I love biking - I just hate doing it on downstate roads!
Rims
I bought a used bike on eBay that had been ridden hard for a number of Ironman’s. The bike held up well, but the rims were starting to show signs of wear and tear. If I was in the market for new rims I figured I may as well go carbon - and then I saw the prices! I decided to upgrade, but not totally go all out. These Cosmic Mavic’s offered my aerodynamics along with the reliability of an aluminum rim. Since most of my biking is done on busy downstate roads, I wanted to know braking wouldn’t be a problem. Reviews indicated that braking with carbon rims could take longer than with traditional rims. These Mavic’s came in at about 1,100 for the set, as compared to spending two or three times that price for a set of Zipp’s or HED’s. They are lighter than my old Bontrager Race Lite’s, and the from the first time being on them, I could tell they were faster/smoother.
Water Bottle
Profile Designs makes a very efficient and easy to use water bottle that fits within the aero bars. For my first season with this bottle I simply used the two rubber bands to attach it to the bars. But this year I went and bought their aero bar holder. I have to admit that it’s worth the price. It settles nicely in place and is always in perfect reach. One oddity on the holder though, the velcro strap that goes around the front of the bottle is frustratingly difficult to put into place, enough so that I seldom take the bottle off my bike. Not to mention, the way it straps in place seems dysfunctional. You have to twist the
strap around in order to get the velcro side
to connect properly. And on the other end
there’s only a small loop that I gather is
intended to keep it from pulling through the
slot. The weight of the bottle eventually did
pull it through the loop while I was riding.
A small twig helped solve that problem. For
as nice as this system is, it seems they’d
have worked out the kinks in keeping the
bottle in place and easy to take on and off.
Saddle
Riding a bike over distance can be incredibly uncomfortable, even to the point of being dangerous. I had a friend last year that developed an infection because of a pinched nerve (from the saddle) and had to take the rest of the season off. While nothing I’ve tried feels like sitting on my couch at home, this saddle by Adamo works wonders for me. Because of the split in front it’s a bit wider, and there was some uncomfortable chaffing. But after a number of rides that subsided. The Adamo Racing is designed for triathlons. I have not had any numbness or pain I experienced from my other saddles (including the very popular Fizik Arione). Until something significantly better comes along, I believe I have found the saddle that I’ll use for all my tri’s - no matter the distance.
