Rebuilding My Tri Bike

Triathlon is in fact about the bike. Over half a race is spent on the bike. For most of us the bike is a work in progress. The bike itself and our relationship with it. You get comfortable on the bike and then you make it less comfortable but faster. As your body adapts to this change you repeat the process.

I raced my first race on a mountain bike. It was a road race in Boulder and the director assured me the little charity race would have plenty of folks on mountain bikes. Being new to Colorado and not knowing really what Boulder was (aka World Class Athlete Mecca) I didn't know this was a ludicrous statement. But I wasn't prepared to buy a new bike at the time so it didn't matter too much. I suffered through my first tri but was hooked. I decided if I demonstrated a certain level of commitment to training on my mountain bike I would purchase a road bike. In the summer of 2008 I got a great deal on a Giant from Craigslist with full Ultegra components and a carbon frame. It was gently used by a mountain biker who decided it wasn't for him. Luckily we were the same size.

I rode this bike in a half Ironman in 2008 and all of my 2009 season. During the 2009 season I made 2 changes. I added aerobars and a 0 offset seatpost with the help of Bicycle Pedal R in Highlands Ranch. These changes shift you forward on the bike and make you more aerodynamic. After 2009 ended I was really itching to buy a new bike but I also try to choose my spending decisions wisely. I decided a good project would be to convert the front of my existing bike to a full tri bike which would basically give me the ability to shift in the aero position thus allowing me to stay in this position for a great portion of time. Also by changing to carbon bullhorn handlebars I would save significant weight. So I began this project and did become a little nervous that I was in over my head.

I carefully continued the recabling and installation progress and was able to add the aerobars, shifters, bullhorn and brakes with little fanfare. I went with Profile Designs Carbon Stryke and their Cobra bullhorn.

Next was the big decision and the primary reason I was going this route with my spending. I really felt I would benefit from race wheels. But a new bike and race wheels would be exorbitant. So through some research I decided to patiently look for race wheels gently used on Ebay or Craigslist. I decided I wanted Hed H3 carbon race wheels with tubular tires (versus clinchers). This would save me about 1.6 pounds from my current wheels and significantly reduce my rolling resistance. I lucked out and found a pair from a masters racer in California.

The wheels arrived and I went through the process of taping the tubulars with Tufo Extreme Tape. I added a cog from Shimano's Ultegra line to match my training wheels. And with that the mission was complete. Net monetary savings for my bike is about 60% off retail and the weight savings is approximately 2.8 pounds. That combined with improved aerodynamics and lower rolling resistance should save me around 15 watts or improve my speed by about 1.5 mph. Now it's time to ride, because at the end of the day real improvement comes through consistent training.

Happy training!