I got all hopped up on this whole Ironman thing, still am I guess, except that it is two weeks away, and I'm not feeling very confident that I will be finishing the thing! Yes, that pains me to write, and yes it will pain me even further when I hit that publish button.
Triathlons = a terrible ongoing expense
FIRST - you pay for registration
SECOND - you pay to train
THIRD - you pay for equipment
No, that isn't a typo, at least for me, I paid for registration well before paying to train or having the equipment. And actually (knowing that I have under-trained and may end up with a DNF) I think for my first one I did it right all until a month or two ago when I bought a "tri bike."
As you know, I LOVE my bikes, obsession ... maybe. Therefore, I am doing a Triathlon; I need a "TT" (Time Trial) bike. Like all good frugal's out there I did my research into the good bikes, into the right size, even went to a couple of shops to look. Came to the conclusion, I am too tall for these damn things, and the closest thing that will fit me (other than full custom) was the Specialized Transition. SO naturally I went to craigslist and started looking, a few weeks went by and ba da bing there one was, XL perfect!
I show up all sorts of emotional because this is going to be the reason I will be an Ironman, the bike will bring me across the finish line, no other bike can do it but this one! A sponsored rider owned this bike, and of course to me (cup half full) that meant oh this must be the mack daddy of all bikes!
I looked it over, didn't see any cracks in the frame wheels were true, gears shifted well. I'll take it! Low and behold I didn't have as much cash as I thought I had and ended up low-balling the guy on accident! He took my low-ball, no surprise there after I got it home and learned about the bike. While only cosmetics, the thing was chipped to all hell. Needed two new tires, brakes needed adjusting, two replacement brake adjusters, new grip tape and FINALLY, it was road worthy! However that is not to mention that the bike was still too small for me and had 172.5 cranks that the dude bragged about the brand, they were Rival, shit, I have better components on my cross bike! I wouldn't say I got taken because the bike itself was worth what I paid; I would have treated the deal much differently if I didn't have stars in my eyes! In other words I would have walked away, it was not the right bike for me!
I tried to make it work, did a few adjustments to make the bike fit. It was a tight fit, but a fit w/ in specs of angles for a proper fitting. Tried it on the trainer for a couple of days then it was road time! 50 miles later and I was excited, it was fast! But man I was not comfortable, it took me a good 15 miles just to feel like I wasn't going to crash, I had a low line adrenaline rush the entire time! Next time I took the bike out was a few weeks later, 20 miles 1 hour, and decent climb, AWESOME! I was on cloud nine! Just today took er' for another spin 47 miles, sure they were ok quick at 18 mph but terrible no comfort, crunched and just couldn't shake the "mini" adrenaline rush because it is was such a squirmy bike. At about mile 30 I decided I was over it, the bike was getting sold. At about 40 I thought that it is wicked fast and that I just need to suffer through the 112 miles for the IronMan. It was during the last 6 miles that I decided I would do an experiment.
For $50 I can equip my Scantante (my road bike that I LOVE) with Aero bars. After I did that, I would take it for the same first five miles and see if I could beat my time on the Specialized. (Side note, this is only possible because of Strava, LOVE Strava) Thus, I was off, may be a little jacked because I was so happy to be sitting comfortably on a road bike, but I was off the same day after I had just ridden 46 miles at 18 MPH. My legs were tired, burning some but not more than they were on the Specialized. What do you know, I PR'd on the Scantante! That was enough for me; the Specialized went back on Craigslist the next day!
Lesson one, if you want something, figure out why, do your research prior, and if you are still emotional about it, bring a friend! This can apply to cars, appliances, bicycles, computers, pretty much any decent sized purchase. Especially used.
Lesson two, don't believe the hype. Do you own research, when I finally found a valid opinion online that was running the physics behind a TT bike and a road bike and found that on the Professional level where milliseconds matter so does a TT bike, otherwise the VAST majority is simply YOU and staying in Aero position. Don't spend money on things that make you better if you can become better with what you have already. So many times it is up to you to improve NOT the equipment.
Lesson three, don't pay asking (unless you know your values perfectly) on craigslist. I have a rule of thumb, pay 1/4 new price.
Triathlons = a terrible ongoing expense
FIRST - you pay for registration
SECOND - you pay to train
THIRD - you pay for equipment
No, that isn't a typo, at least for me, I paid for registration well before paying to train or having the equipment. And actually (knowing that I have under-trained and may end up with a DNF) I think for my first one I did it right all until a month or two ago when I bought a "tri bike."
As you know, I LOVE my bikes, obsession ... maybe. Therefore, I am doing a Triathlon; I need a "TT" (Time Trial) bike. Like all good frugal's out there I did my research into the good bikes, into the right size, even went to a couple of shops to look. Came to the conclusion, I am too tall for these damn things, and the closest thing that will fit me (other than full custom) was the Specialized Transition. SO naturally I went to craigslist and started looking, a few weeks went by and ba da bing there one was, XL perfect!
I show up all sorts of emotional because this is going to be the reason I will be an Ironman, the bike will bring me across the finish line, no other bike can do it but this one! A sponsored rider owned this bike, and of course to me (cup half full) that meant oh this must be the mack daddy of all bikes!
I looked it over, didn't see any cracks in the frame wheels were true, gears shifted well. I'll take it! Low and behold I didn't have as much cash as I thought I had and ended up low-balling the guy on accident! He took my low-ball, no surprise there after I got it home and learned about the bike. While only cosmetics, the thing was chipped to all hell. Needed two new tires, brakes needed adjusting, two replacement brake adjusters, new grip tape and FINALLY, it was road worthy! However that is not to mention that the bike was still too small for me and had 172.5 cranks that the dude bragged about the brand, they were Rival, shit, I have better components on my cross bike! I wouldn't say I got taken because the bike itself was worth what I paid; I would have treated the deal much differently if I didn't have stars in my eyes! In other words I would have walked away, it was not the right bike for me!
I tried to make it work, did a few adjustments to make the bike fit. It was a tight fit, but a fit w/ in specs of angles for a proper fitting. Tried it on the trainer for a couple of days then it was road time! 50 miles later and I was excited, it was fast! But man I was not comfortable, it took me a good 15 miles just to feel like I wasn't going to crash, I had a low line adrenaline rush the entire time! Next time I took the bike out was a few weeks later, 20 miles 1 hour, and decent climb, AWESOME! I was on cloud nine! Just today took er' for another spin 47 miles, sure they were ok quick at 18 mph but terrible no comfort, crunched and just couldn't shake the "mini" adrenaline rush because it is was such a squirmy bike. At about mile 30 I decided I was over it, the bike was getting sold. At about 40 I thought that it is wicked fast and that I just need to suffer through the 112 miles for the IronMan. It was during the last 6 miles that I decided I would do an experiment.
For $50 I can equip my Scantante (my road bike that I LOVE) with Aero bars. After I did that, I would take it for the same first five miles and see if I could beat my time on the Specialized. (Side note, this is only possible because of Strava, LOVE Strava) Thus, I was off, may be a little jacked because I was so happy to be sitting comfortably on a road bike, but I was off the same day after I had just ridden 46 miles at 18 MPH. My legs were tired, burning some but not more than they were on the Specialized. What do you know, I PR'd on the Scantante! That was enough for me; the Specialized went back on Craigslist the next day!
Lesson one, if you want something, figure out why, do your research prior, and if you are still emotional about it, bring a friend! This can apply to cars, appliances, bicycles, computers, pretty much any decent sized purchase. Especially used.
Lesson two, don't believe the hype. Do you own research, when I finally found a valid opinion online that was running the physics behind a TT bike and a road bike and found that on the Professional level where milliseconds matter so does a TT bike, otherwise the VAST majority is simply YOU and staying in Aero position. Don't spend money on things that make you better if you can become better with what you have already. So many times it is up to you to improve NOT the equipment.
Lesson three, don't pay asking (unless you know your values perfectly) on craigslist. I have a rule of thumb, pay 1/4 new price.
Comments
Post a Comment