I got a bit ahead of myself with the bike setup photos — there were two last-minute changes: The spare tube was still missing and has since been attached directly under the saddle The “3” on my disc wheel has matured and now requires a bit more space That should be the final change though — here’s how the bike looks now:
Yesterday I gave my TT bike a thorough clean and then got it set up for the Ironman. What did I change? Swapped the wheelset: from my “Fulcrum Racing 3” training wheels to an “Easton Tempest II” front wheel and a Zipp disc wheel in the back Because of the wheel swap, the brake pads also needed to be changed. The standard Shimano pads were swapped out for special carbon brake pads from Kool-Stop Removed the bottle cage from the down tube Replaced the seat tube bottle cage with a Bontrager aero cage that fits a special aero bottle Additionally mounted a standard bottle cage between the extensions right at the handlebar, for grabbing regular bottles at the aid stations Here’s how the bike looks for race day: ...
During today’s session I was involuntarily forced to test my new bike’s off-road capabilities. On the way back from the Kraichgau, there was a massive construction site right on my planned route, making it completely impassable. Unfortunately the signs only appeared very close by — otherwise I would have rerouted much earlier. So there I stood, already past the planned session duration, thinking through my options: Option 1: Push through the construction site and risk getting tar on the bike and tires? Option 2: Take a 30-minute detour and make an already hard session even harder? Option 3: Cut through the forest and across fields to bypass the construction site? ...