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The right bike will save you 10mins over 40k

I read in some book (you should know the one) that a proper good bike could save you 10mins over OD (40K), i almost fell off my chair (which is even more remarkable when you consider i was actually reading the book in bed).



10 MINUTES !!!



My god i thought, that's the difference between almost good and good. That's 5 minutes over my sprint distance! 5 MINUTES. I'm crap at running, i run 5 minute kilometre's (no tittering at the back), so 5 minutes saved is huge. It's like running 4k instead of 5k.



5 minutes in the pool is the equivalent of 270 meters......



If this is true, i may need to upgrade between now and 10:10am tomorrow.



But is it? Really?



According to the book, two 'fat' men completed their ride in the same time as the Mr. Conehead, and although he wasn't at peak performance (see what i did there), he should have beaten these guys hands down.



I'm gutted that this is likely to happen to me too! And it will. So how do i handle that? What do i tell myself? [:@]

Comments

  • jibby26jibby26 Posts: 261
    Think of the bike you want (try looking in the porn thread), look at how much it will cost when you've bought all the bling bits for it. After a few weeks when you've stopped weeping/crying at the price think of the GAT/WAT payment due on such a fine racing steed. Failing that just tell yourself that riding an average bike will only make you stronger, so when you win the lottery and can afford it you will be 15 minutes faster your such a good cyclist.
  • jacjac Posts: 452
    The athlete makes more difference than the bike.

    You've trained hard and you've trained consistently. You can't ask for any more.

    I like to think of it like this..Tiger Woods would still kick ass with a stick in his hand..or give Nadal or Federer a table-tennis bat and they'd still clean up at the Slams.

    Don't worry about what other people are riding. Just make yourself more determined to put in a world-beating time.



  • Jack HughesJack Hughes Posts: 1,262
    I've done a bit of an experiment, comparing my road to my MTB, over a 10 mile route.



    I want to do it again properly. By this I mean - pick an HR - quite a high one.



    Day 1. Take the first bike out on the route, try to stick at the target HR as much as possible.

    Rest 30 mins

    Repeat with the second bike



    Day 2. Repeat the exercise, but in the opposite order.



    The idea is to try to take account of differences in weather conditions, fatigue etc.



    Anyway, initial tests show that the MTB is about 10 minutes slower than the racing bike on a 10 Mile (16km) course! But I need to repeat under controlled conditions. (That's a hilly 10 miles though)



    [The bike makes a huge difference - it's why people are prepared to pay so much for them. It's why on the 'Porn thread that I keep asking about how fast people go on them - especially when they have more than one.]
  • clarkey30clarkey30 Posts: 270
    I did my first tri on a hybrid, quite a good one, and moved up to a low spec road bike for the second year taking 24 minutes off my time. Obviously this had followed more training!!!!!



    due to my baby being stolen ive upgraded to a all singing carbon model and wow what a difference! On slight inclines when you start to work that little harder you feel the difference and actually you go faster! i didnt think it could be that responsive!



    The only problem now is im around the hour mark for the bike so dont think im gonna get much quicker

  • Jelly legsJelly legs Posts: 278
    Gary



    last year i was looking at the quintana roo kilo it was £ 1400 or there abouts, i just couldnt justify it.



    This year i looked out of interest to see what i could get same bike for, because i thought it was lovely.



    £ 850 quid.





    I recon if your not worried about the age of the bike you could get a storming deal from somewhere, people must have old stock and want rid of it.



    I also know Tri UK sell demo bikes.





    Personally i'm waiting till i have my times down to what i feel is quite good before i buy a new carbon machine, but if matey on the Bike porn thread wants to give me the cube, i wont turn it down.
  • garyrobertsgaryroberts Posts: 869
    I've reprogrammed my computer (changed my thought process). I've decided that the principle benefit of the carbon bling bike is its weight (or lack of it) and therefore am focusing on the 3 kilos i've lost in the last three months. That's got to be the equivalent of the carbon.....i feel better now.
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