T1 Question - clipless pedals

A)  This works.  this is what most people do who cant do the rubberband thing

b) NOT RECOMMENDED.  You are taking too much time on themount line and are blocking other people.  May not be against the rules, just not very considerate.

c)  clipless vs toe caps is not even an arguement, keep the clipless

d) you wont get it down in 3 days and as is quoted quite a bit on this site "NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY"

e) we all need to

f) I use a Mountain bike shoe (Lakes), lower end so the sole is stiffer like a cycling shoe and not that much heavier.  I can run and not have to worry about damaging the cleat or the awkwardness of them.   When I dismount, Ive been working on keeping my shoes clipped in and running to T2 barefoot, so its kind of a hybrid system.  shoes on at first, and barefoot coming out.  When I get better at the rubber band trick, then Ill leave my shoes clipped in all the time, but for now, this is what works for me.  And once do I get better, Ill probably get cycling shoes and keep the MTB shoes with the MTB.

so unless you want to go out and buy some MTB shoes, I would answer A & E (not the cable network) 

Good idea, thanks.  Getting out of the shoes on the bike is definitely easier than getting into them for me too.

Thanks a lot to the other replies also.

A.

 What type of shoes are you wearing? I have a pair of Sidis with SPD-style cleats, and although I won't be sporting them in any marathons, I have no problem getting from where my bike is racked to the mount line, bike in tow, at a moderate shuffle. Especially if it's grassy.

 Also, from the perspective of a Way of the Rubber Band non-practitioner, I would offer this up: in my last race I passed two guys at the beginning of the bike who were struggling to get their bare feet into their shoes while in motion. I'm not an especially fast cyclist. This led me to the conclusion that, while there is definitely merit to the rubber band technique, you need to have it down cold going into the race. Otherwise, don't bother.

D. How long does it take to master this? Geez, I did it for the first time the day before a race, practiced for about 20 minutes, and had it mastered. Just work on it by itself and it shouldn't take very long to get it down. My T1 time the very first time I used this was 39 seconds, T2 in that race was 30 seconds.

Now my bike shoes always stay clipped in unless I have to clip out during a ride. My shoes are clipped in on every ride and I leave them on the bike when I return. I don't even use the rubber bands anymore because I can easily get into my shoes. Making this technique a part of every ride is the way to master it and keep it mastered.

The thing about it that makes it so hard is that a lot of people just don't have the handling and balance.  They can practice all they want, but if they can't handle the bike well enough, or can't find very good balance, then the effort is all for nothing.  The easiest way to go through transitions this way, to grab a behind the seat bottle while still in aero, or to do anything on the bike is to ride it until you and the bike feel like one entity.

I have DMT road shoes with a traditional tongue, 2 velco strap downs, and a racheted main strap. There is no way I can get my feet in those things if the are already on the bike. I just run in them and do a flying mount. Next year I'm going to get some tri specific shoes.

Just Go For It!!  I decided to do a flying mount the night before a race...couldn't remember how to do the rubberband thing/didn't have any rubberbands...practiced for 10 mins...it went well except it took a few trys to get my second foot in.

Good Luck and Have Fun!!!