Sept / Oct ).
Likewise they are pricey mothers any comments would be great.
I am 72kg so too deep a rim is a problem ? and full discs are a total no for my weight ??

72kg is not light
Last time I raced properly I was 68kg and rode a Zipp 404 front and Zipp 900 disc rear. Wind unlikely to be a difference

The Felt AR3 is a nice road bike but the frontal area of the body exposed to the wind on a road bike even on the drops is massively higher than on aerobars in a well fitted position.

Using standard numbers for CRR and FA

40kph on the bar tops will cost ya 421 watts
40kph on the hoods will cost ya 373 watts
40kph on the drops will cost ya 299 watts
40kph on the aerobars will cost ya 243 watts

(this assumes better than Irish roads)

I don't know if you know what the difference between 299 watts and 243 watts is but those that do can testify its alot!

Clip on bars with a good fit as #1

(note a good fit does not mean just give some people money to fit you. I know some lads who have paid alot in ireland recently and I'm still trying to fix their positions).

After than a wheel cover for the back wheel. €80 turns a standard road wheel into a disc.

After than an aero helmet.

This assumes you race in a tight fitting tri suit.

Absolute top ones are loose weight, HTFU and train consistently

MrCreosote wrote: »

Tunney is your man for the definitive answer here but from what I know the rank for aero (and time) gains are

RayCun wrote: »

If I know Tunney, his answer will be more like

Why are people being nice to me, something is up, this never happens.

Diamondmaker wrote: »

Thanks Guys

1: Lose some of that weight
Thats in hand I am at my leanest ever. Always chuck my drinks bottle away and any unwanted fluid, on the 3rd lap to the back up crew ( the wife ). I noticed some athletes have 2 bottles on a sprint and end the race with fluids in them..thats a waste !

DQ in Ireland for disposing of gear on the cource, and also maybe outside assistance.

Diamondmaker wrote: »

2. HTFU
Huh ? Whats this ?

And from your next of the woods. Harden The Fvck Up

Diamondmaker wrote: »

5: clothing and helmet
Helmet, need one of those rocket shaped ones down the line I guess for the Olympic tris where the diff will be more notable.

Why only olympics?

Diamondmaker wrote: »

6: wheels
Im surprised that wheels are rated so far down... .. .

You did say bang for buck.

If money was no object - a Tri bike with aero wheels, a power meter, an aero helmet and good fit.

shotgunmcos

... and a good track pump to pump up your lovely wheels

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

For me above all it would have to be a power meter before any fancy wheels or the like. If used and trained with properly it will give you more gains than an aero position, tt bars or fancy wheels.

For me its all the about the engine and not the machine, use the power meter properly and you will have a better engine to drive the machine:) No point having a 1.1 fiat engine under a Ferarri!!

shotgunmcos

Miller Swift History wrote: »

For me above all it would have to be a power meter before any fancy wheels or the like. If used and trained with properly it will give you more gains than an aero position, tt bars or fancy wheels.

For me its all the about the engine and not the machine, use the power meter properly and you will have a better engine to drive the machine:) No point having a 1.1 fiat engine under a Ferarri!!

I disagree JB based on value. Powermeters are expensive and finicky and ultimately unnecessary for your rookie year.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned a HRM yet.

Diamondmaker

tunney wrote: »

72kg is not light
Last time I raced properly I was 68kg and rode a Zipp 404 front and Zipp 900 disc rear. Wind unlikely to be a difference.

Using standard numbers for CRR and FA

40kph on the bar tops will cost ya 421 watts
40kph on the hoods will cost ya 373 watts
40kph on the drops will cost ya 299 watts
40kph on the aerobars will cost ya 243 watts

DQ in Ireland for disposing of gear on the cource, and also maybe outside assistance.

And from your next of the woods. Harden The Fvck Up

Why only olympics?

You did say bang for buck.

If money was no object - a Tri bike with aero wheels, a power meter, an aero helmet and good fit.

I was told that I may be light by an Olympian...she was not lecturing me or trying to tell me what to do she was saying she races 404 and 808 but lighter people may struggle esp with cross winds. She was a BIG girl super sprinter !
Would be afraid to spend a load of cash and find her right.

Wow those watt figs are good to know, Im straight off to get the tri bars, I say Olympic.. as the Sprints dont have the same amount of time when you would be down in full aero position, so I just meant I cant afford to spend $$ on Aero now but my Olympic is in April and it would be a lot of economy of my energy over the longer distance based on the figs above.

DQ, it quite possibly is illegal here too but I see bottles on the side of the road, I am gonna check cheers for this info !

I can see the small gains in wheels relative to spending the $$ compared the bars and their price is a no brainer.

Diamondmaker

Miller Swift History wrote: »

For me its all the about the engine and not the machine, use the power meter properly and you will have a better engine to drive the machine:) No point having a 1.1 fiat engine under a Ferarri!!

Agreed the gear is by no means an excuse not to train harder....just dont want to be giving my competitors an edge I dont have in simple gear items.

Im targetting 2 guys who are in their 3rd tri season at least, I just completed my 2nd race. I beat one of them on Sun and made 3 mins on the other guy from my 1st hit out.

They both dominated me on the bikes however...I need some techincal and gear work too that they already have / know..

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

shotgunmcos wrote: »

I disagree JB based on value. Powermeters are expensive and finicky and ultimately unnecessary for your rookie year.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned a HRM yet.

You can pick up PT's for about 600, about the same price for an entry level race wheel. I know where i would be investing my hard earned:) Different strokes for different folks but for me personally it would be the PM**

EDIT: *As long as its used correctly

kennyb3

A top quality set of tyres in terms of roll resistance for €80 FTW

They are the bikes one point of contact with the ground and the difference between bog standard and something like schwalbe ultremo zx's in terms of watts is surprisingly high

mloc123

Miller Swift History wrote: »

You can pick up PT's for about 600, about the same price for an entry level race wheel.

You can pick up a new Powertap with headunit for €400... but people always complain power meters are too expensive. Its an easy excuse.

couerdelion

mloc123 wrote: »

You can pick up a new Powertap with headunit for €400... but people always complain power meters are too expensive. Its an easy excuse.

Do you have a link for anything around that price?
I did a google but cheapest powertap I could find was €799 from Germany or €495 from the USA but then I'd have to ship it in (although I'm over there a fair bit so could pick up...)

Izoard

Miller Swift History wrote: »

For me above all it would have to be a power meter before any fancy wheels or the like. If used and trained with properly it will give you more gains than an aero position, tt bars or fancy wheels.

For me its all the about the engine and not the machine, use the power meter properly and you will have a better engine to drive the machine:) No point having a 1.1 fiat engine under a Ferarri!!

Fancy ditching your Cervelo with the tricked out Zipps?

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Izoard wrote: »

Fancy ditching your Cervelo with the tricked out Zipps?

Well i did buy the power meter first;)

@ MLOC serious value if you could be setup for that price, did not think they were as low as that.