Is it worth it to carry a tire change kit for shorter races? (Page 2)

It's triathlon... any weight penalty is so minimal as to be negligible - especially in shorter races.

Here is a pic of everything under the seat:

Here is a pic from the side.  It's basically invisible.

This exactly!  Walking even a mile in bike shoes is painful. 

And, I betcha your flat repair stuff doesn't weight 2 lbs.  A good morning poo ought to take care of it

The penalty for carrying a flat kit: practically nothing.

The penalty for flatting miles from transition with no way to fix it: a long wait for a ride back.

Sounds like a no-brainer to me.

At nearly all of the sprints around here, the lone support vehicle on the course is the sweeper, the guy in the truck who follows the last cyclist. If you flat, you not only have to wait for the last cyclist to catch you, you then have to ride behind that last cyclist for the rest of the bike course. With a flat kit you could finish your race, or alternatively be eating the post-race food a lot sooner.

Personally, I have a small under-seat flat kit on my bike when training. No way am i going to remove it for a race to put myself in a worse situation. And not that it really matters (though some seem to think it does), but most of the time when I'm racing I am competing for AG podium.

Tricky!

No. Yes. Maybe. Depends... What do you mean by worth it? 

It's worth it if you get a flat. It's not if you don't. 

Maybe you should ask yourself, why do you race? what is your objective? 

IMHO on longer distances, the distance is the challenge and completing is a win. A flat may cost 4min, but over 10-12hs or more of an IM that's really insignificant.

On shorter races, completing is pretty much guaranteed, I race to get a good time and a 4 min. loss is on a sprint is significant. DNF or a really bad time becomes the same disappointment, the race was ruined the time of the flat.

But, if by worth it you refer to it's nice not to have to walk back in case of a flat, then yes. 

BR

Personally, I wouldn't define ANYONE by a DNF.  I've known several BT'ers and a couple local triathletes who have DNF'd races and they have my utmost respect. 

To the OP, the weight/aero "penalty" is probably very small to carry the equipment.  If you don't have it, you can't fix it and you're either walking or waiting for race support.  Either gives you a lot of opportunity to second-guess the weight savings...If you have it, you can decide whether to fix it or not.  One of our local triathletes flatted while setting up in transition before a HIM.  She scrambled, but wasn't able to fix it right away and ended up starting her race two waves "late."  When she got to T1, she went back to her car and got her training wheel, walked back, and put it on the bike for a 45-minute T1 (or something similar).  While it was one of her slowest races ever, she finished, and her success was defined more by her perseverance than her elapsed time.