Meulen's 'Let's tri this Thing!' beginner mentor group-CLOSED (Page 21)

Michael

The test was in the ow tips on the previous page. It's really pretty simple. Just go to the pool, kick off the wall and close your eyes. Count how many strokes it takes to run into the lane line. That count minus 1 is how many strokes you should take before you sight in the OW.

Edited by Meulen 2011-02-18 9:43 PM

I did the international.  Before I did the race, I kept hearing stories about how horrible and difficult the bike part was.  DON'T WORRY!  It is actually not that bad.  It is definitely up hill on the way out of town.  But, I didn't find it to be a kick your but kind of hill.  It is very gradual.  Is is however, very steady.  I don't really think there was a single place to actually rest on the way out.  So be prepared to work the entire 6 miles out, but I never reached a point where I thought I wasn't going to make it.  There are also no places where you will look ahead and think I will never make it up that hill!  Like I said, gradual but constant.  And, you have the ride back into town to look forward to which is, of course, all downhill!!  And if you do the international distance, you repeat it again!  It was a fun race!  Please, if you have any other questions, just ask!  Are you doing the race this year?

What does everyone have on tap for the weekend?  I hope to get in a trainer ride in the morning, then I will be gone all day.  I have a baby shower around lunch time, and I am going from there to a fund raising banquet for a friend of ours who drives a race car.  The banquet is to help support his race team.  So, basically I will hopefully get in a little bit of training, and then spend the rest of the day totally blowing my diet!!  Sunday I hope to fit in a run after a lunch for my husband's grandpap who is celebrating his 94th birthday!  It will be a busy weekend, but hopefully fun!

Happy Training,
Karen

Thanks Karen.  I am doing the International distance this summer.  I actually drove the route last night on my way home from training, and it seemed worse than I remember.  I will really have to focus on riding hills this spring, but I wish that I could actually ride the course just to ease my mind about it. 

As for training, this is going to be a tough weekend for me because of work.  I did a good swim yesterday and I will probably just put a couple hours in on the trainer over the next two days.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a decent pair of biking shorts?  If not a specific pair, what should I be looking for in the shorts?  I have a gift card to Dick's and would like to pick up a pair this weekend. 

Plans for this weekend: I just came back from computrainer class. I may or may not go for a swim today. Planning on going to see my parents for a while tonight. Maybe go out to dinner. Tomorrow morning I have masters class. After that Anne and I will hit up our regular Sunday morning breakfast place. Then, at some point during the day, I need to get a 15 mile run in for my marathon plan. Anne will probably run some of that with me.

I'm not sure what brands they sell at Dick's. I really like DeSoto 400 mile bibs. I like their tri bibs too. Pearl Izumi has their quest bibs that are "decent". I've found those on sale for as low as $65. Louis Garneau Alevo gel bibs are pretty good too. Anytime I ride any kind of distance I wear bibs. I just find them much more comfortable. They seem to stay in place much better than shorts. DeSoto has all sorts of stuff I like. All their stuff seems to be a pretty good fit for me. It'd be kind of hard to tell you what to look for though. Everyone is different with shorts. You'll have to see what's comfortable for you. For tri-shorts I only have one pair of shorts. They are Louis Garneau but I can't remember the model. They are pretty comfortable for sprint distance stuff. I usually wear a 1 piece DeSoto trisuit with a 400 mile chamois for longer courses and I have the DeSoto bibs and a DeSoto tank that I'll be trying out this year. I have a Pearl Izumi P.R.O I wore 2x and haven't used again. It's a good trisuit, but the legs are too big for me. I had it in the for sale section but nobody bought it. Do you know what size you need Michael, mine is a medium.

Thanks.  I will have to look into the bibs.  I hadn't thought about that option before.  Is there a type of padding that is preferable?  I have seen gel, foam, and I forget what else. 

Oh, and I think I take a large, so I wouldn't fit into the one's your selling.

There are a few different types of pads. There is little difference between gel or foam pads. With those it's all about what design and placement in the garment is right for you. Unfortuately for me it turns out my bottom likes the expensive ones! some people do fine with almost anything. There is a difference in some tri shorts. Some have a fleece pad that is barely anything. I do fine with these on my tt bike but I wouldn't be wearing them if I'm spending significant time out of the aero bars. I've used those fleece pads on short courses and some longer rides on the tt bike. For the road bike I prefer the foam or gel pads. I don't know about other brands pads for longer course. I know some use a leather pad that's supposed to be good. DeSoto has a bouyant 400 mile foam pad in their cycling shorts/bibs and some of their 1 pieces. Once I got got my DeSoto garments I never looked back. Everything I've purchased for this year was from DeSoto except for my team kits which I didn't have a choice for

Ok - time to ask for some help from the group!

I finally found a bike store where the people weren't ridiculously snobby and we talked at length about a new entry level road bike around the 1k price range.  They don't deal Giant, Trek, Specialized, or Cannondale, but they showed me the following:

Fugi Roubaix 2.0 ($1k)
Bianchi Via Nirone 7 w/Tiagra Component Mix (1.1k)
Masi Alare ($900)

Brian...and others...any thoughts on these?  The Fugi Roubaix was recommended by the guy for what I am looking to do right now (basic level riding, perhaps join a group, and finishing MoP in some sprint/olympic tri's).  They would give a basic level fit with the bike.  I'm going to take these for a test ride later in the week, but I just wanted to get some opinions before.

Jon 

Jon

Awesome!! Another new bike around here!

All of those frames are similar quality and will be just fine for you. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Michael when he was looking at new bikes. Try to get a bike that has shimano 105 components, SRAM or campy equivilient, or better. If you are going to be putting serious miles on this bike that's the level componentry you want to be at. The lower end components tend to break down and get knocked out of adjustment when you put big miles on them. You don't want to be stuck working on the bike more than you ride it. I'll take a look at those specific bikes when I get near a pc. This is going to be fun!! Congrats!

Hey Jon

Check this out on performancebike.com. It's a fuji acr roubaux. It's got carbon seat stays and fork and 105 components. Price is 1199. Performance has 150 off of that for presidents day and if you sign up for performance club you get 10% store credit for any gear you might want!

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1076500_-1...

Edited by Meulen 2011-02-20 12:53 PM

Great!  That looks awesome and I will definitely sleep on it and maybe go through with it tomorrow.
 
Now, would it be better to get this bike online or get the other one and get the bike fit?  If I buy online, then do I just take it to the store and pay for a fit or how does that work?

I really don't know the difference in components you mentioned, but I'll do more research tonight so I know what I'm getting myself into.  Most reviews I read say Fugi is excellent quality for the money, but are there any other models around the price that I should be looking at?

Thanks for the help - it is much appreciated.
 

Jon

If you're comfortable with your shop it's worth a shot to see if they can match the performance deal. Otherwise, I would see if there is a performance bike near you. They will match online deals for sure. You can take the measurements from your shop over there and they can build you a bike. If that's not possible I would give performance bikes customer device a call. You can order your bike by phone too. You can talk to them about building a bike to your specs. It's best to have it built to spec. If you buy it first and then take it to the shop to fit it they charge you for the fit and any patsy they have to swap to make it fit. If they build it to spec they will just build it with the parts you need to fit and you won't be charged 2x for any parts like bars, neck. And seatposts. Make sense?

Fuji is a great value. I have one too. I've got more than4000 miles on mine now and counting. Most bikes are pretty good though. Trek is usually a good value, Gary fish er and I've found kuota and orbea to have some good values too. Just keep. Looking around. Most bikes brands have a good value somewhere in their lineup. Sometimes though you can't beat what performance bike sells those fujis for when you find a good sale

Thanks for the help so far...I just spent a bunch of time doing research and it seems that this Fugi might be the way to go...

I am going to call tomorrow and talk to a rep.  If I wanted to get clipless pedals and aerobar with it, do you have any suggestions?  $1,400 is my limit on how much I can spend on everything, including a basic fit. 

For what it's worth, I just bought a Fuji Roubaix about a month ago from Performance.  I have only ridden it on a trainer in my family room, but it's been great so far.  I found it to be the best value for the money.  It had the Shimano 105's and some carbon parts.  I was happy with the people at the shop and it seems to be where I will now be doing my business.  Good luck!

The only complaint I have about my fuji is that the wheels wore out after a couple years. But I have no idea how many miles were on them before I got them or if they were taken care of at all. I bought the bike used. So I'm sure it's got a ton of miles on it.

Performance has the 105 matching pedals for $80 on sale. If you feel like going cheaper I know the shimano 540 SPD-SL is a solid pedal to. Just a little more weight to it. Profile design has clip on aero bars that are fairly inexpensive. Before you buy them get on your bike and pretend to go aero. Notice where your hands naturally fall. If they fall where your thumbs are pointed up and your making a fist you may be more comfortable with a ski bend. If your forearms turn up and your hands are more palm up you'll probably want a straight aero bar. Just look at the bars You should be able to imagine which ones will be easier on your wrists. I think those run $80 tops. If you buy from performance your looking at. $1050 for the bike so $1130 with tax. Then you'll get a 100.30 store credit and pay I think $20 to be a performance member. That buys you pedals for free. Add $80 for aero bars you should be around $1,210. That leaves lots of room in your budget to maybe get some shoes a helmet maybe some shorts.

Edited by Meulen 2011-02-20 6:54 PM

Definitely become a member.  I still have $75 in store credit that I am going to use to buy some aero bars once I get use to the bike.  I had also picked up a service plan for about $30 that gives me two years worth of services.  I bought that because, although I will work on my own bike, it will be nice to get some professional tune ups and drive train cleanings.

Brian, just to make sure I am understanding about aero bars.  What are the different shapes of bars?  I know some are straight bars.  What do the others look like?  Also, what type of hydration system do you use?  Bottles on the frame, on the seat post, or one of those really cool reservoirs with the straws that come up by the bars?


Edited by mcommend 2011-02-20 8:43 PM

Jon

I would try and stick with either j bend, s bend, or straight. There are some other bars out there but they don't seem to have much aero properties. Check out this article right here on bt. It pretty much explains everything you need to know about aero bars.
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=...

Bare in mind your never going to get that perfect position like you will with a tt bike but it will help a lot, and having a road bike comes in soooooooo handy. It's definitely worth having a road bike before a dedicated tt if you're going to be doing group rides and other types of cycling.

Brian, just to make sure I am understanding about aero bars.  What are the different shapes of bars?  I know some are straight bars.  What do the others look like?  Also, what type of hydration system do you use?  Bottles on the frame, on the seat post, or one of those really cool reservoirs with the straws that come up by the bars?

I've never seen the bottles that have the straws coming up by the bars. How funny!!

oops- the top didn't come out as a quote, but that was from michael.

Edited by libramom 2011-02-21 8:25 AM

There are "S" bend bars that are almost straight but have an "S" in the middle to elevate them some and they come out of the S straight so the part where you hold on to is straight. There is a "J" bend, which I call "Ski bend" which come out straight and curve up at the end Like a ski tip. Then there are straight bars which just come out straight.

For hydration, on my road bike I just have two water bottle cages. However, when I was first starting out and struggling to keep up a lot on group rides I used a camelback. I tended to get in way over my head and needed a lot more water than just two water bottles. Right now I'm fine with using two water bottles for most of my rides. On the road bike I usually only do about 2 hours at a time, with the exception of metric century or century rides where they usually have stations along the way to supplement my two water bottles. On my tt bike I have a few options. My Cervelo has an integrated bottle in the frame, and I have a carbon wing with 2 cages hanging off the back of the seat. I also have a podium quest 2 chamber bottle with the straw that mounts between the aero bars. So I have quite a few options on that bike to go several hours before needing to stop and refill bottles. On the mountain bike I don't have anything. I typically use my 140oz camel back. That gets me through several hours in the trails and leaves enough left over incase we get lost or something happens that were out there in the middle of the woods for longer than expected. It also has compartments that I carry some tools, a spare tube, tube repair kit, cliff's bars, gels, and my car keys.

How was everyone's weekend? I off work today for President's Day. I was hoping to get up this morning and head out for a run, but it's cold and rainy here again! The weekend kind of kicked my butt anyway. I'm not sure I'll be able to get a workout in till later in the day after I've loosened up a bit.

Pretty good weekend for training even though we had 6 houseguests.  Managed  to get all of my workouts in that I wanted as well as spend some quality time with the family.  Big week coming up for me, not looking forward to a 1 hr and 50 minute trainer ride on Wednesday but looks like I will be stuck on the trainer until the middle of March because of the weather.  Hope everyone else had a great weekend!

I had a great training weekend, besides completely wiping out on my bike and cutting up my knee pretty bad. I just got my clip-in pedals put on and it was my first time out with them. I LOVE the way I feel while riding, it's just the stopping thats the problem . It felt so amazing to be out on the bike though instead of spinning class----such a different, harder, and more fun workout! I'm also off work today and see a nice nap, foam rolling, and some Triathlete and Runners World magazine reading in my near future---I'm due for a rest day!

Oh! And also I officially registed for the Philadelphia Olympic Triathlon on June 25. This makes it real, and I'm sort of freaking out---both in a good, and bad way!

Edited by sbux87 2011-02-21 10:03 AM

Sarah, hope your knee feels better! I found clip pedals tough while stopping a couple of times too! I rode with them for the first time last year and found stop signs weren't my friend. (of course the first time I fell was in a group ride!) I was sooooooo embarassed. Thankfully no one got hurt, just my feelings and my bike seat. I found the clips take some getting used to. Also congrats on signing up for that Olympic tri!!!

You only told them half the story!! LOL

Sarah, congrats on signing up! You're soooo ready!! and by June you're going to build a lot of speed too!

Karen, I almost missed the race car thing!! How'd that dinner go? what's your friend racing? Racing is in my blood! I may get "just a little" excited!!!!!

Is there another half to the story that we should know about??

The racing banquet was fun.  Sometimes at those type of things I feel like I am in another Redneck world, that is nothing like the real world that I live in!!  He drives a late model, and was the track champ last year.  And, along the redneck lines, his wife was there too.  Oh, she is also his Aunt.  By marriage.  So it is not illegal!!  Among the other highlights were a Chuck-a-Luck Wheel, meat raffles, and moonshine!  Can you top that?  My husband and I own a crate late model that another friend drives.  While we go to the late model races every week during the season, we are more sprint car and midget fans.  I have been to some far away places and some dive tracks for races.  Places that I never thought I would go to for any reason, let alone racing!!  We are also NASCAR fans, and used to go to a couple of races a year.  Now we usually only go to Charlotte for the All Star Race.  I love to talk racing, so anytime you want to bore everyone else, I will be up for a good conversation!!   Oh, and the best part of the banquet?  I won the 50-50!

I am a little exited because this week starts my "official" training for my first HM.  It is 12 weeks away.  I guess I am a little nervous too, since it is a new distance for me.

Hope everyone has a good week.