Of the three triathlon discipline, cycling is the most expensive discipline.
Swimming, you only need a pair of goggles and for some a speed suit.
For running, you probably need your visor and running shoes.
Swimming, you improve your swim strokes. Swimming gears won't make much impact.
Running is pure training... Again running gears won't assist you to improve much.
Cycling... Gosh, there is a ton of stuff you can do to it to improve your timing.
Difference between a carbon bike and aluminium bike.
Difference between a road bike and a triathlon bike.
However gear shifting has to be the most crucial aspect of any ride.
Without efficient gear shifting, even if one is given the state-of-the-art bike, you will not be able to gain the maximum advantage in the battlefield.
Gear shifting aside, I found out this year that tweaking the bike can bring extreme comfort to a ride too.
Better late than never. =D
Tires... Discover this right after my Vittoria gave up on me. Gosh, the huge difference between Vittoria and Contential tires!
The Cervelo stock Vittoria tires sticks to the road like glue. Maximum grip.
Contential tires, their low rolling resistance is what I like best. Plus they are built to last, value for money if you ask me.
20cc , 22cc , 23cc , 24cc
They all make a difference to the ride too!
I had 22-24 and 22-23 for ever since I switch to Conti tires.
Frankly speaking, smaller front tire and larger rear tire gave you a better ride.
But the greatest mistake made so far is to have 20-20.
The cushioning is not there and it is really hard to push the bike...
Changed to 20-23 and I am loving my ride again. =D
Wheels... Before Fulcrum Zero, I always thought all wheels are made equal... It is the engine that counts... Never understood what my kakis said about the wheels till I tried it out myself.
Boy, these wheels is a climber.
Aerobars... Again, the stock Cervelo aerobars are so rigid, it is a pain to use.
Had never thought of changing my aerobars till I chanced upon Profile Design Carbon Stryke on Adri's bike.
Looking at her posture in aero position is what prompted me to get the ultra-expensive pieces of carbon fibre.
What I truly like about the aerobars is that you can tweak it in four directions into a position you like.
Plus the fact that I do not have to remove the elbow pads together with the aerobars for OCBC Cycle is a nice touch. =D
(If you have ride on a bike with aerobars long enough, you will find something amiss when the aerobars are removed. =p)
Haha... a poor man's upgrade of a bike...
When you dun have the money to splurge on bikes, you can spend wisely to increase the comforts on the bike.
Right now, I am hoping that my last acquisition will be the last piece of puzzle to my comfort ride. ;)
Will post about it when I get a chance to try it out soon.
4 comments:
Cycling is the new golf. Like a golfer, one keeps getting new equipment with the hope that they will make us go faster, climb higher and rider longer. That is what the bike equipment industry strives on when they market their generally overpriced products. The Discovery Channel team once spent US$1m to get Nike, Giro, Oakley and Trek to work together to produce the fastest bike for Lance Armstrong. All scientific data proved that the end product they had was the fastest bike ever built but Lance did not feel comfortable on it. Hed went back to his old bike and won a time trial stage in 2005 TDF. At the end, it is still the guts, determination, lungs and legs. Having said that upgrading the bike and equipment is part of the fun of cycling. It makes the ride more comfortable and we feel better on it. Enjoy the ride.
SC
Hehe... add something about the different cc tires to the blog entry.
Gotta agree.
Initially, I thought I can just ride any bike.
Cos I was riding comfortably on my stock Cervelo.
I guess it is always through trial and error where we find out what suits us best. =)
So what is the damage$ so far you incurred on your bike? Enough to bring you and your family on a 2 weeks trip to the US or a month long holiday in Europe or more?
Tekko, din spend that much leh...
Poor man's bike...
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