Hi chaps
So looking for some riding advice
We've got four teams from the office entered into an Eton Dorney tri on sept 28
I'm doing the bike leg for our team...I think 2 of us are gonna be pretty close..matched swimmers in the 27 min area and my runner is a 50 minutes as opposed to the others 40 minute runner..so a lot gonna be down to me to get a gap on their rider
Have found a place to get 40 k uninterrupted (give or take pedestrians wandering into the road and cars pulling out) training runs..my first run out was 1.19.. My second 1.17.. My third 1.17 again(2 seconds faster)
I don't think I've got time to introduce tri bars to the bike now...in case I can't get into a comfortable enough position so staying on my usual road bike for this ride anyhow
Finding I can hold an average of 32kmh for around the first half then slowly losing speed over the second half..keeping cadence in the high 90's
Any hints as to what I can be doing in next few weeks to get my time down
Also considering whether to use brand new tyres.. My summer Michelin pro 4's which went on in April showing a few nicks so a bit worried to use them on the day in case something gets through
Put on a new summer tyre or lessen risk of puncture by using Conti 4 seasons? I take it Eton is a well kept surface
Any hints gladly received
Eton Dorny is a brilliant event, and you'll be fine on the surface there.
Couple of tips you can try and introduce at short notice - ride on "phantom" aero bars, like I am in the picture at Liverpool a few posts up. This is a difficult trick, it took be a couple of weeks to get confident with it, but you can noticably feel the difference.
The reason i do this, is that aero bars aren't always legal, i do alot of road racing and crit racing where you can't use aero bars, so i like to be in the practice of riding on "phantom bars".
Tyre pressures is an obvious one - make sure your at at least 100 psi, be aiming for 110-115 if your inner tubes can take it. On a dry crit race i'll be running 120psi.
Learn to move around in the saddle - this is a big one for TT/Triathlon riders, because it's a constant power event. Shift forwards and backwards in the saddle when your quads/hamstrings begin to burn, this moves the load into a different muscle, and is a good way of giving the glory muscles (quad and calf) a bit of a rest.
Other than that, strip your bike of weight. One bidon cage is all you need for a 40k ride. No saddle bags, no spare tubes, no lights, no reflectors, no lock carriers, no frame pumps. My freind saved 1kg off his bike when he weight with/without all of the extras. People pay thousands to save that kind of weight.