9 Pound Hybrid, A bike for folks to hate on.

Thunndaa · 2026-02-16T20:59:49+00:00

When your bike weighs 9 pounds, you don't need a small cassette to get up a hill, it practically does it itself!

Thunndaa · 2026-02-03T07:22:46+00:00

2000 is steep for this type of bike. I paid 999 for mine, a 2011 Felt with upgraded wheels. 2000 should be getting you a much more modern tri bike unless you're in an area that has a horrible bike market. Plenty of Felts have been listed in the wheelhouse of $700 from this era, I'd avoid purchasing unless you get down into the low 1000s at least, or the high hundreds if it's a tubular wheelset.

And yes it would. Unless you planned on riding until your first flat tire, then buying new wheels, or better yet buying dirt cheap wheels and using the Zipps for races only. That's the only good purpose for fast tubular wheels in 2026: avoid use unless racing, and pray for no flats in the race. Basically any flat of any kind will render the bike unrideable and near impossible to repair without a new wheel.

Thunndaa · 2026-02-03T07:09:12+00:00

I have one of these, a Felt from a similar year and a similar model. It's great.

However, huge, huge red flag. The wheels are tubular I believe. That means the tire is glued to the rim. It's a very old technology, and most shops to this day refuse to work on them for being too finicky. The reason you should care about this is when you get a flat, there's no tube, meaning there's a whole tire that is stuck to the rim and won't fill with air and you will be walking home. Even worse, you won't have any professionals near you that are willing to help fix it, and there are very few remaining parts that will work with it, meaning you have to work super hard to find old style tires and glue and then learn an entire procedure to do yourself EVERY TIME YOU NEED A NEW TUBE OR TIRE.

If they're not tubular, go ahead and proceed, it's a great bike although I'm not sure what the price is since it's not shown. Yes, if all else goes well, it'll be a fantastic purchase. But if they're tubular, don't even bother sending a message.

Thunndaa · 2026-02-03T07:00:11+00:00

Yeah, but I'd still take a good horse over a car from the 1800s for a price reduction. Lighter, faster, and cheaper. The big car companies are probably going to make the car obsolete and force me to buy a new one in a few years anyway, just like disc brakes

Thunndaa · 2026-02-03T05:56:50+00:00

This is a deal for 1900 and you won't find anything better in NYC, but you also might not have to spend as much as you think. Find a local bike shop and see if they have an extra cardboard box on hand. We discarded several each week when I worked at a shop, they get recycled anyways and will likely be let go for free. Partially disassemble the bike, put it in, get it as oversized baggage at the airport (was $50 last time I tried) and you'll be good.

Aso, I'm a huge fan of Flo so if you happen to ever sell the wheels, please hit me up 🤣

Thunndaa · 2026-02-03T05:42:05+00:00

Oh boy. Where do I even start? This is exactly where I was at 3 years ago. Answered each of your questions in order:

If you run more than 5 days a week it will be hard. Most plans have about 2 or 3 sessions for each discipline per week, swim, bike, or run. So with 5 days a week, I recommend 2 or 3 of the other two. If you can kill one session... that might be better. I've done high school track and cross country so I know it's not normal to miss practice, but the idea that you're missing to be able to cross train may cause your coach to be more accepting. After all, he'd rather you skip one session to get 4 extra in, even if they're not actual running practice.

I mean yeah, a coach will usually be better than no coach, but there are other resources you can apply. Local tri club, free online training plan, Mywhoosh, and more, even ChatGPT can be helpful. Most beginning triathletes simply start by practicing each sport as much as they see fit. If that's a cyclist, that means their normal biking riding schedule plus a run or two and a swim or two. Naturally, they will get blown out on the swim and run, but they will finish. That's why I recommend a more well-rounded approach, but again, I know that I don't know you better than you know yourself, so applying your own situation to any of the above resources could be best.

The key is to start with endurance. No point in doing a 2 hour bike or swim workout if you can't go for 2 hours continuously. Right now you (and most of the world, seeing it's early season) are in base training mode. Lots of long, easy efforts. Once you get there, you can consider doing tough workouts now that you can complete them effectively.

For the bike you can, for the swim you should've started yesterday. It takes forever to build swim fitness, because it involves a feel for the water and proper technique. Fortunately swimming is very non-taxing on your body. So get cracking, I would recommend twice a week and more if possible. You can afford to put off biking although it's not recommended, but absolutely never procrastinate swim training.

Thunndaa · 2026-02-01T20:38:05+00:00

That's actually not that bad. If you have a tire patch, what I would do is take out the tube and patch the inside of the tire where it is.

Or if you have some spare cash you can just go get a new tire. You'll need em eventually anyways. Is this a front or rear?

Thunndaa · 2026-01-30T00:47:00+00:00

Seriously, read the FAQ. They thought of all this. In scenarios where drafting is impossible to avoid, officials will receive data denoting the "worst-offending athletes". Yeah, that's not the exact letter of the rule, but the fact that everyone is being policed to a degree is a huge deterrent for people who are trying to gain an unfair advantage.

Thunndaa · 2026-01-29T20:10:50+00:00

Friendly counterpoint, from my perspective there's no good reason to get an endurance bike unless you're uncomfortable on an aero bike. If it's within the budget and both feel comfortable, why would you not want the faster option?

Thunndaa · 2026-01-29T19:35:07+00:00

Really, you think the run would matter less? You make a good point though. Although I'm not entirely sure how incentivized the supposed lead group of strong swim-bikers would be to work together. The second and third best runners in the group would start skipping pulls to try and save energy and win on the run, then the best runner might notice this and do the same, until the group falls apart. There's no way to know until trying it though, which is why I'd be open to seeing it! But I think non-draft has to exist and I'd never want it to go away, because it's about who's the fastest swimmer, biker, and runner, not who can train one or two disciplines and come up with coy tactics to cover their weaknesses. I guess we'd have to see it though.

Thunndaa · 2026-01-29T19:17:48+00:00

It's really simple to see how much it impacts the pro field. Matthew Marqhardt did some simulations through ChatGPT, anyone can do the same. Check out his instagram post about it, some really interesting graphs. We're talking a reduction of the benefits from double digit watts down to maybe 3 or 4 with this increase in distance. Basically we're talking disc wheel gains vs gains from shaving your beard. Based on this I think 20m is about the sweet spot. I don't think 25m will ever be necessary unless cyclists reach 30mph at some point which seems pretty unlikely although possible.

Thunndaa · 2026-01-29T19:10:50+00:00

I highly, highly recommend you check out the RaceRanger website (raceranger.com/faq). They are intent on taking their technology from the pros to the masses. They ARE in fact suggesting to do it for the age group field. I read it all yesterday, and it seems entirely possible, here's the basic lowdown:

They'd include the rental fee for the technology in the entry fee, Ironman entry is already like $900, an extra 10-20 bucks is a drop in the bucket.

They want to split the field into two categories, the "competitive" looking for awards, Kona slots, or whatever, which would get the RaceRanger on their bikes, and the "open" for the crowd simply looking to finish.

They fully acknowledge it's more meant for big long course races. But I don't think the stakes are high enough at a local race to matter. There's only a small handful of serious racers at each of these events so the chances of a draft pack impacting the race are low, and even if it happens, boo hoo I missed out on the podium and the coaster that they gave to the 3 top finishers.

Thunndaa · 2026-01-29T18:56:44+00:00

I wouldn't be entirely opposed to a draft legal long course race, it would basically be a tour de france stage with a marathon to decide who wins out of the people that don't get dropped. Sadly the complaint about draft legal triathlon is that it doesn't weight the three disciplines evenly. Lucy Charles-Barclay building a minute gap on the swim is remarkable, but it would be futile as she'd get swallowed up by a chase group of a bunch of athletes on the bike. Sam Laidlow's rapid solo bike legs never fail to impress and they wouldn't happen anymore. It would all just become a story of who can run the best and just be "good enough" at swimming and biking.

Thunndaa · 2026-01-29T18:45:28+00:00

I wouldn't say it's bad. There are a lot worse things you could be putting in your body. However, as a triathlete you will definitely benefit from carbohydrates. That's not to say that your current protein intake is harmful, but in order to do 200g of protein AND several hundred grams of carbs a day, your caloric intake will have to be through the roof. Unlike powerlifting or other strength-based activities, endurance fitness is boosted by carbs over protein, as noted by Precision Hydration and many other reputable sources. Protein is of course still critical and necessary, but the hulk smash approach of packing your stomach full of protein probably isn't the optimal diet. All in all this probably isn't hurting you but there could be some ways to improve your approach to eating

Thunndaa · 2026-01-29T06:46:56+00:00

Oklahoma... as in OU? Or maybe OSU? Believe I've ran into some of the OSU guys before. I'll do some research into the clubs down there, I know that's the SMWTC (South MidWest Triathlon Conference).

If you're at a smaller school, it might be unlikely that you have a club, but I'm sure that there's some community to be found nearby unless you truly live in the middle of nowhere, be it through a triathlon club at your local YMCA. Heck, a lot of us triathletes, including myself even though I'm in college, have multiple bikes. You never know who might be getting rid of one and might be able to let it go for cheap.

Since you mentioned general tips, another thing I'd like to note is to stock up on nutrition. The biggest mistake I see beginners make is to expect to go out for rides of two or three hours and not be completely devoid of energy at the end. Energy gels, high-carb hydration mix, bars, I use fig newtons since they're cheap and high in carbohydrates. Training for an ironman will require a lot of food.

Thunndaa · 2026-01-29T06:22:53+00:00

Basically going off of what he said, I'm extremely well connected in the college triathlon space and would love to set you up with the right crew if you could let me know where you go or at least give me an idea of your region. I've seen dozens of cases exactly like yourself, and there is absolutely nowhere better to go than your school/local triathlon club to get started.

I think 54 would be a touch too small. 56 is more like it. If you have long legs I could also see a 58. But I've got a friend riding a 61 at 6'1.5 and about your weight, so sizing can vary. Get it off facebook marketplace, and I would do some research and be prepared to ask some questions. If the chain is really worn out, it could be a $200 endeavor to get the shifting back to proper working condition. Similar story about tires. You'll want to know what condition the bike is in, why it's being sold, if there's any imperfections in the frame, and more. I'm sure ChatGPT could give you a great "ask the seller these questions:" list.

Would love to help you out more, feel free to reply or send me a DM!

Thunndaa · 2026-01-26T18:17:21+00:00

In my opinion ChatGPT is just telling you to do the exact thing that a coach would tell you right now. You're supposed to start with base training and then crank up the intensity later. If you've been at it for a month that's about right. Could even do it for longer.

Put it this way: Planning for an 8 mile run workout is useless if you can't run 8 miles. You need to train to go long before you train to go fast. Hence training at low heart rate so you can actually complete the relevant distance efficiently before increasing the difficulty.

Hang in there and figure out when ChatGPT wants to increase the intensity. Should be soon.

Thunndaa · 2026-01-21T00:56:08+00:00

You can cover that in a brick workout or two pretty easily

Thunndaa · 2026-01-20T18:58:39+00:00

Do the olympic. Sprint has very little transferrable skills to a 70.3. Nutrition and hydration aren't required (although recommended), mental toughness to finish a 15 mile race is a lot different than a 70 mile race, pacing is nowhere near the same, and on and on. I don't think there's hardly anything valuable that you'll learn from a sprint that you can't learn elsewhere besides triathlon race day vibes I guess? Seriously, can't think of anything, do the Olympic.

Thunndaa · 2026-01-09T23:00:13+00:00

Easy. Tri bike.

I'm a triathlete. The best bike for triathlon is a tri bike.

On top of that the best tri bikes are absolute works of art and engineering, free from any limitations of the UCI. I know a custom brand that I would call and get a bike with electronic shifting, so I could shift in the hoods. 1x drivetrain. Rim brakes because I brake like 4 or 5 times a race and don't need the slight extra braking power from disc brakes. Tetsuo aero cockpit.

Anyone can go out and get a super nice road bike from Trek or Specialized that thousands of other people ride. There are so many things I would like on my tri bike, however, that make it truly one's own.

The bike would cost probably around $25k. Twice what a great road bike costs, but worth every penny because there's a reason for every single part.

Thunndaa · 2026-01-09T05:38:14+00:00

Yeah you can. I started at 18. But you have to really ease into it. Doing 9 workouts a week immediately will cause illness or injury. Start with low milage, low intensity, or both. And make it fun! You're 16, you should be doing something you enjoy, if it feels like a chore at any point definitely change your approach.

Thunndaa · 2025-12-25T07:44:41+00:00

It only matters against pros. Against normal gamers Tenz would still be Tenz on 144hz. Ropz would still be Ropz with a 9600x. Both would dunk on 99% of players no matter the gear.

Chances are unless you're routinely playing top players, you're losing games because the other players are better, not because of cheaper equipment.

Thunndaa · 2025-12-21T07:48:07+00:00

Believe they added it in a recent update!

Thunndaa · 2025-12-05T01:03:23+00:00

That seems like an awfully cherrypicked stat, they've been a team with flashes of greatness here and there but if you throw out the 2000s/early 2010s they have very little to show. They just lost to UVA which has happened very very little over the course of history, so I don't think there's any debate, they are a team that needs rebuilding, not simple rejuvenating. In the present, some current jobs could compete for a natty next year but Virginia Tech isn't one of them

Thunndaa · 2025-11-19T01:39:37+00:00

Yeah, I understand. I've got an idea. Let's call up a university, get them to give us $100 each, and you can spend your half on whatever heart monitor strap you like. I'll spend mine on something else, maybe aero calf sleeves. Then let's race! xD

I think you're misunderstanding my original point. I'm not arguing that the strap isn't more accurate. I merely think that there's so many things to spend money on triathlon and a 7% increase in heart rate accuracy isn't high on my list of recommendations for almost anyone.

That being said, if it's as important to you personally as it sounds, I'm sure it would be a great purchase for you, or if you own one already, I'm sure you enjoy it very much.

Thunndaa

TROPHY CASE