Possible bike setup

Finally!

As you know, last weekend I had to ride my road bike because of technical issues with my tri bike. Well some of those issues were the result of making changes so that my bike could look like this.

Nice right? These wheels are part of the reason I never bought a power meter this year. I was going back and forth as to what I was going to do about all that and then my friend Todd offered me his HED 3’s to use for the season. I couldn’t pass that up. This “demo” will help me make decisions about what I buy in the future. (if anything).

So I finally got them on the bike with the proper brake pads and all that this weekend. The ride I chose to do this weekend was pretty generic tho’. I decided I’d do a hill climb that was about 30 minutes up 10 minutes back down, a few times. Obviously this doesn’t allow much in terms of getting a feel for the wheels… except for the descending. The descending run can be crazy fast but with the gusting wind, and my lack of feel for the braking on these wheels, I had to take it slow. This wheelset has some serious pulsing when braking, that made it impossible for me to just “let it fly” down the hill. I also have to say that I was much more confident riding in the drops on my road bike on a descent of this kind, than I am riding the bullhorns of my tribike.

Next weekend I should be on a much more “triathlon-like” course, there I’ll be able to get a better feel for the wheelset. The first race is in 2 weeks. I’m running out of time! Seriously tho’. It’s not that big of a deal if I don’t use them. It’s definitely cool to try out different gear. You can look at stats and prices all you want but the test ride is key.

On a flat course, I’d definitely be racing these wheels. Columbia, I remember there being at least one good descent. I will try to drive the course prior to race day.

Mooseman not only am I concerned about the descents but road conditions are a factor. I have a feeling there may be sections of Mooseman that will be rough. Ye, these are tubular tires which are less likely to pinch flat but if I do flat, I’m uncertain of my chances of repairing and getting back on the road.

In other news, my brick run felt awful this weekend. I’ll admit that thoughts of another bad run at Columbia entered my head. I’ll also admit that I feel I want to sign up for a flat race somewhere, just so I’ll have a race where the numbers look nice. Not sure that’s going to happen, so I’d better give it my all one the hilly courses!