Do you carry a flat tire changing kit during your Tri Race? (Page 2)

and it won't even cost you 5 seconds

I have the tools.  zero seconds.

if you put your flat kit on properly it wont cost you any time. it weighs what, 6 ounces?  if you're worrying about that you better also be only filling your water bottle with exactly the amount of water you will consume.  (hint: 6 ounces under your seat post doesn't impact your time in a triathlon)

I ran the numbers in analytic cycling.  I took the defaults for frontal area, drag, and air density...then zero'd out the slope.  I changed the wattage to 281, which is what I held for 40k a couple weekends ago, where I missed 2nd OA by 2 seconds.  I did have a tube under my saddle, and a lever and CO2 also stored out of the wind.  It was a flat course.

I found that in order to trigger a 0.01 meters per second difference in speed, I would need to increase weight by 1.5 kg.  6 ounces is roughly on tenth of that...or 0.17 kg.

0.01 m/s, under those circumstances and wattage is the difference between 26.21689 mph and 26.19452 mph.  Over the course of 40k (24.85 miles), that's a difference of 3 seconds for 1.5 kg.  So for .15 kg, I suppose we could make the assumption that the speed penalty is closer to 0.3 seconds.

IOW, I missed out by a placing by 2 seconds, carried a flat kit...but it didn't matter.  For races like sprints...that have a shorter bike course...the weight penalty will be even smaller.

I also had a 20 ounce bottle on board when I started...about 40% full.  I only took one big swig and there was likely about 4-6 ounces of water left in the bottle when I finished.  Still not enough to make up those 2 seconds had I calculated properly.

You can practice changing tubes/tires as many times as you want at home...even if you don't have a flat.  It's something every new cyclist should do before heading out on the road unless they expect other people to change their flats.  I suppose these days you could watch youtube videos on the side of the road though.

Sure hope this much thought is going into training too.

Having flatted in both a race and a training ride or 2, this has come in handy for me.  Practice and you may find it to be quite helpful and easy.

This^^.  Race kit in the Torhans VR frame mount which I've read is zero aero penalty and may in fact add a watt or two.  

I had the first flat of my race career last year and glad I had the spare kit.  It was a sprint so I was out of contention for the podium but the 2 km walk back in cycling shoes would have been a pain. 

Also, I had my race wheels and would have had to carry my frame as I would not have risked rolling the flatted tire/rim on the pavement.  

Did not read all the replies so sorry in advance if this has already been covered BUT, I quit carrying my flat stuff thinking the same thing you stated. I'm slow at changing flats, race would be over etc. Then I got a flat in a sprint right after the halfway turn around and I had no way to get back! Lucky for me the RD's son was kind enough to stop and text his Dad to send a vehicle to come pick me up. A few miles down the road there was another guy with a flat who needed a ride. So, now I carry my stuff  .

How do you feel about not finishing a race?  The DNF lasts as long as the race results, and even longer in your head.  

What would I gain by not carrying the kit?  I'd shave a few ounces (less than the difference caused by my diet) and theoretically cleaner aerodynamics (again...my physique could be far more optimized).  

What do I lose by not carrying the kit?  Flat=DNF and possibly a long walk back.  

I'm a MOP triathlete.  Even if it takes me 5 minutes to change out the tube in a sprint, I still return to a comfortable house, stable job, and people who love me.  

I would add that when you practice at home, use the exact tools you'll carry in your bag... If you use CO2 in a crack pipe, practice with that.  It may sound wasteful however they're relatively cheap and they can be tricky.   Depending on how much PSI you run you may run through your CO2 before you're set...If you run into problems with the tube you may have to let air out and start over which all takes CO2... 

As for not carrying a flat kit in a race, as many have said, it comes down to how far you want to walk... If you've ever done it in training or had to wait for your support vehicle to come get you, that's no fun either.

And DNF looks way worse to me than slower splits within the AG... 

why does a DNF look bad?

might be the sign of a smarter racer......

No kidding. I've DNF'd a few times precisely because it was the smart thing to do.

Oh, ok. Now see what you meant.

Originally posted by dfroelich

Originally posted by brigby1

Sure hope this much thought is going into training too.

Hahaha...maybe, maybe not! The difference is that this little problem actually has a clear cut, analytically derived answer. Whether I ride 30 hilly miles tomorrow with lots of starts and stops or pop on the trainer for some IWBMATTKYT, I don't even know how to gauge which will give the better training effect. There's no good wolfram/alpha calculator for that, unfortunately.

Well, you can get a decent estimate on the savings, but much of the discussion is more about the value of this savings. It's not monetary in this case, but what is reasonable in being able to take care of getting oneself safely around the course. Anyway, I did find the earlier emphasis on "everything I can" a bit humorous, as in a bit over the top. Especially when so many amateurs could stand to look at their training some more even though it's rather tough (at best) to quantify it to the same degree. I gain more confidence from this than anything else. Plus in being more confident that I can get myself around safely (eg, carrying a flat kit), I'll have more focus on the execution by not having other thoughts wander into my mind. It's easier for me to go harder with that peace of mind. One of the ways people find motivation differently I guess.