Training bike
258
Member
758 days
fastdog5 posted 17 weeks ago.
I train on my nice bike & don't train outdoors when it's wet or raining. If you're getting a new one, might as well keep the old one for when it's crappy outside, if you're so inclined. For me, since I hate riding in the rain, it didn't make sense to keep the old one because I knew I'd never ride it again.
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126
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NotAsFast posted 17 weeks ago.
Keep the old one for training and the new one for training and racing.
I use my old race bike for most of my training and use my race bike only on my longs and racing. Why only on my longs.....? So I can get used to the difference in position from my old bike to the new one for race distances.
My old bike is 5-8 pounds heavier so if I can push that as well as my new bike, the naturally when I get on my new bike I can go faster. Great psychological advantage on race day as you think you are flying and more than likely you will............
1127
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934 days
UFTriGator posted 17 weeks ago.
You don't want to ride different bikes for training and racing. If I use one of my bikes exclusively for a while (a month or more maybe), it'll usually take me about two weeks to get used to riding one of the others again. I would hate to have that uneasy-and-not-quite-used-to-this-bike feeling during a race. I'm not going to do anything stupid like ride race wheels in a monsoon (unless the monsoon happens to be during a race), but I've definitely ridden my $10k tri bike while it was thundering and lightning outside.
Cold weather isn't going to hurt your bike. Rain isn't too terrible if you're good about washing your bike down afterwards because you'll pick up a lot more grit in the rain. A wet rag and an old toothbrush can go a long way in bike maintenance. That said, you should plan on spending money to keep the bikes running in tip-top shape. Even fifty bucks or so a month is enough to keep my bikes in shape and I abuse the hell out of them...riding in the rain; riding on the trainer; torn-down, packed, and shipped every two weeks over and over again; strapped to the back of the car at 90 mph for a few hours......you name it.
A friend of mine treats his bike like garbage and never does any work on it. He brought it in last month and had to get a $400 overhaul on the thing. Keep up on your maintenance and pay attention to your bike just like you would your own body. Note any changes in performance (slow return on the brakes, poor shifting, etc.) or any noises that it shouldn't be making and take care of them right away. A clean, well-maintained bike is faster than the alternative. However, not riding your bike if it rains makes you slow.
FWIW....I've never seen a pro's bike that was more than a couple months old and still in great condition. They're always well-maintained, though (albeit dinged up, scratched, and obviously slightly abused).
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
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1356 days
brittda posted 17 weeks ago.
I do my shorter mid week rides on my crappy road bike, and my longer stuff on the weekends on my good bike.
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Member
183 days
slammy posted 17 weeks ago.
Thanks for all the answers...
I bought my new bike today, a K-factor, and after my first really short ride, I guess I'll be riding everything on this bike as I don't want to go back to my old bike at all.
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41
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183 days
slammy posted 17 weeks ago.
Sure, I have a pic of it... and I love riding on it. It really feels like I'm lower to the ground than on the other bike I had, which I by the way just sold, so everything is fine... again, Thanks for the answers.
Hi everyone,
I'm thinking about buying a new bike, more expensive than the one I have now. My question is to all of you guys with the $2000+ bikes, do you train on those bikes or do you have multiple bikes where you train on a cheaper bike and race on the nice bike?
And what are you then doing if it's raining or cold? How do you hold your bike nice and maintain it so it always work?
I appreciate your answers...