Bike In Transition Area The Night Before The Race

Yes and I doubt it, but with good security loss shouldn't be much of a concern.  I have done one race that required this (Hy-Vee) and the volunteers/staff were VERY good about checking IDs against bikes.  I also noticed a LOT of lighting around the transition area, so in addition to security personnel there wasn't going to be cover of darkness for any shady activity either.

Noosa you have to do the same. But with 8500 competitiors i think it makes sense to avoid the rush in the morning. Again it is lit up and there is security. 

Also if you drop it off in the afternoon and its hot remember to deflate your tires! 

I've had to do this at a bunch of races.  It seems that the bigger the race, the more likely it is that you will need to rack it the day before.

I never worry about security b/c I figure that there are other bikes far prettier and tempting than mine to take.  Plus, I'm usually situated in the middle of rack in the middle of transition.

At Rev3 Quassy, there was a crew set up and taking pics of each bike as it came into transition.  Part of the reason was insurance, in case something happened, and bike stats to provide to companies.

One of the things that always seems to confuse me is when people wrap plastic bags around their seat.  Wrapping a bag around the handlebars to protect the bike computer, I can understand.  Do they forget that their butt is going to be wet when they come out of the swim?  

This weekend this will be my first time going through this.  Hope it goes smoothly

This is a friend-of-a-friend kind of tale, but this guy had to rack the day before and was worried about security.  So he locks his bike, only to realize in T1 that he doesn't even have the key.  Way to end a race.

I've done this at a few races.  I don't like it as much but I don't worry about my bike.  I did sort of wrap a bag around my bike and the rack to deter people from moving it on the rack (I was on the end).  I don't leave anything on my bike, like my bento or seat packs.

There is debate over over- or under-inflating tires.  I go the safest route and underinflate, but that means you have to have/borrow a pump in the morning.

I don't understand why I don't get flat tires every day here in Tucson then

This is yet another reason I can justify not upgrading my bike.  So many other great bikes to choose from than mine if a thief wonders into transition...

That's because temperature has little to do with it.  According to the ideal gas law P1/T1 = P2/T2

So if you pump them up to 100psi at 70F when the temp rises to 100F the pressure will be 105psi.  Almost no difference. 

Here in FL we get some BIG temps swings in spring and fall.  Never had an issue.

Physics for the win!

At my race yesterday, there were several people who were a little annoyed that the volunteers wouldn't let them out of transition because they didn't have a number on their bike.  They just made them go to their car to get the number although that doesn't prove that it was actually their bike.   It was a pretty small race so I don't think you could have gotten away with it.  I kept thinking that they should be happy that the volunteers weren't letting someone else walk out with their bike.

They didn't do a good job of checking for bike numbers when going into transition, which they normally do (along with helmets and bar end plugs etc).  I guess that's why I hadn't seen much of a problem before.

Just for other people reading this... make sure it's okay to "wrap" your bike the night before the race. Many bigger races I've done say in the athlete guide this is not allowed, and security will go around at night and take off bike covers and any bags covering anything but bike computers or seats (still don't get the seat cover thing either). Just be sure to check before you do that so you aren't surprised come race morning.

And as for the "debate" over tire pressure... not really a debate in my mind either as I've witnessed first-hand tubes popping on race morning as the temperature rises. I've also had a tube of my own pop when I left a tire in a hot car on accident. Not sure why it happens in some areas of the country and not others, but it definitely happens in my neck of the woods. Better safe than sorry, IMO.

Most races would have rent-a-cops (or some other human presence) over night near the bike racks, but who knows if every race is covered, plus you have to consider, people are there until 10-11pm at night and then probably by 3am the race of...so there really isn't much time for a burglar to come and try to steal it. 

If the race requires bikes to be set up the night before, chances are good that the race is big enough that they will have people there all night like its daytime anyways.

While your bike is not insured by the race, you have to look at it in terms like this:   If you have a nice tri bike and are at a big race, chances are good there are quite a few expensive bikes down there, so its kind of like leaving your unlocked mercedes in a mercedes dealer lot vs. a used car lot. 

Also, bikes are somewhat illiquid when it comes to resale, often involving going through an online site (craig's list, ebay, this site, etc).  It's not a product that can easily be sold at the street corner by your friend or knows a friend who knows a friend that will buy it. 

That is great that you don't have the tube/heat issues like others do.

But it doesn't mean the rest of us are imagining things like some seem to be implying. It has happened to me personally.

There is no "debate" in physics.  If the tires pop due to a 5psi increase in pressure over a 30 degree change then they were inflated far too close to the maximum pressure to begin with.

No one doubts that people have had tires pop.  However it is very unlikely to have anything to do with temperature increase.

Correlation <> causation

Obviously I'm no physicist, but I don't ever inflate my tires to the max. Which is why I was so surprised it happened to me.
I will just continue to be confused I suppose - and try not to leave my tires in the car this summer.

EDIT: I re-read your posts and am honestly wondering why tires pop then, if it has absolutely nothing to do with heat? Why is it that you can inflate to a certain PSI the night before, and they magically pop on race morning? What is the cause? I would like to know so we can all prevent this.

Probably a weak tire to begin with.  Perhaps a pinch or a slight leak that finally gave out.

Let's say we have a "perfect" tire inflated to 100psi at 32F.  Now let's raise that to 100F.  That would cause the tire to reach 113psi.  And very few of us (if any) see that kind of temperature swing.

Most race ties are good to 130-150psi.  So there is no way for a tire with no defects to POP from temperature alone.  Could temp be a factor?  Sure.  But the main cause, nope.

If your tube has a defect that causes 5-7 psi to make it pop then it was probably going to pop sooner than later anyway.  Hitting a pothole or big bump causes a spike in pressure that would FAR exceed anything you'd see caused by temperature.

As for race morning pops, when I yank the pump off my tire it sounds a lot like a "pop" followed by a "hiss".  Perhaps people are mistaking that sound for tubes "popping"?