Triathlon Gear Reviews

I received a demo unit in the mail just prior to the product launch and the time was perfect. I was getting really sick of being mocked by the overpriced armband I'd been using for my Nano that promised to allow me to control the unit without taking it out of the armband. Ha.

Enter the iControl. It consists of the watch and a small unit that plugs into the bottom of the iPod. They communicate by RF. No additional wires, which is always a plus. It's compatible with dockable iPods.

How easy is it to use? Somewhat. Plug the small RF unit into the iPod, put on the watch and go. There are buttons on the watch for Next Song, Prev Song, Play/Pause, Volume Up and Volume Down. There's no Fast Forwarding, scrolling or playlist switching via the watch.

I found the buttons to be responsive but not overly so. It's great not having to take the player out of the armband to switch songs or change the volume.

The watch is so convenient and intuitive that when listening to my iPod at times when I'm not training, I've come to use the watch control as the default.

It has the same training functions as most Timex Ironman sports watches:

* 50-lap memory recall chronograph
* Current workout with date, best lap and average lap
* Multi-mode countdown timer
* 2 interval timers for speed and endurance training
* 3 customizable alarms for daily, weekday and weekend settings
* INDIGLO(r) night-light
* 100m water resistance

If you're going to use the watch as a training tool, be ready to study the manual a bit. Most buttons serve 2 or more functions so you should know how to use it before heading out the door. Still, it's nothing too complex.

It doesn't have HRM compatibility which I'd like to see in a future version. Full integration with the Bodylink system wouldn't be a bad idea either.

On long runs I like to listen to music and I usually go by RPE. I also hate having to deal with taking the iPod out of the armband. The iControl is a perfect tool for those workouts.

I badly need a road bike

Love the bike, have about 200 miles on it so far and it has improved my cycling pace and not surprisingly made the run efforts easier as well.

Great shoe, very comfy.

I plan to buy this same helmet again...at least two more since I have a habit of crashing!

Great entry level bike fast enough for me, only thing slowing me down is my legs!!

If you do buy this watch, contact Timex and buy the 5-year warranty for $5. You will need it.

If they can improve the build quality of this product, it would be one of the best training tools out there. As it is, it's not worth the frustration.

An update: Timex has quoted me $135 to fix my watch after it stopped being waterproof.

My first road bike. Utterly pleased with it and done me proud service for several thousand miles.

Neck pains need investigation, but apart from that, been excellent fit.

Women's specific design

These 4 Season tires have 'Duraskin', a polyamide layer to supposedly resist punctures and abrasion. I would rather sacrifice some tire weight for a more durable, flat resistance tire-cause I am slow anyway and have no immediate AG rank aspirations.

I have just changed to Bontrager Race Lite Hard Case with a Kevlar layer to hopefully reduce the frequency of flats on recommendation by the LBS. I was interested in the Continental Gatorskins but couldn't find any locally.

This is my first tri bike. Couldn't be happier.

A fantastically fast bike that has the looks and weight to go with it! I have not ridden anything that excels at speed as much as this bike and I have a lot of different manufacturers that I've owned or sold to compare it to. It is super "clean" in its design and the frontal area that is presented to the wind is very narrow. Highly recommenede to anyone trying to squeeze those last few mph out of their bike split.

Great bike under Two Grand.

Elbow pads on Profile-Designs aerobars are attached with a weak adhesive

Good shoe, though I would reather spend about $200 on something else!

Fits fine, well made and I got them via the DeSoto web site at close-out time, hence the incredible price.