Racing in a tri w/ an Ibike
Racing in a tri w/ an Ibike
Does anyone on this forum have any experience actually racing a triathlon w/ an ibike? Before every ride I do a wind calibration and then I do a tilt calibration in an effort to make sure the power numbers I'm seeing on the training ride are reliable. In an actual race I'm not going to have time to do this in T1. I realize I can do a wind calibration and tilt before the start of the race, but there is no way I can finish the swim portion of a HIM before the unit turns off. I'm concerened when I start riding my tilt and wind calibrations are going to be off and the power numbers are going to be unreliable for helping pace the bike leg. Any input from the group would be appreciated.
Re: Racing in a tri w/ an Ibike
What generation is your iBike?
If it's a gen3, you do not need to do a new tilt cal before every ride. Boyd suggests doing one a week, but I have found that the only time I need to redo a tilt cal is if I have re-loaded a profile from the computer into the unit for any reason. So . . . if you have a good tilt established, AND you have not loaded in a new profile, tilt should be fine.
It takes less than 10 seconds to do a wind cal--and you might be able to avoid doing one IF the weather (temp and wind) have not changed more than 5 degrees or so and a couple of mph or direction for the wind during your swim. (And, again, in my experience, doing a wind cal with the rws is really easy).
SO . . . IF your unit is gen3, I'd encourage you to relax.
If it's a gen3, you do not need to do a new tilt cal before every ride. Boyd suggests doing one a week, but I have found that the only time I need to redo a tilt cal is if I have re-loaded a profile from the computer into the unit for any reason. So . . . if you have a good tilt established, AND you have not loaded in a new profile, tilt should be fine.
It takes less than 10 seconds to do a wind cal--and you might be able to avoid doing one IF the weather (temp and wind) have not changed more than 5 degrees or so and a couple of mph or direction for the wind during your swim. (And, again, in my experience, doing a wind cal with the rws is really easy).
SO . . . IF your unit is gen3, I'd encourage you to relax.
Re: Racing in a tri w/ an Ibike
Thanks for the info. My unit is a gen 3. I've just read so much info about how important the tilt calb was so I figured I should do it before each ride. Good to know I can skip that step now. Thanks again.
Re: Racing in a tri w/ an Ibike
R Mc: it may be that an old and incorrect value of Tilt Cal is stored in your computer's iBike profile.
Next time you're using your iBike with the bike's profile, do a Tilt Cal before your ride.
After the ride download your ride file and click the "Get Profile from Ride File" button in the Profiles/Edit Profiles window.
You'll get a response telling you which profile in your computer matches the ride you just did.
Select the profile. In the "Advanced" tab you'll see a button beneath the Tilt Cal setting (which shows *****) that says "Get from iBike". Click the button. This will update your profile to the Tilt Cal value from your most recent ride. Presumably this value will be correct!
Click the Accept button to store the correct Tilt Cal value in your profile.
The next time you download this profile from your computer into your iBike, your Tilt Cal value should be on-the-money.
Next time you're using your iBike with the bike's profile, do a Tilt Cal before your ride.
After the ride download your ride file and click the "Get Profile from Ride File" button in the Profiles/Edit Profiles window.
You'll get a response telling you which profile in your computer matches the ride you just did.
Select the profile. In the "Advanced" tab you'll see a button beneath the Tilt Cal setting (which shows *****) that says "Get from iBike". Click the button. This will update your profile to the Tilt Cal value from your most recent ride. Presumably this value will be correct!
Click the Accept button to store the correct Tilt Cal value in your profile.
The next time you download this profile from your computer into your iBike, your Tilt Cal value should be on-the-money.
John Hamann
Re: Racing in a tri w/ an Ibike
One thing I would encourage you to do is to put a towel or shirt or something over your iBike if it's sitting in direct sunlight. This can make it so the internal sensors stay at the actual outside temperatures and aren't affected by the sunlight (making it appear that it's 110 degrees outside. This will help with wind offset stability.
When you come out of the swim, hit the center button on your iBike, then get into your cycling clothes (shoes, helmet, etc). By the time you are ready to go the auto wind will have done it's job and you will be getting accurate numbers.
When you come out of the swim, hit the center button on your iBike, then get into your cycling clothes (shoes, helmet, etc). By the time you are ready to go the auto wind will have done it's job and you will be getting accurate numbers.
Boyd Johnson
http://www.boydcycling.com - high performance carbon wheels and accessories
http://www.boydcycling.com - high performance carbon wheels and accessories
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bex
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Re: Racing in a tri w/ an Ibike
Crazy as it might sound, I would suggest writing yourself a note to put in your swim/run transition gear telling you to power up the Ibike.
My wife remembered several miles in at IM Canada,.... OOPS!
Also, erase ride data, just in case you are at a high % and you don't have room enough for the whole ride file.
Cheers
Bex
My wife remembered several miles in at IM Canada,.... OOPS!
Also, erase ride data, just in case you are at a high % and you don't have room enough for the whole ride file.
Cheers
Bex
Re: Racing in a tri w/ an Ibike
Thanks for the tips. HIM coming up this Saturday. I've actually been worried about forgetting to turn the ibike on in T1. I think seeing the shirt lying over the bars will serve a dual purpose: help keep temps stable and remind me to turn the unit on. I'll let you guys know how things go after next Saturday.
Re: Racing in a tri w/ an Ibike
Until the system is smart enough to do it's calibrations in the background it will never be suitable for triathlon racing IMO. Here are just a couple of issues I can think of preventing efficient tri use after using a gen 3 iAero for 12mths:
- Don't get me started on set-up and the RWS (since when can a product be called remote and consist of a plastic tube
). If you need any evidence of how poor this issue has been thought out, check out the Velcomp response to a RWS issue that suggests using super glue!
- Transitions at the pointy end of racing are 10-20secs tops, just turning the unit on and aborting the auto wind calc would take longer than 20secs, so forget about a wind calc. And before you ask, many places can be lost in 20secs.
- For log course racing the bike leg is anywhere from 2-8 hours, during this time air temp and air pressure will change dramatically. As stated above, the system needs to be smart enough to do it's calibrations in the background to ensure accurate data.
- I have zero confidence that the battery would even last a full Ironman bike leg, which would result in incorrect readings. And no, its just not practical to expect someone to pull over and change a battery and re-config.
I'm a triathlete and love my iAero for my road training and racing, but no way would I bother even trying to use it in a tri race in its current format. Following is THE startup and config process Velocomp should be working on right now to allow tri use:
****** Start riding and press the red button!!!!!
- Don't get me started on set-up and the RWS (since when can a product be called remote and consist of a plastic tube
). If you need any evidence of how poor this issue has been thought out, check out the Velcomp response to a RWS issue that suggests using super glue!- Transitions at the pointy end of racing are 10-20secs tops, just turning the unit on and aborting the auto wind calc would take longer than 20secs, so forget about a wind calc. And before you ask, many places can be lost in 20secs.
- For log course racing the bike leg is anywhere from 2-8 hours, during this time air temp and air pressure will change dramatically. As stated above, the system needs to be smart enough to do it's calibrations in the background to ensure accurate data.
- I have zero confidence that the battery would even last a full Ironman bike leg, which would result in incorrect readings. And no, its just not practical to expect someone to pull over and change a battery and re-config.
I'm a triathlete and love my iAero for my road training and racing, but no way would I bother even trying to use it in a tri race in its current format. Following is THE startup and config process Velocomp should be working on right now to allow tri use:
****** Start riding and press the red button!!!!!
Re: Racing in a tri w/ an Ibike
Good comments. Some responses are in order:
1) For long distance triathlons, as a precaution I'd put in new batteries in the mount and iBike the day of the race (make sure to reset the time in your iBike). With two new batteries you'll easily get 5-8 hours of riding, even in sub-50F weather. Our Footon pro racing team got two hard days of race riding (200KM each day) in 50F weather on a single set of batteries. That's 400KM of riding...plenty for an ironman!
2) We're not delighted with some aspects of the RWS plug, but with a bit of care (and, yes, in some instances a drop of super glue) you can secure the plug so that it works as designed.
3) Regarding Wind Cal: on race day, take your bike to the transition area, let it stabilize, then do a Cal Wind. This will get the iBike in good shape. Later in the day, during the race, when you get to hop on the bike, click the center button, and the "Auto Wind" will appear. Just click the center button to abort it. Your prior wind calibration will still be preserved and you'll get good results. This, essentially, is the "start riding and press the red button" routine you want!
I agree that the full start-up sequence (including Auto Wind) takes 20 seconds, but clicking the center button twice (once to wake up, once to abort Auto Wind) takes about one second. That would seem to be fast enough...
4) Air temperature and baro pressure changes are indeed common on long rides. Temperature compensation algorithms work in the background to keep your readings correct. Baro readings don't affect watts in a material manner; however, you may have noticed in the new 4.0.4 software has some new features (Analyze Route) that allows you to correct for the effects of changing ambient air pressure.
5) Your request to "Start riding and press the red button!!!" is something we can almost do right now (you start riding, then click the button twice). We'll see if we can get it to a single button press.
4)
1) For long distance triathlons, as a precaution I'd put in new batteries in the mount and iBike the day of the race (make sure to reset the time in your iBike). With two new batteries you'll easily get 5-8 hours of riding, even in sub-50F weather. Our Footon pro racing team got two hard days of race riding (200KM each day) in 50F weather on a single set of batteries. That's 400KM of riding...plenty for an ironman!
2) We're not delighted with some aspects of the RWS plug, but with a bit of care (and, yes, in some instances a drop of super glue) you can secure the plug so that it works as designed.
3) Regarding Wind Cal: on race day, take your bike to the transition area, let it stabilize, then do a Cal Wind. This will get the iBike in good shape. Later in the day, during the race, when you get to hop on the bike, click the center button, and the "Auto Wind" will appear. Just click the center button to abort it. Your prior wind calibration will still be preserved and you'll get good results. This, essentially, is the "start riding and press the red button" routine you want!
I agree that the full start-up sequence (including Auto Wind) takes 20 seconds, but clicking the center button twice (once to wake up, once to abort Auto Wind) takes about one second. That would seem to be fast enough...
4) Air temperature and baro pressure changes are indeed common on long rides. Temperature compensation algorithms work in the background to keep your readings correct. Baro readings don't affect watts in a material manner; however, you may have noticed in the new 4.0.4 software has some new features (Analyze Route) that allows you to correct for the effects of changing ambient air pressure.
5) Your request to "Start riding and press the red button!!!" is something we can almost do right now (you start riding, then click the button twice). We'll see if we can get it to a single button press.
4)
John Hamann