Tri in the rain -- quick advise needed

Hey Dominic - Sorry, not much experience, but all I can say is go slow on the corners......

Good luck, I want to do this one next year. Looking forward to the report

Chris

Here is how road bike tread has been explained to me.  Having no tread on the tire and the very little portion of the tire that is contact with road actually works like a squeegee (sp?) moving the water out of the way better than a tire with tread.  I ride no tread tires and have only wrecked when it has been wet but there have always been contributing factors such leaves or sand/gravel on curves.  I would definately not be trying set any speed records and take extreme caution on turns.

Just remember: water rolls off a duck's back!

This user's post has been ignored.

Well, I am new to Triathlon, but I am a biker from Seattle, so this is my moment to share a little knowege I guess...

When it rains i run my tires a little soft. Normally I run 120 PSI normaly, in the rain I run around 90(you will need more or less depending on how big you are). You dont want them flat, but you want a bigger contact patch on the road. it will increase rolling resistance a bit but the diffrence will be more than made up if you avoid a crash. The tire should still be hard just not rock solid like most of us run them. Hope this helps!

Hey Dominic. I completed my first sprint tri in the rain about a month ago, and I had never rode in the rain or on very wet surfaces before. All I can say is to take it SLOW on the turns, and be very carefull of any (white) lane lines or crosswalks on the road as those will be very slick. I was able to carry my avg. speed (21 mph) over much of the course though. I just had to slow on the turns. Also, I didn't wear sunglasses b/c they kept getting wet. Normally, I like them even in cloudy weather for eye protection, but they don't do any good if you can't see.

Have fun and let us know how it goes,

David

A long time cyclists turned tri geek here. My advice stick with road bike, like someone earlier posted slick tires actually act as a sqeegie sort of by moving the water out of the way. I would maybe lower pressure just slightly. Things to be careful of 1. Any painted lines, they will put you down Now! 2. Turns, take them a little slower and a little more "upright" than normal or in other words, don't lean as much thru the turns. 3. This is really a chance to take advantage, most people really freak out in rain races, if you take precautions but still "attack" the course you can really take time out of most of your competitors. Good luck, and one more thing, you and your bike will be really, really dirty afterwards, make sure to give the bike a good cleaning and lube after.

This user's post has been ignored.

Cool,,, Yup. Sat. was a beautiful day here on the mainland. looking forward to the report.

Quick advise:
Careful on the traffic lines - they're extra slippy when wet
Wet leaves - avoid them
Extra slow on the turns


After edit: doh! Just read down the thread further....enjoy your better weather

Edited by jkbostic 2004-11-08 4:36 PM

rain advice is kinda moot now...but I thought I would add one more thing for the benefit of perhaps future rides/races we'll be doing in the rain.

1. use a wide tire, if you race with 700x19, use 700x23 (as long as they fit your bike)

2. when racing be sure to periodically "clean" your brakes by depressing them slightly for a few revolutions to clean off the crud/grim that builds up on the brake rims. if you try to use your breaks w/o doing this you won't have any for the first second or so!

3. also, start braking earlier than you normally would (just like in a car w/o ABS) because you'll need the extra room to slow down in the rain.