Can Elite Status be Bought?
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StephenPDennis posted 12 weeks ago.
Just a disclaimer after re-reading - I am in no way doubting or calling into question the achievements of Mr. Phelps or Lezak or any professional athlete. Their life is spent training and they are clearly some of the most gifted and focused human beings ever, period. I'm more interested in the magnitude of the role that equipment, both gear and nutrition, play in modern athletics.
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jsk85 posted 12 weeks ago.
To address your first comment or question, I'd say the answer is...BOTH. The technology is definately superior since there is a lot of money in coming up with the next advance in sporting equipment. At the same time, advancements in training methodology and general knowledge about physiology and nutrition are improving all the time as well...So the athletes are better suited to what they are doing and on better equipment.
As for the second part focusing on triathletes in general. I think it just comes down to individual decisions and availability of funds. I personally ride a 5 year old aluminum roadie ($1250 brand new) with clip ons (+$100), run with heavy training shoes, and just got a wetsuit for the first time this year (in my 4th tri season)...and don't feel like it significantly hinders my performance, at least to the point that my training (or lack thereof) has an effect.
I don't believe in the AG level that the equipment plays that much of a role since the range of ability level in each age group is huge. However, at the pro level where the level of competition is much closer there is more effect of high end technological upgrades.
In AG level, you see plenty of people riding relatively slowly on high end equipment, but at the same time there are a lot of people on high end equipment that can really fly. I think in their case, the equipment is more symbolic of their high level of commitment to training.
All that being said, I am saving up money right now to get a mid-level tri-bike (~$2500-3000+$1000+ for wheels) for next season. My reasons for this: 1) comfort for longer distance races than I've done in the past. 2) Motivation to train at a high level to justify the purchase. 3) Psychological speed gains...the bike may only be a few minutes faster in a wind tunnel, but feeling able to go faster certainly plays a part in added speed as well.
That's my .02
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nfl posted 12 weeks ago.
I like the saying, "Don't buy upgrades, ride up grades!!"
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TriSooner posted 12 weeks ago.
nfl wrote:
I like the sayingAs Eddie Merckx said, "Don't buy upgrades, ride up grades!!"
Fixed it for you.
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thesonicson posted 12 weeks ago.
I have been thinking the same thing! I am on an 10 year old ALL aluminum (incl fork and bars) tri bike with stock wheels that weighs 26 lbs. I have been contemplating on whether to by a new carbon bike or add some kick-ass wheels and a carbon aero bar setup, of which I can transfer if I decide to get a new bike in the future. I know that except for a few key items the biggest differerence one can make with shedding time is training. Period. There is no "material" component (except a maybe a wetsuit) that can shed time like what the human body can do with proper training and I think we all know that. They even said that on this years TOUR coverage talking about the million dollars spent on wind tunnel testing that Lance did before his final TOUR for the newest, latest, greatest TT bike, only to race in the same old TT bike he had the previous TOUR. And he totally crushed the field that day!! Nice million wasted on that testing. No wonder we have to fork out bookoo bucks for our products.
I agree with you on spending outrageous money to shed what? A few measly seconds. When was the last time you seen an Ironman (or half) decided by a few seconds?
And here's a kicker, if I do decide to go out and get a P2C, my bike will be worth more than my car!! lol! Can't wait for that day, pulling up at 6am to the race in my rusted hooded, Toyota Rav4, with a shiny new Cervelo on the back!!! lol!
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jonovision_man posted 12 weeks ago.
I'm curious about how much of an effect the gadgets really have...
What if the same person ran the same Olympic-distance race twice, but in different gear:
Race 1:
- Basic rental-quality wetsuit
- Entry-level aluminum road bike, clip-on aero bars, entry-level clipless pedals/shoes, regular old helmet, basic everything
- Standard $100 runners
Race 2:
- Best wetsuit money can buy
- Best bike money can buy (zipps, carbon, aero helmet, we're talking unlimited budget here!)
- Best shoes money can buy
How much faster is he with all the gadgets?? 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10? 15?
I'm thinking the run wouldn't make much difference, the swim probably would (added flexibility of the suit, maybe better buoyancy, slides through water nicer)... the bike would probably be the biggest difference in performance...
Curious to hear opinions.
jono
1127
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UFTriGator posted 12 weeks ago.
I think a lot of people have no idea how hard elite athletes train. I've heard on more than one occasion someone comment on how hard they train, saying something along the lines of, "I train as hard as those pro guys." Whenever I hear something like that, I'll ask what they do. They tell me what they do, and every single time, I've thought, "wow.....not even close." Here's what I a typical training day would look like for me, and as far as elites go....I really kind of suck, so the guys you see on TV are going a lot harder:
wake-up
6 miles easy (maybe 6:40 pace)
5500y swim (I do my 100 repeats at 1:05 with :10 rest....maybe 20 of those straight among other hard stuff. Sometimes I'll do them with :30 rest and keep them all at 0:58-0:59)
20 min of core excercise (no rest)
2 hr trainer ride (equivalent of maybe 2.5 hrs on the road. Most of my intervals are in the 300-500 W range...if you don't know wattage numbers, an average person in average conditions on a tri bike going 20 mph is pushing a little over 150 W)
30 min brick with intervals (5:20 pace)
sleep
I swim 5-6 times a week, ride 5-6 times a week, run 8-10 times a week, then do weights/core/calisthenics every day. I think most people don't train that hard, regardless of what bike they bought.
Although I ride a $10,000 uber-bike, the guy I shared a homestay with at Memphis in May this year rode an aluminum KHS road bike with clip-ons and no disc. I swim faster than him when there are no wetsuits allowed, but we're closer when wetsuits are legal. He started behind me in the TT start (guys leave every 10 seconds). I swam somewhere around 17:40 and he was a little faster, but we still couldn't see each other on the bike. I biked a :57 and he caught me at the end and we came into transition together (I think he bike a :56).
My old roommate went 1:50 this year at St. Anthony's on a road bike.
Is a $7000 Cervelo (like you said) faster than a road bike with clip-ons? Of course.
Are elites fast because they have nice bike? Absolutely not.
Most elites are very young...either in college, or recently graduated. A lot of guys get their pro card racing on road bike with clip-ons (college budget), then get sponsorships that help pay for nicer stuff. Could I ever afford my own $10,000 bike? Definitely not. I went pro on a mid-level tri bike with 105 components and crappy wheels I bought on ebay.
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
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vistring posted 12 weeks ago.
Remember just because someone rides a Cervélo with Zipps doesn't mean they paid 7,000 for it, or even 4,000 for it. I am sure there are many people who ride an alu frame and just wait till they see a good deal on a carbon frame. Why pass up such a nice bike for under 3,000? And of course after purchase of that carbon frame it becomes really clearly why you are slow, and it wasn't that alu frame.
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vistring posted 12 weeks ago.
UFTriGator wrote:
wake-up
6 miles easy (maybe 6:40 pace)
5500y swim (I do my 100 repeats at 1:05 with :10 rest....maybe 20 of those straight among other hard stuff. Sometimes I'll do them with :30 rest and keep them all at 0:58-0:59)
20 min of core excercise (no rest)
2 hr trainer ride (equivalent of maybe 2.5 hrs on the road. Most of my intervals are in the 300-500 W range...if you don't know wattage numbers, an average person in average conditions on a tri bike going 20 mph is pushing a little over 150 W)
30 min brick with intervals (5:20 pace)
sleep.
How do you mange such a heavy workload and not get sick or injured? I am not doubting at all, just curious.
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UFTriGator posted 12 weeks ago.
vistring wrote:
How do you mange such a heavy workload and not get sick or injured? I am not doubting at all, just curious.
I'm 22. I eat right, sleep right, take my vitamins, and recover properly with lots of stretching. I didn't just wake up one day and decide to train 25 hrs/wk. It took me a good 2 years of triathlon training to get up to that volume. Before that, I was swimming maybe 60,000yds/wk for many years.
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
97
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1509 days
hipfan posted 12 weeks ago.
I watched alot of Ironman Canada on Sunday, and like every other race I watch, I love to catch the last few people who make it just under the cut off times. I have no idea what gear they have, how much they paid, or what their training schedule looked like. What I do see is that the work they did to get there paid off, and they won their own race.
That's what is so great about this sport. It's all about you. So if you can get a bike that makes you feel fast, or if you ride a unicycle. Who cares what the other guy has.
I have to admit though I love to flip through the pages of Triathlete and drool over all the pretty stuff they advertise.
Cheers.
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jhudalla posted 12 weeks ago.
UFTriGator wrote:
wake-up
6 miles easy (maybe 6:40 pace)
5500y swim (I do my 100 repeats at 1:05 with :10 rest....maybe 20 of those straight among other hard stuff. Sometimes I'll do them with :30 rest and keep them all at 0:58-0:59)
20 min of core excercise (no rest)
2 hr trainer ride (equivalent of maybe 2.5 hrs on the road. Most of my intervals are in the 300-500 W range...if you don't know wattage numbers, an average person in average conditions on a tri bike going 20 mph is pushing a little over 150 W)
30 min brick with intervals (5:20 pace)
sleep.
So do you do most of your bike training on the trainer? I've ready about a few dudes that said they did that as well for consistency's sake.
-Andy Potts
-Dave Thompson
Weary is the path that does not challenge.
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Leroy Bonkers posted 12 weeks ago.
Matt was also bitten by a radioactive fish... while most people die when exposed to radioactivity for some reason it gave him fish-based super powers. da da da da... my trout sense is tingling....
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UFTriGator posted 12 weeks ago.
jhudalla wrote:
So do you do most of your bike training on the trainer? I've ready about a few dudes that said they did that as well for consistency's sake.-Andy Potts
-Dave Thompson
I know lots and lots of guys who do this. I do two workouts a week on the CompuTrainer. I hate it, but it's good for you. :) I'll do a group ride and a few steady-pace rides outside, but the intervals are usually indoors, as miserable as it is. :)
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
1127
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UFTriGator posted 12 weeks ago.
Leroy Bonkers wrote:
Matt was also bitten by a radioactive fish... while most people die when exposed to radioactivity for some reason it gave him fish-based super powers. da da da da... my trout sense is tingling....
I AM a nuclear engineer by day.
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
4914
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1717 days
beads1985 posted 12 weeks ago.
UFTriGator wrote:
vistring wrote:
How do you mange such a heavy workload and not get sick or injured? I am not doubting at all, just curious.
I'm 22. I eat right, sleep right, take my vitamins, and recover properly with lots of stretching. I didn't just wake up one day and decide to train 25 hrs/wk. It took me a good 2 years of triathlon training to get up to that volume. Before that, I was swimming maybe 60,000yds/wk for many years.
Can we also assume you are not married, and have no kids? ;-)
Nothing to it, but to do it
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xc800runner posted 12 weeks ago.
I went out and bought all the ueber-gear (thank you BP, Shell and Exxon) and am still not elite, so the short answer, is no. You have to put in the training to get there, and the guys at the top are putting way more than I am (about 10 hrs a week for the past few). Gator included. It also helps to have good genes. Very good genes.
Equipment will help you refine your times, but the ultimate gains will be through work. This happens only on the bike and swim. How much time do the ueber bikes get you after T2? 0 seconds. And your $100 trainers are more than adequate to run a 33 min 10k in. Hell, I ran 30.xx in a $45 pair of flats. The run is by far the equalizer in tri, where the most gains are made for hard work.
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Tri Fanatic posted 12 weeks ago.
I justify my expenses by buying everything used for CHEAP. I have spent maybe like 2gs on all my tri stuff total, but its probably like 5gs worth of stuff. Can't pass up a good deal.
As far as training vs. equipment goes, I think it has already been said. If you take any athlete and put him on an old steel mountain bike circa 1985, then put him on a new P3C. Of course his time will be faster on the new bike. If you take any weekend triathlete and put him on a P3C and then take a professional triathlete and put him on a P3C, of course the pro will be faster. Equipment does help, but not as much as training.
Most triathletes (age groupers) would benefit more from spending money on a coach instead of on fancy equipment. I always say, "if I get to the point where I need to spend $1000 bucks on cranks, $2k on a disc wheel, and so on, then I will be good enough to have someone buy it for me."
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go 'gate 2006 posted 12 weeks ago.
http://bradculp.blogspot.com/2008/06/why-i-hate-triathletes.html
This kind of touches on the subject. I read this a little while ago, and thought it was interesting. Not quite sure how I feel about it.
"...triathletes, no matter how slow, will spend every last penny of their offspring’s college fund to boost their power by a watt or two..."
- AT
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Joe_H posted 12 weeks ago.
doesn't matter how much I spend I'll never catch my training partner unless I buy myself a new engine. I need to train more consistently and with a purpose spending $3k on a bike is useless and i don't want to be that guy with a sleek cool bike that everyone passes.
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jonovision_man posted 12 weeks ago.
go 'gate 2006 wrote:
"...triathletes, no matter how slow, will spend every last penny of their offspring’s college fund to boost their power by a watt or two..."
... while roadies are spending every last penny on team jerseys for teams they've never been a part of, and replacing their bike because someone else in their Wednesday group showed up with the same one... how gauche! ;)
jono
544
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jhudalla posted 12 weeks ago.
Hey, whatever motivates you. My bike is an expensive one, and I keep it clean as it was the day I bought it to keep it in peak operational condition, yet I ride the piss out of it at least 4 days a week because I love it so much. If I wasn't putting in the time on the bike I wouldn't feel like I deserved it. Am I the fastest guy on the course, hell no, but it's a hobby for me. Sure I might get looks from pure roadies (my bike is a roadie w/ an itu setup) but what do I care.
Bottom line. The bike doesn't make the rider. If I was riding a 20k setup (Pinerello, zipp everything) could lance still beat me on a basic 2k rig. Hell yes. Enough said.
Weary is the path that does not challenge.
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jhudalla posted 12 weeks ago.
xc800runner wrote:
Equipment will help you refine your times, but the ultimate gains will be through work. This happens only on the bike and swim. How much time do the ueber bikes get you after T2? 0 seconds. And your $100 trainers are more than adequate to run a 33 min 10k in. Hell, I ran 30.xx in a $45 pair of flats. The run is by far the equalizer in tri, where the most gains are made for hard work.
Great point. No matter how much money you have, you can't run a :30 10k unless you're willing to put in the time.
Weary is the path that does not challenge.
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Porksalad posted 12 weeks ago.
Equipment is important but not as much as one thinks. Just look at Mark Allen and Dave Scott times versus the times of today. Not much has changed, maybe elite athletes recover faster but it is the athlete not the equipment. If you put Lance Armstrong on a properly fitted bike under $500 I bet he could be most. Just my 2 cents.
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TryScott posted 12 weeks ago.
StephenPDennis wrote:
I would love to get an opinion from a Trifueler who still uses a 10 year old mountain bike (if any are on the blog)
My bike was the cheapest roadie at the LBS. $500. I don't plan on upgrading until it's broke. My motivation is to see how much I can improve the engine. Maybe my motivation will change and I'll want the best equipment I can afford to give me a chance to qualify for Kona, but it's not in the cards soon.
I was helping my uncle move things to his new house, and we came across an old bike. I believe he bought it in 1979. The back wheel has this thing that rubs against it to spin something that creates energy for the lights. The front wheel has an odometer has gear that moves when the spokes hit it. It would be so cool to take that to a tri. I can't imagine the looks I'd get.
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Anton posted 12 weeks ago.
Gear is gear. Talent is talent. Sometimes the two meet. Often they don't.
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://agingsuperhero.blogspot.com
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Ironmom posted 12 weeks ago.
My bike is a very mid-range tri bike from a few year's back, not a bladed frame or wheel cutouts or anything on it, I don't have any disc wheels or anything really high-end, except maybe the aero helmet I bought last year and a great wetsuit that hubby gave me for my birthday.
I don't think equipment is often the ultimate decider of anything, as others have said it usually comes down to training. I passed the members of an entire women's cycling team with their color-coordinated disc wheels in a time trial last year, that was kind of fun. That being said, if some great equipment fell out of the sky and hit me on the head, I'd use it!! Sometimes it does come down to seconds or minutes, even in the AG'ers. I've won a race (overall female) by less than 30 seconds (Oly distance). I've missed 3rd place overall by less than two minutes, in a half-Ironman distance. A disc wheel could've easily changed either one of those placings.
On any given day, you're there at the race with the training that you brought with you. Of course you're going to be faster with better/lighter/more streamlined gear. Now whether or not it's worth it to you to shuck out $$$$$ for those seconds or minutes of speed is a very individual question. If I was going to try to go Pro or qualify for Kona, I'd make it a bigger priority most likely. Right now, there's lots of other things in life I'd rather spend the money on (I'll be cycling in Italy with my kids in 3 weeks, for instance). And yes, my kids have college funds, too.
Blue Skies, -Robin-
http://ironmom.blogspot.com/
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chekmarks posted 12 weeks ago.
i'd like to think equipment doesn't matter, but it does to a degree. i rode an entry level trek and upgraded to a cervelo soloist. the difference was notable. however, i don't think a new upgrade would help me all that much. i've passed people on $7,000 bikes and been passed by people in tennis shoes and toe cages. i can only compare myself to myself, i think the pros know that they all get to train as much as they want/need to. the people i am racing against may train more or less than me, so in the end i can only compare myself to myself.
matt, you are insane. i have a newfound respect for elite triathletes and all my dreams are crushed. but seriously, thank you for sharing that.
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Tri-grit posted 12 weeks ago.
“It’s the arrow; not the Indian”, don’t ya know?
But, really, why does this topic keep coming up?
How about this - Some people are total enthusiasts while others seem to take pride in avoiding anything smacking of technology (usually while they kick my a** on the course) and, of course, most of us can be found in the middle. The thing is, these two extremes don’t want to admit that each of them have something to offer. Yes – the engine matters. Yes – better equipment helps. Let’s get over it and face that there is a little bit of truth in both statements.
BTW - For me, it actually does boil down to the amount I can afford. I take pride in my bike (and shotgun or fishing tackle or golf clubs) and I like the idea that it’s not my equipment that will hold me back from my next PB. Amen.
And to the OP - you hit the nail on the head with this question.
StephenPDennis wrote:
I'm more interested in the magnitude of the role that equipment, both gear and nutrition, play in modern athletics.
This is where we need to have more study done by objective third parties.
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dollfin04 posted 12 weeks ago.
UFTriGator wrote:
I think a lot of people have no idea how hard elite athletes train. I've heard on more than one occasion someone comment on how hard they train, saying something along the lines of, "I train as hard as those pro guys." Whenever I hear something like that, I'll ask what they do. They tell me what they do, and every single time, I've thought, "wow.....not even close." Here's what I a typical training day would look like for me, and as far as elites go....I really kind of suck, so the guys you see on TV are going a lot harder:wake-up
6 miles easy (maybe 6:40 pace)
5500y swim (I do my 100 repeats at 1:05 with :10 rest....maybe 20 of those straight among other hard stuff. Sometimes I'll do them with :30 rest and keep them all at 0:58-0:59)
20 min of core excercise (no rest)
2 hr trainer ride (equivalent of maybe 2.5 hrs on the road. Most of my intervals are in the 300-500 W range...if you don't know wattage numbers, an average person in average conditions on a tri bike going 20 mph is pushing a little over 150 W)
30 min brick with intervals (5:20 pace)
sleepI swim 5-6 times a week, ride 5-6 times a week, run 8-10 times a week, then do weights/core/calisthenics every day. I think most people don't train that hard, regardless of what bike they bought.
Although I ride a $10,000 uber-bike, the guy I shared a homestay with at Memphis in May this year rode an aluminum KHS road bike with clip-ons and no disc. I swim faster than him when there are no wetsuits allowed, but we're closer when wetsuits are legal. He started behind me in the TT start (guys leave every 10 seconds). I swam somewhere around 17:40 and he was a little faster, but we still couldn't see each other on the bike. I biked a :57 and he caught me at the end and we came into transition together (I think he bike a :56).
My old roommate went 1:50 this year at St. Anthony's on a road bike.
Is a $7000 Cervelo (like you said) faster than a road bike with clip-ons? Of course.
Are elites fast because they have nice bike? Absolutely not.Most elites are very young...either in college, or recently graduated. A lot of guys get their pro card racing on road bike with clip-ons (college budget), then get sponsorships that help pay for nicer stuff. Could I ever afford my own $10,000 bike? Definitely not. I went pro on a mid-level tri bike with 105 components and crappy wheels I bought on ebay.
Damn....wish I had the time and the stamina to train like that. I'm lucky if I get 3-4 hours in a week right now.
http://dollfinkate.blogspot.com/
"No Pain, No Gain!" ;)
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beads1985 posted 12 weeks ago.
Anton wrote:
Gear is gear. Talent is talent. Sometimes the two meet. Often they don't.
Sage words my friend ;-)
Nothing to it, but to do it
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mdd posted 12 weeks ago.
UFTriGator wrote:
I think a lot of people have no idea how hard elite athletes train. I've heard on more than one occasion someone comment on how hard they train, saying something along the lines of, "I train as hard as those pro guys." Whenever I hear something like that, I'll ask what they do. They tell me what they do, and every single time, I've thought, "wow.....not even close." Here's what I a typical training day would look like for me, and as far as elites go....I really kind of suck, so the guys you see on TV are going a lot harder:wake-up
6 miles easy (maybe 6:40 pace)
5500y swim (I do my 100 repeats at 1:05 with :10 rest....maybe 20 of those straight among other hard stuff. Sometimes I'll do them with :30 rest and keep them all at 0:58-0:59)
20 min of core excercise (no rest)
2 hr trainer ride (equivalent of maybe 2.5 hrs on the road. Most of my intervals are in the 300-500 W range...if you don't know wattage numbers, an average person in average conditions on a tri bike going 20 mph is pushing a little over 150 W)
30 min brick with intervals (5:20 pace)
sleepI swim 5-6 times a week, ride 5-6 times a week, run 8-10 times a week, then do weights/core/calisthenics every day. I think most people don't train that hard, regardless of what bike they bought.
Although I ride a $10,000 uber-bike, the guy I shared a homestay with at Memphis in May this year rode an aluminum KHS road bike with clip-ons and no disc. I swim faster than him when there are no wetsuits allowed, but we're closer when wetsuits are legal. He started behind me in the TT start (guys leave every 10 seconds). I swam somewhere around 17:40 and he was a little faster, but we still couldn't see each other on the bike. I biked a :57 and he caught me at the end and we came into transition together (I think he bike a :56).
My old roommate went 1:50 this year at St. Anthony's on a road bike.
Is a $7000 Cervelo (like you said) faster than a road bike with clip-ons? Of course.
Are elites fast because they have nice bike? Absolutely not.Most elites are very young...either in college, or recently graduated. A lot of guys get their pro card racing on road bike with clip-ons (college budget), then get sponsorships that help pay for nicer stuff. Could I ever afford my own $10,000 bike? Definitely not. I went pro on a mid-level tri bike with 105 components and crappy wheels I bought on ebay.
Great post and sums it up very well. The top athletes are fast period, it doesn't matter what kind of gear they have. You can drive a Porsche but if has the engine of a Yugo then you are not going to be very fast.
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Socket posted 12 weeks ago.
I made my goal of "middle of the pack" this year and the equipment I have is totally not top of the line. Neither is my training ;-P When I do train, I beat the crap out of myself. My "last year's please help us get rid of these" wetsuit, my "end of season sale" entry level road bike, and my "at least they're cheap" sneakers will last me until I'm fast enough to justify buying higher end stuff.
'course if I had the money I'd likely buy better stuff. Good thing I don't, because it makes me train harder ;-)
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Triguy98 posted 12 weeks ago.
There was a poster who used to frequent here, but thankfully he now haunts another board. His solution to everything was to spend money. $4000 bikes, the most expensive wheels, home altitude tents, the most pricey coaches, etc. In three year of IMs he went from a barely sub 17 finish his first year to a 13:40 in 2006 to a 11:13 this past year. Is that due to all the money spent or just an accumulation of fitness over a 4 year period?
Dudes who kick butt and take names on $3000 bikes will still rock it on a $1500 bikes, assuming the cheaper bike fits right. A little speed can be bought, but you better have the fitness to power your pricey toys.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
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fastdog5 posted 12 weeks ago.
My bike split was in the top 2% at Chicago last weekend, on a completely stock S22, not a high-end bike by any means. It was fun blowing by all those carbon rigs with Zipps. That said, I am WAY faster on this bike than I was on my old roadie, but I think this is a result of being more aero & more comfortable.
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jsk85 posted 12 weeks ago.
fastdog5 wrote:
My bike split was in the top 2% at Chicago last weekend, on a completely stock S22, not a high-end bike by any means. It was fun blowing by all those carbon rigs with Zipps. That said, I am WAY faster on this bike than I was on my old roadie, but I think this is a result of being more aero & more comfortable.
+1, I was top 6% (246/4103) at the same chicago race on an entry level roadie (LeMond Tourmalet) with clip on aerobars and no upgrades otherwise (unless you count seat mounted water bottle rack). It just makes me want to push harder when I pass the high end tri-bikes
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Leroy Bonkers posted 12 weeks ago.
Triguy98 wrote:
A little speed can be bought, but you better have the fitness to power your pricey toys.
I think this is exactly right. a LITTLE speed can be bought... but a LOT of speed can be earned.
The law of diminishing returns applies here. Go from sneakers to clipless pedals - big improvement. Go from $1500 tri bike to $3500 tri bike - little improvement. Loose 20lbs of body fat - major improvement.
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amyro1234 posted 11 weeks ago.
Here is a testiomonal from someone that used to use a $100 Schwinn from Wal-Mart in all my tris.
Speed with the Schwinn: 8 mph
Speed with my new $660 road bike: 15 mph.
That bike helped me almost double my speed. I think some benefit also came from working hard on my bike all summer, but a lot of it came from the road bike. The first time I went on that bike I felt like I was going out-of -control fast. I had to keep breaking and coasting untill I got used to the speed!
I think that some speed can be "brought" with good equipment, but once you get to an experienced level in triathlon, and already have a nice bike, I don't really see what the difference would be between a $5,000 bike and a $6,000 bike.
301
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159 days
jonovision_man posted 11 weeks ago.
I assume the Schwinn was a MTB with monster knobbies and shocks? :)
jono
19
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118 days
mwconstruct1972 posted 11 weeks ago.
I guess I will be the one to give testimony to anold bike. My bike is a Giant cabriolet, I am not sure of the vintage but I do know it is all steel including forks. It weighs about 35 lbs. I got it about 2 weeks before my first tri off of craig's list for $100. Prior to this my training was done on a friends old knobby tired schwinn mountain bike. I did pick up a couple mph with the better fit, and after another month of riding my "new" bike I averaged about 24mph for 17 miles last week. About 4mph faster than my first race, a 13.5mile sprint. For now, I can not even entertain the idea of buying a really nice bike, but I can commit to making the best of what I have. I have already seen noticeable improvement just from trying to be consistent in training. I still have miles to go and much to work on in all three disciplines, but as others have already mentioned, in the race against myself I am already doing better. Even when I have an off day, there is a certain satisfaction in knowing that I did make the effort inspite of not having the best toys to play with- or any other negative thing the world throws at us.
Strange how laughter looks like crying with no sound. Raindrops taste like tears without the pain. Queensryche
275
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799 days
fastdog5 posted 11 weeks ago.
24 mph average on a 35 lb bike. Riiiiight...
With Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals, the LZR suits making headlines and world records falling around us, athletes dropping viagra like tictacs to increase slow twitch muscle blood flow; I can't help but ask the question - are the athletes that much better or is technology the true winner?
Triathletes in particular seem to be of the mindset that if you can afford it, you should use it. How else can we explain $4000 carbon fibre disc wheels that might only save you a few seconds, in only the right headwind, over a 112 mile course, over wheels that cost $500? I've competed against bikes that cost more than my college education and people shell out hundreds of dollars for helmets that seem to stretch all the way down their butts. I see adverts for carbon fibre cranks, aero bars, hell even water bottle holders. As a profession engineer with a background in aerodynamics and space flight, this stuff excites me personally, but as an athlete I can't help but feel a little dejected every time I mount my aluminum Scott with old my old running sneakers tucked into the plastic cage pedals.
I'm not complaining, I have about $2000 worth of Triathlon gear crammed into one corner of my tiny NYC apartment and I cherish every piece like it was personally autographed by Lance himself, but how does it make you guys feel? I would love to get an opinion from a Trifueler who still uses a 10 year old mountain bike (if any are on the blog) and another from someone with a $7000 Cervelo with Zipp's and a built-in minifridge.
SPD
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