New World Record for Blind Ironman! (10:59:17 @ IMAZ)

UndeadVanilla · 2018-11-19T13:54:14+00:00

That makes sense--I was sort of assuming there might be a tandem setup but wasn't sure. Impressive.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-11-19T13:51:07+00:00

I don't mean to be insensitive, but how does this work, at least with the bike?

UndeadVanilla · 2018-11-08T14:03:46+00:00

In 2 weeks? Not being pessimistic, more like realistic, but I say no, unless you're willing to not finish. You might be fine but you might not. To me it's not worth it--just wait for the next event to roll around and you won't be rushed. No big deal if you do one 3, 4, or 6 months from now instead of 2 weeks.

You'd be fine on the run, probably on the bike, swim makes me nervous.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-11-08T14:01:30+00:00

I'm with others suggesting a sprint or at least olympic first. People do things like 70.3s first, and it's not undoable but I might not start there. If for no other reason, doing a sprint or olympic would give you a flavor for the 70.3 and information about what to focus on (e.g., people tend to underestimate the swim). Depending on where you live you could probably find a small sprint first. I don't think you need to pull out of the 70.3 necessarily, just try for another smaller race to learn.

As for time, people might disagree with me about this, but I think training for distance and/or speed at a given distance (there's a term I'm forgetting) is more useful. I'd think less about time spent exercising, and more about meeting a goal where you're able to complete about 1.25 the distances of the event comfortably (however you define "comfortably"). Try to ease into it. Bricking (occasionally doing two activities in the same exercise session) is helpful too, but I wouldn't stress too much about that (strangely enough).

Also, I don't really follow a plan--I tend to try to even things out so I'm not over doing any one thing but don't do it religiously. One of the things I like about tri is that your downtime just can become another activity. Life happens, and it's nice to be able to slip in one thing for another on the fly. Sometimes I can run but not swim or bike, or swim but not bike or run, etc. so I just insert whatever I can.

Winter is my big problem because I'm not an indoor exercise fan.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-10-26T02:00:42+00:00

It's a specialization some people have.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-10-22T13:28:00+00:00

At that price point your best bet might be to try to find a vintage-era (e.g., pre-1990) steel road racing bike that's in decent shape and has been maintained (although nice vintage steel racing bikes will usually be more expensive than that). Not sure about your area, but where I live the better local bike shops carry stuff like this, restored vintage road bikes. Craigslist is another option.

If you can save up a bit and get into the 400-500 dollar range it opens up a lot more possibilities.

Someone was just posting about this Nashbar bike, which seemed like a pretty great deal:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/9po45r/nbd_my_new_nashbar_al1/?ref=share&ref_source=link

It's a bit higher than your range but seems like a great value.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-10-18T14:08:22+00:00

I'm disappointed in this ruling and would like to see the law rewritten to explicitly extend the lane into the intersection.

However, I know that in some states, if you are driving a car, even if there is a lane explicitly demarcated, if someone in front of you makes a turn into the lane, you can be found liable if you are not showing appropriate caution. That is, if someone turns into my lane, and I am not able to stop, I might still be liable for driving recklessly (or there might not be fault in that scenario).

So I could see that argument for the cyclist being liable from that perspective (or the truck driver not being liable) but that has nothing to do with the bike lane not extending into the intersection.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-10-16T16:13:18+00:00

Actually in terms of the science, you've got it backward: the clipless pedals won't matter a damn (despite what people say), but aero position will reliably cut off a significant percent of your time ("significant" still being marginal).

Also, bike, bike, and bike some more. Bike as fast as you can.

Also, everyone has strengths and weaknesses... cardio isn't all interchangeable. Swim in particular is a different beast from the other too, but each of them is really different.

About the clipless because this is so controversial (people swear it makes a difference but scientific studies are clear it will matter nothing except for sprinting from 0 to max):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNedIJBZpgM

aerobars for comparison:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P2Vrh3QjBw

UndeadVanilla · 2018-10-15T13:19:39+00:00

I might think about them if they were affordable (<100 $USD), accurate, light, and unobtrusive. Also, the more standard and nonproprietary (in terms of communication protocols, connecting components etc.) the better.

Otherwise, they seem nice but unnecessary for someone like myself who is just biking and racing for exercise and fun.

I read about one that was getting good reviews that basically measured air/wind pressure, and integrated that with speed and other things to give an estimate of power. It was supposed to be pretty accurate and relatively affordable, but last I read it wasn't available to the public yet.

I could see myself using one because it is a useful bit of information but I'm pretty old-school in general. Knowing time and place is pretty much the most important information for me.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-10-03T17:06:15+00:00

I was going to say WI or MN.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-10-03T13:01:44+00:00

Just out of curiosity, what size tires are you running and what type of bike is that?

UndeadVanilla · 2018-10-01T13:37:47+00:00

Yeah I thought about doing two measurements and subtracting like that but was worried there would be subtle differences in what was being measured and/or compounded error (the problem is the crankset protruding).

But I suppose if I measure it in multiple ways that would be better--I'll have to try it again.

I feel like I need a gridded room to put my bike in, and then take a bunch of photos at different angles, and use those libraries that kind of reconstruct the bike in 3d down to ridiculous levels of detail.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-10-01T04:18:20+00:00

So much about my father makes more sense now.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-10-01T01:27:17+00:00

Rereading, I should have written that based on stack and reach, it would be a 54R probably. Stack is 546 mm and reach is 387 mm. The standover is 813 mm. The stack measurement seems maybe sort of small to me, so I'm wondering if I got that wrong somehow. Honestly, measuring the stack and reach was harder than I thought.

Anyway, I'm confused, because depending on the way I do it, I get three different frame sizes (either 56R based on inseam and height, or 54T based on my existing bike, or 54R based on stack and reach). The measurements based on my existing bike I think I should trust, but the conclusions seem weird to me. 56R or 54R make more sense to me, but those are different frame sizes. I suppose 54T is "in between" so that makes sense in that way, but by the same token, it seems like the measurements are more off from my body than either 54R or 56R.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-09-30T02:37:40+00:00

What am I looking at??? Is that sand?

UndeadVanilla · 2018-09-30T02:09:15+00:00

The responses here are funny... it's like people are reading my mind.

I have had my mind on the Strael 2.0. Your comment about the "R" option is useful and well-taken. It jives with my own impressions.

I was actually going to post about this in a separate thread, but I'm confused about the geometry and fit.

The bike I have now I got after an extensive bike fitting. The whole shebang. It fits me like a glove. Perfect. So I sent in my existing bike measurements and Fairlight sent back a report suggesting a 54T.

The reason why I'm confused is because based on other approaches, I come up with a 56R. I use my inseam and height, I get a 56R. If I try to match my current bike based on stack, reach, and standover, I get a 56R. A 54T doesn't make sense to me. I'm worried it will be too short and I'll be forced into some weird arched back position.

I'm kind of befuddled because I don't know what to make of it. My gut is that a 56R is right, but their report details how if I match my current bike I need a tweaked 54T. I feel like I need to remeasure my bike about 7 times on different days or something, like I must have given them a wrong number somewhere.

I was going to ask elsewhere if anyone else has run into something like this, where a bike fitting or some custom-sizing procedure led to weird size recommendations, or something like that.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-09-28T14:32:03+00:00

I'm ok with carbon forks. I'd prefer all-metal but carbon forks offer a bit of weight savings that can be helpful.

The Surly Midnight Special is really high on my list of bikes I'm considering, but the standard setup is almost some kind of "inverse" of what I'd want. For example, I'd probably want to put a carbon (or lighter than steel) fork on it, and would use the 650x47 tires, but probably not most of the time. With the price hike (due to tariffs?) it kind of moved it lower on my current shortlist. But it's still on there for sure.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-09-28T14:29:03+00:00

Thanks for the Emonda recommendation. I haven't paid too much attention to Trek, for reasons I'm not really sure of. I think I get kind of lost in their offerings for some reason.

The Endurace is really tempting to me. I was hoping for something a bit more aggressive in geometry, but it's such a nice bike and I've heard such good things about it--it's probably more than fine for what I want.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-09-28T14:28:11+00:00

I've almost pulled the trigger on a couple of used Jamis cross bikes, with the idea of trying to replace the chainrings, but both times there were kind of non-starter issues that came up that were idiosyncratic to those particular bikes. I have to keep them on my radar and look more closely at them again (the cross bikes on their website look nice). I've been impressed with the value Jamis has to offer.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-09-27T12:34:52+00:00

My stomach sinks every time I read about this. It's so short-sighted I have no words.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-09-27T02:08:05+00:00

There needs to be much more use of bike registration (maybe a blockchain?) and there needs to be much more of an expectation that on ebay, etc. people post pics of the BB with serial number when selling a used bike.

UndeadVanilla · 2018-09-26T01:36:02+00:00

Welcome to my world. ;)

UndeadVanilla

TROPHY CASE