VegasJen

I know a few of us are active in triathlon so let's liven this place up! Post here with your goals, results and upcoming events for 2023 (and beyond).

As for me, I have already finished one this year, a sprint in Sarasota, FL. I did the Olympic there last year and the humidity almost killed me. I just can't cope with humidity anymore.
I have Rage (Las Vegas) tri end of next month. I decided to do the Olympic course for I don't know what reason.
I also plan to do Pumpkinman (also Las Vegas) at the end of October. That's a point-to-point with a hell of an elevation gain on the bike section so I'm only doing the sprint there.
I want to do the Santa Barbara long course again this year but they haven't opened registration yet. That's an unusual one because the lengths are longer than an Olympic but shorter than a Half.
And finally, I'm still training for my bucket Half, which I intend to complete next year. After that, I'm going to have to dial it back due to arthritis in my hips. The run kills me. Sprints aren't too bad but I will likely switch to aqua-bike events after I finish a Half.

thin_concrete

I have a sprint and an Olympic coming up this summer. Training has been derailed over the last 3 weeks due to life and work, but am planning on hopping back into the saddle next week.

VegasJen

Good for you! Even the sprints take dedication. People who have never done a tri will not understand what goes into them. Keep at it and keep us posted.

_ForceD_

I’m just happy to see some activity in the tri forum. A dedicated triathlete since the 80s, about 5-6 years ago I was forced to give up running for all intents and purposes because of a failing hip (which has now been replace), and now an impending knee replacement. I too would like to participate in some aquabike events…but they just don’t seem to be very plentiful.

Dan

VegasJen

Me too. I'm expecting delivery of a new-to-me Ridley I bought off forum member RobertUI. I just got my K2 set up to where it's actually pretty comfortable being down on the aero bars for miles, but even with the 105 shifters, I still don't like having to move my hands any time I need to change gears.

I'm hoping to get the Ridley in the next week, which will give me about four weeks to get it sorted out for the Rage triathlon at the end of April.

But Dan, I feel your pain. Quite literally. Saw an orthopedic doc a couple weeks ago. At first, he suggested I was just about due for hip replacement surgery. I explained my activity level and he agreed I'm not there yet. My hips are, but I'm still too active for that. We're going to do injections for a while and see how that works for the time being. I plan on completing a half Ironman next year and then I'll dial it back.

Speaking of, what about "Aqua-Bike"? That's what I think I'll do after I finish a half. Swimming and riding are still pretty easy, and damn good exercise. I'll just skip the running after that. I'm going to put off that hip replacement as long as I can. Who knows? Maybe in another five years, some new technology will come out where the replacements will be as durable as the originals.

I can hope anyway.

VegasJen

So, I picked up a new-to-me Ridley Cheetah from forum member RobertUI earlier this week. Finally spent some time getting it set up. I have about a month to put some miles on it before the Rage triathlon at the end of April. One thing I have to say, I'm a bit concern about gearing on this bike. It feels like it's got a lot higher gearing than my road bikes, and the course out at Lake Mead is quite hilly. I will do a couple rides out there to get a feel for it, but I may end up using a road bike for that event just because of the gearing.

_ForceD_

Why not change the cassette to one more conducive for the terrain?

Dan

VegasJen

I'm sure it's a possibility, but I have just not done that before. I'm not even sure what this bike has for the cassette. It doesn't appear to be that radically different than my road bikes. The big difference is that my road bikes have 3 chain ring gears where this one only has two. I know the course we ride for the triathlon but I haven't done it on a tri bike yet. But I also know there are trails in the area with similar terrain that I have to drop down to that 3rd chain ring to get up.
This will be interesting.

thin_concrete

I used to have a P3 that I did TTs with several years ago. Riding a TT/tri bike is definitely a learned skill! As for the cassette, I don’t know if a 2-ring or 3-ring front cog would have any impact on what you run in the rear. I’ve had 2 gears up front for as long as I can remember.

VegasJen

On my road bikes, that third ring gives me extra low down grunt for the steep hills. Kind of like a "granny low", if you're familiar with the term. I did a 27 mile ride on it today. Bike was nearly flawless except I noticed it would not shift into the largest ring on the cassette. I did some playing with it after I got home. I think it is just an adjustment. I got it to hit all the gears now but I'll have to actually go for another ride to see that it's shifting well.

thin_concrete

Oh good! I had a shifting issue on my primary road bike and I had to tighten the cassette down. It hasn’t been an issue since.

_ForceD_

I suppose the bike course for a tri around Lake Meade is probably somewhat hilly. You may want that extra gearing of a third chainring, and/or a cassette with lower gearing. After being pretty active in the sport since the 80s, I haven’t been doing tris in a number of years because of hip replacement, and then knee issues keeping me from running (fortunately I can still ride). But, back in those days…before 1x setups were vogue, cutting weight off the bike was something I often contemplated. For the bike I used in races, I always considered removing one chainring, front derailleur, front (down tube) shifter, and associated cable. Most of the tris I participated in around coastal southern New England were pretty flat, and consequently not a lot of gearing was needed. Point is, gearing is something that doesn’t need to be static, and altering it isn’t too complicated. Consider the bike course for your next event and adjust gearing accordingly to a higher, or lower gearing ratio. Some people simply shift out cassettes. Others might have a completely separate wheel (wheel set) with alternative gearing. Maybe even a whole different bike. — Dan

VegasJen

You're right about Lake Mead. The course is quite hilly. As much as I want to use this bike for Rage (triathlon), the gearing may end up being prohibitive. I'm going to try and get out that way in the next couple weeks to get a feel for the route. I may end up using one of my road bikes for that. My K2 had kind of become my go-to road bike lately. I still can't explain why I like it so much. The geometry must just speak to me somehow.

I'm already signed up for Pumpkinman in October. It's also around Lake Mead, but the difference is it's point-to-point with a 1300 foot elevation gain on the last six miles. I did it last year on a road bike and I was using that lower chain ring enough to be a concern with the Ridley. I just need to get out there and see how it rides. Of course, I don't want to bring up the obvious... that it wouldn't hurt me to drop a good 20-ish pounds.

thin_concrete

Yikes! That is not my idea of a good time. I did about 1K over 10 miles a long time ago and my legs were begging for mercy! I appreciate speed more than climbing though.

VegasJen

You and me both. Not a fan of the climb. Funny though. You tell someone who has never done over 1000 feet in six miles and it really doesn't sound like all that much. But once you actually do it...
And the really bad part is, it's almost entirely uphill. There are only a couple of very short declines to give you any kind of break.

t2p

when you get the opportunity get the chainring sizes and cassette (number of sprockets / sizes - number of teeth)

many recent / current road double cranks can often provide low / adequate gearing (with the proper cassette)

VegasJen

So I spent some time tweeking the adjustments on the Ridley this week. It could still use just a little more fine tuning, but man, I am really liking this bike now. I'm still worried about steep inclines with this gearing but at least now I can make use of every gear available. The bike is really quick. But I'm going to have to replace the 23c tires. Where I ride, I am often the victim of wire debris from shredded steel belted radials. 23c tires seem to be magnets for those things. Two out of three rides in the last two weeks and I've had to perform roadside tire repairs. Figure I'll go to 25c next. But when I can afford it (hopefully pick up a good used pair) I'm going to look for some carbon wheels that will comfortably fit a 28c tire.I do recall the large front gear is 53 tooth. Don't recall the small one though. 35 maybe? But the rear cassette is a 10-speed cassette. I didn't bother counting individual teeth on it yet.

t2p

hmmm ... maybe 53/39 front chainrings ... ?

VegasJen

Maybe. I'll go check here in a bit. Still, not even close to what I can get out of my road bikes with the 3-speed chain ring. Granted, it's only a big deal for very specific routes. I know there are some bike trails that run around Lake Mead that can get quite steep. But the course for the triathlon is on a shared roadway. There are some pretty good hills, but not quite as steep. We shall see.