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Bike choice for UK Ironman 70.3

bbambbam Posts: 30
I have a Triathlon bike and a road bike, however I cant put clip on aero bars on my road bike as its the Orbea Orca and the handlebars are a squashed oval shape which means there are no clip on aero bars that fit it.



I live near the Ironman 70.3 course and ride it often however over the last few months I just havent been able to decide which bike to use on the day. My times on the bikes arent that much different for the course, but I havent been able to ride them both in similar weather conditions.



Im going more towards my road bike, but Im wondering whether using my road bike with no clip on aero bars will leave me with less energy for the run then using my tt bike.



Any advice will be appreciated. (and yes I know its a only a week away)

Comments

  • danny_sdanny_s Posts: 235
    I'm riding a road bike w/o clip ons next weekend. For climbing and any more twitchy descents, I feel a lot more comfortable on the Madone.



    If you know the course, and have comparable times, then go with the bike that is more comfortable and that will give you a better run. That's where they say the biggest savings of a TT setup are, not on the bike, but getting off of it your legs feel better. That comes down to the fit and your strengths, so I can't give any advice one way or another.



    Off topic, but what % do the hills get to? I was with a group ride that did some 230m climbs averaging 10% this weekend and I was curious how that'd compare to what we'll see in Exmoor.

  • james1james1 Posts: 14
    Ive heard the hills are 14-16%
  • bbambbam Posts: 30
    danny_s - did W/O mean without clip on, so just your normal road bike? I think I will go with my road bike as I feel a lot mroe comfortable on it and climbing is easier and there is a lot of it.



    One hill is 14% and its about 300 - 400metres, it flattens out a tiny bit, and kicks up aswell, its tought on the second lap. However what makes this hill hard is that there is a shorter (200-300m) sharp one about 2miles before and there is another hill called Haddon Hill which comes after these two hills, again short and sharp and then a steady slight incline for a while.



    One bit people forget about on this course is the first 3miles from the lake, you climb about 200m and if you push it too much then you will pay for it on the second lap.



    I will be onest, I ride this quite often and it is tough, but my advice to anyone is, take the first 30minutes steady espcially the first 3miles of climbing otherwise you will pay for it. I passed so many people last year near the end of the second lap who had clearly ran out of energy/were cramping.



    I also adivse to bring arm warmers with you as it can get quite cold on the bike course.
  • danny_sdanny_s Posts: 235
    Yea, normal road bike. I can get quite low on the drops (~24cm below the saddle height), which gets my back quite flat and about 60% of the aero benefits of being on aerobars but I can still brake/shift without moving.
  • combatdwarfcombatdwarf Posts: 258
    I thought about using my road bike but I eventually opted for my TT after riding it a few weeks ago - okay the hills are a little more tricky but I prefer the aero position for the lumpy bit in the middle - each to their own I suppose!
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