seedsbelize 

I did one sprint triathlon. It's good to read the stories of others. I was training here in Merida, in an outdoor pool in water approaching 100*F. The triathlon was in Lake Moomaw, on the Virginia/West Virginia border. Water temperature 76*. The side stroke saved me, and propelled me through a very slow start to my first and only triathlon.

canklecat

A friend who recently did a full tri said the swim portion was pretty much like that, but nastier -- like getting slapped around by huge slippery fish. He said the whole swim portion was enough to make him want to quit. Not because of the difficulty of swimming in open water, but the whole grotesque salmon schooling upstream thing.

As a kid I grew up around open water beaches, so I was accustomed to coping with strong currents and riptides. But I still wouldn't do a tri just because of the swim thing. I'd rather be eaten by a shark than drowned by slippery desperate fellow humans.

The run and bike portions are fine. Substitute anything for swimming and I'll give a tri a try. Make it a bike, run and stripper dance in public event... a nude bake-off... farting contest... anything but swimming with other people.

canklecat

I'm gonna pony up for some decent brake cable like that. I cheaped out a few months ago and bought a bulk coil of "Sunlite" brake cable housing for something like $5 or $10. Got my money's worth, I suppose. The stuff keeps compressing and taking a set, so every few rides I have to reset the cable to take up the slack. I keep thinking it'll eventually compress as much as it'll go, but nope. I'll save the stuff for emergencies, like a neighbor who needs work on his BSO that he rides once a year.

seypat

To me, the duathlons are tougher anyway. No need for the stronger, more muscular swimmer. Just a bunch of skinnies that can bike and run really fast. My first multi sport event was an Oly duo. Run 2 miles, 26ish mile bike followed by a 10k run. I was 5'8" 190ish at the time. I looked more like a running back than a distance runner. I sauntered up to the starting line and most of the males were 5'6ish to 6'3ish. All of them looked like stringbeans in the 130-150 range. The first run was 2 loops of a big rectangle course. The starting gun goes off and 4 groups quickly form. 2 leaders fighting for the lead running at a pace around 6 minutes per. A group was running at a 7:30 clip. There was another group between those 2. The 4th group was me, myself and I running at an 8:27 clip. If it had been 3 laps the leaders would have lapped me. When I got to the first transition, the rest of the duo racers were gone. I did chase some down on the bike.

seypat

I've had good luck with this brand sold by my local LBS. They only stock black, though.

seypat

So some of you might be thinking that duo was a bad experience for me. Not really, because I was riding the Ironman. You can be the judge of who the real winner was. We get my wife's bike off the hitch, pump up the tires and she heads for the transition area to set up. I get the IM off, pump up the tires and head there myself. As I come through the gate, an attractive 40-ish lady comes walking up.
"Nice bike. Those are some of the biggest and most muscular legs I have ever seen. Do they help you go really fast?"
"No a set of chicken legs would be better. They do provide me with a lot of driving power......if you know what I mean."
"I most certainly do. Driving power is good. Maybe we can talk about it some more after the race."
"That sounds like a great offer, but my wife would not be happy. That's her over there."(I wave at my wife)
"I understand. I'll still be around in case you change your mind."

I get to the bike rack and the wife says, "What was that about?"
"She liked the bike and my legs. Wanted to get together after the race."
"Understable, go get your number marked."

texaspandj

Agreed , duathlons are tougher than triathlons. But mostly due to the disproportion. The Swim portion by a lot is shorter. The run and bike portions end up about even.
I've been in combat contact sports since 1977. So getting kicked by a swimmers kick isnt bad at all. That's the least of my worries in an open water swim. I'm more concerned (like C-Cat) of someone floundering and deciding I'm gonna be there lifesaver.
Even though I started "real" swimming, biking, and running at the same time, swimming is still my weakest event. Still, I'd rather triathlon than duathlon. When I come out of the water I can't wait to get on the bike and pass as many triathletes as I can. In a duathlon (run bike run) I'm like, " Dang it, I still have to bike".

seypat

So I head to the number line and wait. There is another attractive lady doing the marking. When it comes my turn, the lady says,

"You have plenty of room for the numbers on your biceps, unlike some of these other guys."
She then squats down to write on my thighs and says, "Wow, you have some great legs. Can I linger and touch them for a few seconds?"
"If it makes you happy, go for it."

Now at that moment, it doesn't matter how well I do in the race. The men standing around me know, and I know. Even if they win or podium, I am the Boss that day.

I head back to my bike and the wife is laughing.
"Let me guess, she liked your legs."
What can I say?"
"That's my man!"

If I hadn't been pushing the IM to start with would it have happened? Who knows. It certainly didn't hurt.

seypat

Swimming is the truth for me when judging aerobic capacity. It really shows my lack of ability.

seedsbelize 

How odd. I didn't take a second glance at your legs. Next time.

fleslider 

Was @seypat riding a Ironman when you didn't notice..

seedsbelize 

No. But he had my new frame set in his van. Not the same thing, I realize.

fleslider 

My guess was the Ironman Allure..

RobbieTunes

I've never looked like a runner, much less a cyclist. Good enough to fool the TV guy at the Elizabeth River Run (10K) in VA: "the guy without the shirt; he won't be around at the end." He ate those words about 30:36 on the time clock, and offered me the videotape. Great guy.

I often heard other runners talking when I decided to line up in front, complaining that "they should let the real runners on the front, posers behind." Until that 1:04 first quarter became a 2:20 half and the 1st mile split right at 5:00 meant they were in trouble, because I generally ran negative splits in every 5K, and nearly so in every 10K.

My Team Tiger and Team Asics teammates would make it worse. I'd line up and they'd all start saying "who let the wrestler up front?" and "he's too thick to be a runner." I'd turn around and point to their shoes, ask with a straight face "Are those Gel Lites?" (which was akin to a cyclist asking "is that carbon?"). They'd crack up.

The run/bike events are tough, especially when you do a run leg before a bike leg. I hate swimming. Hated it when I did triathlons, hated it when I trained, hated it hated it hated it. Then again, I like passing people on the bike, and being nearly last out of the water affords that opportunity.

If I could go back and do it again, which I can't, I'd have cycled right through running and kept it up. Back then, I considered it silly and would only do it to recover from the rare running injury. Which it didn't seem to help.

Never had any @seypat moments. Only thing close was in an elevator in a team(s) hotel before a big 10K, and two of the faster female runners were in it. One looked at me and asked the other one "should we share him?" Only about 34 years ago and I still remember their names, what they were wearing, and who they ran for. Nope, didn't make an impression on me... ha! Sort of a Walter Mitty moment, I'm sure.

canklecat

Reminds me, I do have a coil of that XLC brake cable housing. Got it from REI a couple of weeks ago and forgot about it. The 20 or 30 foot coil was only $8.

verktyg 

Running and riding



TdF is sexy too



...every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man!

verktyg

TXsailor

How can we get a copy of this poster? I know if I had it hanging in front of my trainer I could do a extra 50 watts

texaspandj

I'm lacking patience in my search for wheels for my 8 speed '88 Carbon Ironman. I'm currently using my '89 wheels.
I found some wheels I like but they're not exactly the modern type that I've been looking for. In fact they are uniglide hubs, however I really like them. I'm aware of the challenges mating a HG cassette on a UG hub but just not sure if it's worth it. I have a couple of UG cassettes that I could use the screw on cog But reportedly, Dura Ace uses a different threading. Maybe I should continue my search, but man I really dig this set up, hubs, rims, all of it. What y'all think?

seypat

Can you find some hubs you like then build your own wheels? It's not that hard.

markwesti

Looks good to me tex , but on the other hand I think freewheels are cool , maybe I'm not the best guy to ask . I'll keep a eye on the 85' out in TO , maybe he will drop the price .
The ad was a hoot though .

Classtime 

6-7 speed cassettes are what you have? Awesome to use them on some awesome wheels. AND, you have Dura Ace shifters for said cassettes? Then do it. However, if the wheels were the first piece of the puzzle, forget it. Uniglide is neat in that the big cogs are reversible.

texaspandj

To be clear, I want to put my 8 speed HG dura ace cassette on there. The wheels are pricey and at the top of my limit for wheels...but I like those wheels.

RobbieTunes

That looks like the HG/UG freehub. It should accept either HG cassettes with a lock ring or UG cassettes using the outer ring as a lock ring. It should work.

Check with Doc (rccardr) to make sure.

Looks like you can slide any 8-sp cassette on there. It's got the small spline. You just need a lock ring. Is the issue with your 8-sp DA spacing?

I happen to have a complete, near mint, 8sp tricolor group here, and the rear 6403 is HG, so I can use 8/9/10 and my new favorite, the 11-on-10 CS8000 11sp cassette. The group came with both 8sp DT and 8sp STI shifters. Seriously thinking of putting it back on the Carbon-R, which would make it OEM.

rccardr 

If there are no internal threads on the end of the freehub, that's a very rare 8-9-10 speed UG 7402. Not many of them were made, and they will only accept a lock ring down to 13 teeth, because they have the same external thread diameter as other UG freehubs (the earlier 7401 and 7400 freehubs had a smaller lock ring thread diameter and coild take a 12 tooth). But check to see if there are internal threads on the end AND one smaller spline that will accept HG cogs.

Easiest way to put HG cogs on a UG freehub is to enlarge the one small notch on an HG cog with a file or Dremel, use the correct size spacers on the cassette, and then hold it down with a UG lock ring. Works fine.

Some of us use UG cogs and think they work just fine, but the switch takes maybe ten minutes. On the other hand, if you're convinced that HG is the way to go for you, then hold out for a set of HG wheels or hubs. Plenty of them out there, and I'm of the opinion that pretty much all of the Shimano 8-9-10 speed freehubs are equally excellent, from Tiagra and 105 thru Ultegra to DA.

seypat

+1 on all of them being good. As you up the ladder, about the only noticeable difference is more shine and bling factor.