I am finally committing to a full and looking for a nicer road bike (anything would be an upgrade). My local shops have just one bike in my size - $1800 Specialized Allez Sport. Facebook Marketplace yielded these two for comparison's sake:

1. $1290 New Felt FR30, owner upgraded to Ultegra and is throwing in a few nice accessories like pedals, extra saddle, helmet, etc. (helpful for me)

2. $700 2022 Liv Avail AR3, owner says it has not been used much and looks to be in good shape.

What do you think? Are these reasonable prices?

I'm completely prepared to get roasted and end up on the respective cj subs, but yesterday while switching back and forth from my clip on aero bars to the hoods I realized just how different the seat position really needs to be to maximize the position.

Then I thought about how much descending the IM im doing is going to have and all the sudden, I couldn't get the idea of getting a dropper post out of my head. Seems like a great solution to me, but would love to hear the communities thoughts.

Finished my first Ironman 70.3 in St George, Utah yesterday!

One of the best feelings ever! This group has been amazing in motivating and encouraging me so I wanted to share!

7:49 was my time so I definitely wasn’t fast but it’s also an extremely challenging course (3.2k elevation gain on the bike and a little under 1k on the run and super hot).

Excited for what’s next!

Any tips on how I can improve? My tri coach wants me to pull closer to the center line while my swim coach wants me to enter at 10’ and 2’o clock

Should I be integrating both and any other tips you can see where I can improve?

https://streamable.com/k6impp

My first TT bike after riding road bikes for several years in races. This baby will hopefully get me through my first full IM in September! Really love the bike so far and Quintana Roo has a pretty amazing team. They're super easy to get a hold of and are incredibly helpful with answering questions and getting the bike set up out of the box.

https://preview.redd.it/45p9iptvrlyc1.jpg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e94e11399c9ac8cbcfcd349dacd27dc82fdc5ed8

https://preview.redd.it/6wx71ttvrlyc1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=268491a73f21a436f90e48d90880f73ff0075d7d

I’ve been training for 5 months for my first triathlon - the Chattanooga 70.3. My goal is to get sub 6:30. This was my last big workout yesterday, with the bike having 3200 feet of elevation gain over 36 miles vs race day having around 1900 over 56. Is my goal feasible/am I ready? I average 17 mph with that route and lots of climbing and descent, is there a rule of thumb as to how much faster I can go on a flatter route like on race day?

Wow, what an eye opener it was. I’ve almost entirely swam in a heated pool and the cold water was a real shock. I got round a 400m loop twice with a break in between, but my breathing was a huge issue. I tried swimming the way I’m used to, but when my head went underwater, the cold shock just stopped my breath! Keen to get some tips on how to help with this?

Also, my wetsuit got a bit of water inside. Not a huge amount but it seemed to get in through my sleeves, is this normal?

Do you guys run your expensive aero bikes in the rain?

Or do you use an old bike with fenders that might have a completely different fit and position than your race bike?

Or you just put it on the trainer with the risk of damaging your expensive carbon frame?

I’m starting to train for my first triathlon (Olympic) and want to get a Garmin to track my workouts, biomarkers, etc. There are so many options it’s a bit overwhelming.

I’ve narrowed things down to the Forerunner 255/265, 955/965, and Instinct models. All are similar, each with different bells and whistles than others. Some features sound cool, but I wonder how useful they really are. I might add that I am not a smartwatch person so I don’t know what I’ll like and what I won’t. I expect I’ll wear the Garmin to train and then take it off.

So here are a few questions:

-Should I pay the extra for solar? It seems that solar is probably very beneficial for a full Ironman, but there’s no way I would need it for Olympic. And if I decide to go for a full Ironman in the coming years, I could upgrade if needed.

-Music sounds very appealing. I love the idea of leaving my cellphone at home, especially for training. But I’ve been told I’ll probably carry my cell phone anyways. Any suggestions or experience with this?

-Touch screen. Again, never owned a smartwatch before. Is this a big deal?

-I think I saw somewhere that some of the models I listed don’t auto-switch between activities. Does this matter? I assume it’s pretty easy to switch to bike mode once the swim is over, for example.

-What about the AMOLED display. How beneficial is this compared to the MIP? Once concern I do have is I typically don’t wear my prescription glasses when I train. So whatever display is bigger, clearer, and easier to read is probably going to be a benefit for me.

-Of the models I listed, mapping features are only available in the 955/965 series. How important/useful are the mapping features?

Perhaps I’m overthinking things as the price difference between the least and most expensive of my options is like $200. But answers to my questions will still be helpful and help me narrow down my choice. Of course, any other suggestions are welcome as well.

I just started training on Monday for my first triathlon, and then yesterday I got in a bike crash. The bike flew over me and the chain ripped through my high tops (which thankfully I was wearing and my bare ankle didn’t get cut!!!). Now I’m walking with a limp and my achilles tendon hurts. So, I guess no more training for me for awhile. No clue how long recovery will be… And I was so excited to do my first brick workout today:(

I am doing a 70.3 in a year.

Both bikes i am looking at are about the same price.

All i currently have is a mtb.

I have never ridden a road bike or tri bike before.

90% of my riding time will likely take place on a trainer and i wont ever be riding outside in a group.

There are a couple hills where i will be riding when i do ride outside

The 70.3 i will be riding is listed as hilly.

What would you suggest i buy for my situation?

I know this question has been asked quite a fee times but i am curious what everyones thoughts are for my situation.

Thank you!

I'm doing my first ironman this year in Arizona in November. Previously for 70.3, I wore my trisuit for the whole race as 90k bike ride wasn't too bad with the trisuit padding. However for the full ironman, I'm debating if I should change to a proper cycling bib for the ride so it's more comfortable? I've heard there is tents that people change in. I'm not really worried about my time so I'd rather be comfortable. My issue is what would I run in after? My running shorts? All the videos i've seen, people are wearing trisuit during the run. Whats your recommendation? Trisuit under my wetsuit, change into a bib for the ride and change back to trisuit for the run?

Thanks

Hey everyone. I’ve been using some clip on aero bars all winter on my turbo trainer. I had my first ride outside today and have realised they are really difficult to use on the road and maintain balance. I would not be able to put much power down using them due to this.

I have an event in 1 week so am now unsure what to do. Weirdly I am confident resting 1 arm on the aero bar and 1 arm on the handlebars, would it be ridiculous to do this in the race? Any advice is appreciated.

I have my first tri race in a week and I just did my first open water swim. Altough my wetsuit fits very tightly there still sneaked some water in my wetsuit. So after the swim my trisuit was really wet, is this normal?

It will be pretty cold when my race is so I can’t imagine having to bike with a wet trisuit.

Hi all, been going through the dilemma and analysis paralysis of the bike and would appreciate your thoughts.

Getting back into triathlon training after a few years off. I have only my 2004 Giant TCR T-Mobile with full dura ace groupo which has been my only road bike which I love. I’ve done various triathlons years ago but never in a sanctioned event, only with a tri group for their training before their events, ex. 80-90% of a 70.3.

I’ll be hitting my first 70.3 in Santa Cruz this fall and plan to hit a full next year, with more to follow. The race I’ll be doing is hilly. I have an indoor trainer also. The three scenarios I’ve been going through are:

1. Ride my road bike and get a fit, tri bars, tri seat
2. Buy a used TT bike ideally $3k or less
3. Build a TT bike and possibly go used Di2 and whatever else I can muster or use my old dura ace groupo

Leaning towards 1 since it’ll be cheaper and easier. I think 2 would be great but getting the right bike makes me worried and don’t wanna spend a ton of $$ to get fit just to figure out if the bike/manufacturer size is right. 3 I figured I could probably save money and would be fun and a learning experience but I don’t have all the tools/stand… so that’s extra cost as I’ve never built a bike but want and willing to learn.

Part of the dilemma is I am 5’11” or 180cm and the my giant is a Medium, which I’m on the boarder of too small I think. When I ride I feel like I’m super compact/almost too big cuz it’s a race bike with some aggressive geometry. I’ve done tons of 3+hr rides on the bike previously.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

Actually went slower on the swim than previous events but it paid dividends as I was essentially “warmed up” for the bike.

Wonder what I could do if I committed a year to this 🤔

Where can I find the best training plan, or even an online coach that is good for beginners? I have a great cardio background from running and biking. Swimming not so much. I’ve spent the last 6 months getting a little leaner and added a few pounds of muscle as well. Not looking to break the bank but just looking for options to get better.

Next up in the IM Pro Series:

Ironman 70.3 St. George!

As always, you can watch it live on Outside+.

I've found more success with the web app than the TV apps personally.

Should be a great race! Check out a preview here from Triathlete.com.

Enjoy!

I think I'm mainly a marathoner. I ran 3 marathons last year and a 50k. That was my first year following structured programs. I also have tried triathlons. No structured program at that time. This was in 2019. I did a standard distance and a 70.3. The 70.3 I completed barely which was my main goal really. Just make it to the finish line. 8:13 was my time.

Now, I'm trying to do a structured training for 2 standard tri within this year. To prepare for a 70.3 next year. I'm a bit confused on the structure. Running a lot last year I ran 6 times per week. Didn't crosstrain since I'm a stubborn runner. Now, trying to follow a program for triathlon. I only see 2-3 runs per week. I can't get over the idea that it's a bit harder to run with that less running. How do I balance these three workouts and make sure I could get fit enough for each discipline?

Hello!

I am doing my first triathlon tomorrow, I have a Garmin Watch and a Garmin Edge 530 for my bike.
They are both connected to my hear rate monitor when I bike/run, and was wondering if I could wear my HRM-Dual under the trifonction while swimming?
I know it does not work in the water, but it is juste to save time in transition after.

I would prefer avoid having to put it before starting the bike leg.

Do you have an idea? Will it destroy it? Otherwise, what are your recommandations?

Thanks a lot!!

I’m on my 3rd saddle on my new TT bike. First saddle was stock, too small. Second saddle was great on the sit bones but terrible between my legs. Third one fits much better but still doesn’t feel 100% comfortable. Will I ever be able to achieve perfect comfort or, given the design of a triathlon bike, is this just impossible and I need to just suck it up?

My tri bike is getting tuned up at the shop, so I have been riding my road bike this week.

I’m much more confident on my road bike on hills (3-6% grade, short and punchy up to a half mile). My road bike has some issues with the front derailleur, so I stayed on the big ring and had no issues with any hills…not easily spinning up the hill, but no danger of not making it up.

I revisited my gear ratios for both bikes (34/50 11/28 10 speed road and 36/52 11/28 11-speed tri). They’re comparable so I guess the difference is position, geometry, and bike weight, but I feel like I constantly have to shift to my small ring on the tri bike and run out of gears even though the lowest gear ratios are 1.21 and 1.29 (close-ish). I almost never need the small chainring on my road bike.

Anyone else notice anything similar? I’m guessing the answer is practicing more challenging hills on the tri bike? Or maybe the difference is small, but I have made it big in my head.

I am training for Wisconsin. I will be doing Des Moines 70.3 first, but I did that race as the 140.6 before on the tri bike and know that I can do it.

I’m training for a couple of marathon swims this season, and I was very curious about the “Swim Straight” technology offered by Form goggles. I was fortunate to pick up a used pair of the first gen goggles (FB buy/sell group), and I’ve used them twice in open water.

Generally speaking, I really enjoy seeing my time and distance as I swim (I can add HR and pace, but that data isn’t always useful). I’ve found that the display helps distract me from the “scary unknown” in the depths below, the display lets me know (without checking my watch) if I need to add on to my route, and the display helps me play little mind games to get through the swim.

I today used the swim straight function for the first time; while it is well intentioned, I didn’t find it particularly useful. As an initial matter, the “swim straight” graphic looks like a compass, and it takes up a LOT of real estate in the goggle display. Next, the “swim straight” graphic, like a compass, moves when you move; you move A LOT when you swim, so the constantly moving graphic can be a bit overwhelming. Most bothersome for me, however, is that there is a slight delay in the graphic as you move around, so it is always “catching up” to your head position. This means that if you, like me, breathe every other stroke, the “swim straight” compass is CONSTANTLY adjusting to your head as you breath or as you return your face the to the water, and it is always slightly behind; the constant readjusting renders the function useless unless you check your heading by skipping a breath or swim with your head up for a stroke or two. Further, even if you can read your heading and stay on track, you still have to bring your head up during the swim to make sure you’re not going to crash into buoys, swimmers, kayakers, or who knows what.

For me, the “swim straight” function was a gimmick that got me to buy the product, but I love the product even without the gimmick.

I posted THIS yesterday and got a handful of comments from yall! I got inspired that some of you started in their 30s, 40s and even 50s! I appreciate all the kind comments encouraging me to just go for it, and i also appreciate the sarcastic and mean ones! They make me laugh, and is still encouraging for me (i take it as tough love haha)

Few questions before I start training!

1. Can i train for swimming on my own or should i pay for a class or a coach?

2. Do i need cleats during bike? Planning to train in our stationary bike at home! Any advice?

3. Any advice for my training like how many hours should i spend training, how many km a day, schedule of trainings?

I’m planning to join a 300m swim, 20k bike, 2.5k run!

I’m curious what everyone’s opinions on rest days are. I’m currently training for an oly and doing 7.5-11 hours of training a week.

For my last few events, I would always have 1-2 rest days a week save for the two peak weeks at the very end. However, this time around I have cut out rest days in favor of having two easy days a week. I qualify an easy day as 45-90 minutes of either one or a combination of two disciplines in the lower end of z2 intensity range. I was only planning on having a rest day every four weeks during one of my deload weeks.

Physically, I feel fine and like I’m recovering pretty well. However, mentally I am getting very fatigued and am starting to dread sessions. I was wondering what your thought are and how you balance burnout/rest days.

Bit of background: I was a competitive swimmer and surf athlete (slsa irons) growing up before I became ill and spent a good bit of time in and out of hospital. I have since recovered and a few months ago got the all clear to go back to training. I figured my surf days are well over and wanted to try something new so set my sights on triathlon. I signed up for a sprint about 7 weeks out and started training. I was a strong swimmer, mediocre runner and complete beginner cyclist.

I was consistently putting in a session a day 6 days a week across all 3 disciplines for the first 4 weeks and felt pretty strong. It’s a wonder how fast and naturally fitness can come back. Unfortunately, the last 2 weeks I have been completely overwhelmed by life stuff and have neglected training. Maybe averaged 2 sessions a week if that.

Now I’ve realised the race is a week away and I’m feeling incredibly unprepared. I’m pretty confident I can complete the distances individually (at least before the break) but putting it all together terrifies me. I also have no clue how a triathlon runs. What I’m supposed to do in transition. What I should wear or bring. If there’s any unspoken rules I should know (every sport has them). If there’s anything I need to buy. What nutrition should look like. Heck, I don’t even know how registration and bike racking works.

tl;dr I’m freaking tf out

Got my first Tri coming up and want to know what your routine is. Trying to plan out the morning dump before the race.