Sunday, May 3, 2009

One search ends and another begins

One Search Ends
You may recall that I was searching for goggles and tried just about every pair that I came across and still hadn't found the "right" pair. Well, it turns out I had the right pair all along. I started with Speedo Women's Vanquishers and I went back to them after the strap broke on my last newly purchased pair and by making one slight adjustment -- simply loosening the strap (duh!) -- they are perfect now!

They still leave a bit of a mark around my eyes that stays longer than I would like, but it is SO much better than it was and I am happy with their performance as far as leaking and fogging goes, so they are keepers!

Another Search Begins
As I mentioned in a previous post, I am debating whether I want to trade my road bike for a tri bike. I did a 20 mile warm up and then when to my LBS to try out a Cervelo P2. You want to guess the first thing I did on the thing?

I crashed.

Thankfully, it was just in the parking lot, on some gravel, with no witnesses. The damage? My left shoulder, elbow and hand got a little road rash, but thankfully, no damage was done to the bike. The strap on my Garmin popped off too, but I didn't scratch the face and I found the pin. I am little sore today, but nothing that won't feel better in a couple of days. The cause? Like a car, brakes on different bikes respond differently, and well, these brakes did not respond - at all!

After brushing off my ego, I went back inside and the mechanic made some adjustments to adjust the fit of the bike to make it more similar to my current set up and then I took it on a 30 minute ride. That bike was light and FAST!

The verdict?

I really like the bike.

The pros: I love shifting while in the aero position, but it felt weird not to have other options, even if I don't really use them. I felt fast, although I didn't have a computer so I am not sure if there was a speed difference between the tri bike and my road bike.

The cons: My neck and shoulder blades started to feel tight much faster than they do when I am aero on my road bike. Obviously, the brakes were an issue too, but that can be easily fixed.

The fit guy, who is also a cycling coach, was a great help. I told him that I want to be comfortable and fast. I asked if he thought that I could be just as comfortable on the tri bike. He thinks that he can adjust the fit (primarily raise the stem a touch) so that it is more similar to my current set up and that over time he can slowly adjust the fit to be more aggressive. My second question for him was whether for the same level of comfort, I would be faster on the tri bike. He definitely thinks that I will be faster on the tri bike.

Decisions, decisions ...

You can vote in my poll and/or share your opinion in the comments.

2 comments:

ONEHOURIRONMAN said...

I have a P2SL (used) and love it. You may have to tweek the width of the aero bars, seat angle, and maybe add some spacers to get the right fit.
I had the exact opposite experience. My QR made my shoulders hurt in aero and my P2 doesn't. I still think it is all about the set up.
Good luck. We need to get the P2 count up for IMFL, so I say buy it.

Trishie said...

I also say buy it, so I can live through you vicariously ;)