Is my bike holding me back?
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1286 days
xcdave posted 3 years ago.
What kind of wheels do you have on the Trek? Maybe you could try upgrading those first - and the good thing is you can take them with you if you decide later on to upgrade the bike.
75
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1221 days
ShaunCrawford posted 3 years ago.
I’ve thought of that. All I have now is what came on the bike. Bontrager select. But what would give me more bang for the buck. 1600 on a new Trek E7. Or just about the same for a pair of Hed 3's. And how much faster do you think new wheels could make me? I've heard as much as 2 mph. Can that be true?
[FONT=Arial]"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."
2347
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1245 days
Triguy98 posted 3 years ago.
While I LOVE my E7...a lot... I can't see buying one in your first season. My first year of tris was on various rental bikes and averaged ~17mph, too. Some of those rentals was a mean carbon framed machine. 17mph. It's all in the training. I've got a buddy with a 97 Trek full alum bike with 105 all around. He keeps up with all of the tri bikes. Its not the chassis, its the engine. ;)
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
1660
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1454 days
PrinceofClydes posted 3 years ago.
Like Lance said, "It's not about the bike."
One race doesn't prove anything. Consistent numbers under controlled conditions are what you should be looking for, when judging your performance like this.
hope you find what you're really looking for,
PoC
"Pain doesn't last, chicks dig scars, glory is forever!"
- Shane Falco.
183
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1217 days
KenMierke posted 3 years ago.
The Hed 3s are the fastest wheels, except for lightweight riders on extremely hilly courses. Upgrading the wheels will make immensely more difference than the frame. Ken
Ken Mierke Ken@Fitness-Concepts.com
Fitness Concepts Fitness-Concepts.com
Author, The Triathlete's Guide to Run Training
www.EvolutionRunning.com
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1796 days
BigMatt posted 3 years ago.
Wheels are hands down the best bang for the buck. They will make the biggest difference in time compared to any upgrade. Now, getting a proper fit can improve you by a lot as well, and is often cheaper. I really wouldn't worry about it at all. It sounds like you are doing well. WF is a tough course on the bike, I raced it 4 times in the Olynpic distance, and my bike splits were always 7-8 minutes slower than other courses. I would spend your first year figuring your riding style and preferences, and then when you have more experience you will know exactly what you want. Nothing worse than buying something now, and in 1 year you find it wasn't what you really needed. good luck-bigmatt
This is my first racing season and my first year riding. I bought a Trek 1000, speedplay pedals, some clip-on aerobars, and bought a better seat. I recognize the fact that I need to train more to get faster, no questions about it. I did the Olympic distance Wildflower 2 weeks ago and my swim and run were really solid, 22 min 1500, 41 min 10K. But my bike leg sucked. I only averaged about 17 mph. Mentally it gets to me a little bit that the bike leg is the only one that your equipment can have a pretty significant effect on your time. I was curious just how much of an effect it really has. Wildflower is a really tough course and like I said I averaged about 17 mph. Training is anywhere from 18.5-19 mph depending on the distance. If I were to drop 1600 bucks on a Trek E7 how much faster do you think I would be? What about 5000 G's on a bad @ss piece of carbon machine fully decked out? I’m going to keep training - no debate there. I was just wondering how much my bike was holding me back? How much faster might I have been at Wildflower?
[FONT=Arial]"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."