Triathlon race bike advice please

[johnny senna]

Hi All,
My wife has just qualified to represent Great Britain in the World Triathlon Championships in September in Australia.
Her road bike is a modest 700 quid thing. She needs a better bike, I assume a few grands worth of carbon frame lovliness. But I know nothing about bikes.
My thoughts are: these things are always cheaper if you buy last year's model. Is this easily done? Or what about a second hand bike? I know I need to spend north of 2 grand. But how to go about this. I do NOT want to end up buying twice!!
Advice very welcome.

[LRdriver II]

Well, Whats the distance she is competing in?

A time trial bike may be what she needs for short distances, or a normal bike with tri-bars for more comfortable long distance stuff..

Wheel choices are key as well as bike position for all out speed and comfort.
Weight does not play a large role, aerodynamics more so.

Many of the big brands do TT specific cheaper bikes, so maybe get one and buy a set of Zipp 404 wheels.

spend some time with a tri-sports store or coach who can sort out her position... very important that

[Nick_F]

ITU Rules are here. I don't know offhand whether it's a draft-legal event or not, but triathlon-specific bikes and draft-legal races don't go together.

If it's no drafting then the key issue is budget - aluminium-framed tri bikes start at around £1k, big-brand carbon-framed jobbies at twice that, but carbon rims can set you back another £1-2k on top: a Ceepo or Cervelo with 100mm deep Zipp wheels and full Shimano Dura-Ace will cost as much as £6k.

To get the riding position right takes time and patience if you are actually going to go any quicker than you can on a conventional bike, too; the frame geometry, size and fit, together with the quality of the components, are more important than little tweaks like internally-routed cables, brakes mounted behind forks/below chainstays etc.

Personally I like Planet-X; they have a no-nonsene approach which got me a 'Stealth' full carbon tri machine, with 50mm carbon wheels, for £1,650; they also make a 650c version for ladies/small riders, which not many other manufacturers do and which will severely limit your options if that's the size she needs.

[Roman]

Planet X is a good shout. Ribble also produce a lovely carbon TT bike:
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/SpecialEditionBikes....

[anonymous-user]

she will need to be fully measured up and get a bike that is 100% correct if she is to be successful, or at the very least, take advantage of all the training, its like training for a marathon for a year then turning up in flip flops in the day. its not really a case of just gettting a decent off the shelf road bike, though they will do the job, they wont be best suited to the task, gearing, handle bar set up, stem length, crank length, everything is personalised to maximise pedal stroke.

Grab a copy of triatheletes world and have a look in the back. i would recommend "the big adventure store"near swindon if you are even remotely in that area, not only are tehy triatheletes themselves but they should still have some 08 stock.

[Nick_F]

One other thought, to add to what pablo has said; the race is three months away now - bear in mind that it will take a good few weeks riding, over several hundred miles, for her to feel as confident and be as fast on a TT bike as she now is on her road bike. Tri bars take some getting used to, and so does the general riding position.

There's plenty of time, but there won't be if you/she leave it until August...

[fergus]

Nick_F said:

To get the riding position right takes time and patience if you are actually going to go any quicker than you can on a conventional bike, too; the frame geometry, size and fit, together with the quality of the components, are more important than little tweaks like internally-routed cables, brakes mounted behind forks/below chainstays etc.

Personally I like Planet-X; they have a no-nonsene approach which got me a 'Stealth' full carbon tri machine, with 50mm carbon wheels, for £1,650; they also make a 650c version for ladies/small riders, which not many other manufacturers do and which will severely limit your options if that's the size she needs.

re the riding position. It doesn't really matter if you have a full on prologue TT bike (to get the maybe 7-8% aero benefit) if the rider is unable to get the correct position.

Don't ask me for my opinion on 'plasticine X' frames.....

Also depends on the type of courses she will be riding as to what type of equipment is best. If she's an age-grouper(I presume?) representing GB, then surely she's done fairly well so far on her current steed? I'd be tempted to go to a respected tri-specific national level coach for further advice on where to go next.

PS Johnny - how's life w/o the RS?

Edited by fergus on Friday 12th June 14:52

[johnny senna]

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate this.
Fergus.....life sucks without the RS!! Must get another Porker soon.

The situation is this:
She is 29, is in age group triathlon (not elite), and at her first attempt at qualifying for anything (last Sunday at Emberton Park), has got into the World Championships in Oz!! Awesome. Brilliant. Was only her second ever triathlon, was her first open water swim, and has only been training for 1 year, most of it alone with no coach. I think she has only scratched the surface of her potential, especially on the bike.

I will take notes on everything you guys have said. I agree that getting measured up and fitted to a bike by an expert is the most important bit.

A chap I know who is good on a bike recommended this:
http://www.cervelo.com/bikes.aspx?bike=P32009

He has also told me to get like for like quotes of the following:
Frame
Zipp 808 wheelset (clincher, not tubeless)
Minimum of Shimano Ultegra complete Groupset, or Dura Ace if not much more money.
Carbon tri bars and stem
Fizik Saddle
Pedals

I assume I am on the right lines with this?

We wouldn't be against travelling to the right shop. We live in Newcastle which is miles away from civilisation of course.

Edited by johnny senna on Friday 12th June 15:22

[Nick_F]

P3 is the daddy if money no object; newer P4 ought to be better but not many about yet.

Zipps are terrific but HED will do 95% of the job for 50% of the cost.

[johnny senna]

Thanks Nick. Certainly not a a cheap sport. Still, being a car nut, I can appreciate these wicked bikes for what they are, even though I know little about them!

[johnny senna]

johnny senna said:

Thanks Nick. Certainly not a a cheap sport. Still, being a car nut, I can appreciate these wicked bikes for what they are, even though I know little about them!

PS.....the rules of the qualy event said clearly "no draughting".

[fergus]

johnny senna said:

Frame
Zipp 808 wheelset (clincher, not tubeless)
Minimum of Shimano Ultegra complete Groupset, or Dura Ace if not much more money.
Carbon tri bars and stem
Fizik Saddle
Pedals

Johnny - 'tubeless' is a MTB rim technology. For road bikes you mean 'tubular' (as in bells). These are 'glued' to the rim, but are a bh to repair properly.

Personally if you're spending that sort of cash, I'd investigate either a powertap rear hub or SRM crank which will allow the missus to train according to power which is leagues ahead of p1ssing around with heart rate monitors which are influenced by loads of things. A power meter can also help fine tune the most efficient position on the bike.

The frame and wheels and bars are the most important bits of the shopping list. Get a saddle that fits and is comfortable, not necesserily a 'brand Y' saddle. The gruppo is down to choice, however, as weight isn't an issue for most people, you'll save a stack and not lose out on much by sticking with Ultegra over DA.

PS I can vouch for cervelo (got a soloist) but make sure you use carbon assembly paste on the stem and seatpost etc. The seatposts can also be a bh if they get stuck!

Edited by fergus on Friday 12th June 16:02

[johnny senna]

Thanks Fergus. I have a lot to learn I think.

[JPJ]

If she's qualified for the British Team getting a coach has to be your first port of call. Secondly, with that level of competition it may be possible to speak to local shops or manufacturers to see if they'd do some sort of sponsorship deal for her. You might not get one free, but it should be possible to get one close to cost if you're happy to do a bit of promotion for the shop/manufacturer....

[johnny senna]

Thanks. I agree about the coaching thing. We are doing our best with this one. Remote coaching via e-mail /internet seems to be popular with good triathletes.

We will be approaching bike shops for (partial) sponsorship.

[fergus]

johnny senna said:

Thanks. I agree about the coaching thing. We are doing our best with this one. Remote coaching via e-mail /internet seems to be popular with good triathletes.

We will be approaching bike shops for (partial) sponsorship.

Web caoching: Good for setting training schedules, but not good for adjusting technique.

I'd recommend a supervised swim in an endless pool which has underwater cameras in it. It will show up any inefficiencies in about 5 strokes, which are almost impossible to see from the pool side, especially when there are 20 swimmers and 1/2 coaches, as per most club tri swim sessions. They can also perfect your drills, whereas the poolside coach often can't concentrate on a single swimmer.

[johnny senna]

fergus said:

johnny senna said:

Thanks. I agree about the coaching thing. We are doing our best with this one. Remote coaching via e-mail /internet seems to be popular with good triathletes.

We will be approaching bike shops for (partial) sponsorship.

Web caoching: Good for setting training schedules, but not good for adjusting technique.

I'd recommend a supervised swim in an endless pool which has underwater cameras in it. It will show up any inefficiencies in about 5 strokes, which are almost impossible to see from the pool side, especially when there are 20 swimmers and 1/2 coaches, as per most club tri swim sessions. They can also perfect your drills, whereas the poolside coach often can't concentrate on a single swimmer.

Hi mate.
She has already been filmed in a real pool. She is hoping to get filmed in an endless pool at a local coach's house pretty soon. All this and a full time job!

[fergus]

johnny senna said:

..... All this and a full time job!

Looks like you'll need another car soon, as you'll need something to do whilst she's training!

You want another trick E30 evo II don't you!

[johnny senna]

fergus said:

johnny senna said:

..... All this and a full time job!

Looks like you'll need another car soon, as you'll need something to do whilst she's training!

You want another trick E30 evo II don't you!

Mate, never had an evo2! But a nice E30 M3 stripped out and in race colours would be nice, definitely.

[anonymous-user]

shame TBAS are miles away from you, there will be something far closer!
its a great achievment considering her lack of experience. hopefully this will be on eurosport or something?