SBR Utopia - OPEN (Page 79)

True, but then there is the return on investment.  For me I don't care enough about my speed to spend money making myself faster by that amount.  I do try and do the free things though.  I bet I would care more if I was up towards the front half of the pack though.    For me right now though it comes down to what do I need to ensure I enjoy myself out there on the bike.  I don't go much beyond that

I've noticed with an increase in running mileage my achilles is always a bit tender. I do a lot of toe flex stretching all day long and foam roll it two or three times a week. 

Neil, did it hurt while you were running or did it flare up afterwards? If only afterwards it could just be a little bit tendinosis. If that is it, then a little self massage can help: pinch it low toward the heel and slowly slide your hand up your leg toward your calf. While continuing to pinch it. While you are doing that, slowly flex your foot up and down from the ankle. Repeat and do circles with your foot (from the ankle) both clockwise and counter clockwise. Do that for a bit several times a day. If it is not tendinosis then this could do more harm than good though. Don't take any NSAIDS - there are lots of good studies that show they can actually impede tendon repair/recovery.

As a point of reference, those Vittoria Rubino Pro slicks were what was on my wife's bike before I made the change that I referenced earlier.  So, she went from those with butyl tubes to the Open Corsa CX with latex and she could easily tell the difference in both comfort and speed.

They have become my trainer tires.  I haven't managed to chew through one of them yet.

kinda the same here. I don't ride the trainer nearly as much as many of you, but I have taken to just leaving my trainer skewer on my bike and never changing my rear wheel to my trainer wheel. The pro slick does seem to make for a good trainer tire! FWIW my actual trainer wheel is mounted with a gatorskin. I HATED riding those things on the road... I figured that the occasional flat tire change was far better training than the hours upon hours of suckage those things caused.

I have used the EVOs two seasons in a row and their performance was good. But I always felt they wear out quickly. I use them for race only (and a few race rehearsals) and I change them every year.

This year I ordered a pair of 4000s. From the debates going on in ST land, there are three factors to choosing a tire : Rolling resistance, Aero, and Puncture resistance.

The EVO does well on Rolling resistance, poor on puncture resistance. The 4000 does better on aero and puncture resistance but not as well on RR.

Zipp seems to recommend the 4000s over their own tire which is basically an EVO. That and the fact that a guy like Rapp ,who obviously could use either, but  chose the 4000s was the main reason I decided to try the 4000s.

There are a few threads on this as well as the article Mark posted above.

I decided to give up a fraction on rolling resistance for piece of mind on puncture resistance and durability.

Started to feel it at the beginning of the run, and it never really went away.  When I got home and took off the shoes it immediately felt better.  This morning I didn't feel it when walking around barefoot, but do now that I'm in shoes + it's tender to touch in that one spot.

might be a silly question, but for me I average about 20 mph here in Naples on pretty flat roads.  My tires on my Cannondale Slice are stock tires the guy at the bike store said for my bike I don't need to make the jump or spend the money for race tires. 

My question is will it make that big of a difference for me an average rider to pay the extra money for racing tires?  Will it jump my speed from 20 mph to 25? Or am I just spinning my wheels (pardon the pun)?

Absolutely not, the changes will be more subtle than that.

If you look at the numbers Shane posted above, a 5s/km improvement would translate as follows.

At 30 km/hr, it will take you exactly 2 mins to travel 1 km.  If you improve that by 5 seconds, your speed increases to 31.3 km/hr or a little under 1 mph.

Arend

Personally, when I go from my training tires to GP4000S tires (everything else remaining constant), I see about a 0.5-0.8 mph increase at 20 mph.  On the higher side if the roads are rough.  That's still a pretty huge difference if you ask me though.  Over a HIM, that's about 5-7 minutes.

ETA:  It's also why I'm willing to run race tires that are less puncture resistant and just "chance it".  Because even if I flat with my race tires...I know I can change a flat in less than 5-7 minutes, so I'm still faster.

I'm still here. The last week has been a mess, illness-wise. I'm still planning to race Saturday, and I would like some advice. This was in the email we received this morning from the RD:

Course Condition:

Well, it was still sloppy in sections Wednesday, and we got some rain Thursday morning, so expect a Mud-Fest for much of the course.  Friday will be sunny and 49 degrees.  On race day, the temps are supposed to be between 41 and 55 (and cloudy), so ice is not a possibility.  Prepare mentally for MUD.

I don't have much experience with mud. I can prepare mentally for it, but is there anything different I need to do clothing/shoe wise?

I'm thrilled with the temperatures. And the post-race food is vegetarian lentil soup. Yummy.

And the post-race food is vegetarian lentil soup.   Right there I would ask for my money back...

I had red lentil / brown rice stew for dinner. It was indeed yummy.

Got any trail shoes and wool socks? They seem to keep water and slop off and keep me warmer than other combos. Also, the trail shoes have slightly better traction.

Given the hacking and hocking you've been doing lately, I might not RACE-race it. Like, fun-get-the-blood-going half-azz race it.

I think Goose said that was heresy in here?? lol

But yes, it's a hilly, muddy, 10.3 mile trail run, so I don't think any of us are going to be very speedy, least of all me! The RD warned about that, too. He said to be prepared for it to take much longer than we anticipate. Makes me glad I opted for 10.3 instead of 20.6, although he said that we could decide to skip the finish line and do another loop if we're feeling up to it.

For a few seconds, I thought, "Hmmm. That could be fun."

ETA: Yes, I have knee high wool socks. No trail shoes, unfortunately.

Recipe? My family would kill me, but I love lentils.

I feel like the red really gives it some flavor ... (although I like lentils and lentil soups/stews of all kinds ... okay, who'm I kidding, I just love FOOD).

I saute chopped-up red onions and garlic in olive until the onions just start to get a bit clear (if they were yellow onions it's the point where they actually go yellow), then throw them into a rice cooker (crockpot, plain old pot on the stove works too) with a mixture that's 1/2 red lentils, 1/2 brown rice, and 3x water (normal rice/lentils would be 2:1 water:stuff). Sea salt and a dash of white pepper.

I didn't eat them this way tonight, but this stew is extra yummy if you fry up some shoestring onions and put 'em on top.

I'll put pretty much anything in the rice cooker. I kind of treat it like a crock pot, I guess!

I washed it down with orange juice to enhance the iron absorption.

My thoughts are very much inline with yours, although a little different.

My feelings are that I like to get as far as I can with what I have. I am more or less in the back of the FOP (AG not elite) with the bike (I don't have a lot of tri experience so I am going off of my most recent sprint) and that is with minimal training. I feel like if I train really hard in the next cycle and get my "engine" as strong as possible I can see where that leaves me. Even then, I have a hard time justifying throwing a lot of money at something I do recreationally and if I am doing it competitively someone else will be helping me pay for it.

Certainly puts it in perspective.   I am a gadget guy but was slow to adopt aero equipment as I never felt "fast enough."  But I don't mind spending a little money on myself 

Started with race wheels (not the lightest, but HED 3s).  last year moved to aero helmet and lighter tires.  This year considering a disc cover.

Think I'll wait on the skinsuit though

ETA - the aero helmet (on sale) and disc cover are each about $100, as are a set of tires.  HEDs were about $800 back then.  Given what we spend on race entires, nutrition, etc., these costs are all rather reasonable (except the wheels, can go nuts with that).  But you could cover up a spoked training wheel for $100 and buy a used HED front for $300 probably....

I saw someone the other day training in a skinsuit.  It was the funniest thing.  Maybe he was doing a pre-race prep though.  But the suit looked like it was from the 70's

Oh maybe that is what I will splurge on, a 70's skinsuit! 

Agreed, it definitely does put things into perspective.  I think I have a bit of the mentality that Chris apparently used to have....that I'm not "fast enough" to have fancy race wheels and an aero helmet without feeling like a poser. 

I have been working pretty hard on improving my bike leg.  Unfortunately for me, unless I ever get this knee thing figured out, I could be the fastest swimmer/biker around and walking the run will still put me way back. 

I think I will consider some different tires for races, though.  I've been using the Pro Slicks a ton on the trainer, so it would probably be in my best interest to use a fresh set when (if) I start racing again.