New Bike New Bike New Bike New Bike...... 

Well, taking myself back a couple months I had the idea of upgrading my Tri bike at the end of the season. 
I liked the look of a certain new superbike and had it in my mind that I'd upgrade and go for it. 
There's absolutely nothing wrong with the Ridley, apart from the recent war wound Betsy is still a might fine Tri bike and certainly up there in terms of aerodynamics, and spec for that matter. 
When I had the initial thoughts, I half thought of keeping the Ridley and upgrading the components to Di2 instead.  That would have involved a number of changes - the Zipp Vuka Aero bars are incompatible with the Di2 brake levers for starters, and also it would have complications when it came to my next purchase (power meter), as I wanted a crank based one but had grown quite partial to the Zipp Vuma Crank on the Ridley. 
So, betwixed and between really.  And it was more of a thought in the back of my mind for the end of season as opposed to middle of it! 

So how did the Shiv purchase come about?  

Well, after the recent scar wound, I said I'd enquire at same time to see about prices, availability and how much damage we'd be talking exactly. 
Moving my planned upgrade ahead of time was an option, so worth finding out availability etc as we all know some of these Tri bikes can be out of stock, out of size, awaiting next season's release etc etc!

Fortunately for me, Pulse Triathlon Club and Cycleways forged a Club 2 year Partnership at the start of this season and that meant a members discount amongst other benefits for the Club.
Our Pulse Cycleways Sprint Triathlon in Clogherhead should see some benefits also so get registering all!  It's one I'd like to do myself! 
Cycleways are the main Specialized Dealer to my knowledge and with the club discount I sent an email in and awaited the response... 
After a bit of banter and a couple of visits I had my price in mind and managed to strike a deal with Gordon who made the process smooth and painless. 
The total value and cost of said deal will remain nameless... And any figure I do disclose to anyone, will be Plus/Minus a grand or two for my own personal entertainment only  :-)  So ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies!  

I had an option of swapping over my components but they are a few years old now and hey, if you're going to get a new bike you may as well go mad altogether. 
So that's exactly what I did.  
Happy to report that wifey gave her full support and if anything pushed me towards "go for it", "just do it" :-)  
It seem's there's not many S-Works available, and I was lucky enough to have one in my size arrive in 7-10 days...  Ok let's do it, and I wanted full Di2 on it. 
I had toyed with waiting for the newer Di2, but the dura-ace is likely to be more expensive, there's still no sign of Ultegra TT shifters and with probable delays I just pushed the go button for it. 
The Shiv comes with the high spec S-Works crank anyway so at least the pricey dura ace crank wasn't required. 

I must give a quick mention and thanks to Rob at Wheelworx here for also providing some of the Di2 parts.  I had read in Bryan McCrystal's previous blog about him needing Di2 cables and Rob saving the day there too, so I needed a couple of parts and Rob came to the rescue on these as well. Thanks for these! 

So the Shiv arrived in no time, the Di2 parts were in and sourced last min for some and it was build and fit time. 
I collected it over the weekend and we did the initial fit which settled very fast and easy for me. 
 - I'm back in for a second fit after I've put in some km's and have an idea of any tweaks I feel I may need. This will also give me the Specialized BG (Body Geometry) fit with frontal profile and track any movements also so I'm looking forward to this too once I've put in some hours. 
Fit can be a personal thing and involve tweaks over time in my opinion so is an ongoing process in some ways. 
There were a couple of magic tweaks that with just a slight adjustment felt much improved, and I got comfortable and in a pretty aggressive position from the off which is just what I want. 
The range of fit on these bikes is extremely impressive.  
There's a wide band of stack and reach measurements to fit in, and also I have a tray of spacers and control towers along with a second seat post such is the range of fit capable on this bike. 
The Stem is also integrated on the Pro and S-Works model and enables adjustments for longer reach's as well as pad and extension movement. So the bars can be extended out as if putting on a longer stem.  
I knew from my stack that I'd be at the lower end of the Aerobars with no spacers at all. 
I took my fit from the Ridley and matched it as close as poss for the Shiv. 
There was a possible issue I had in mind being the bars may not go low enough, and in this case I would need to swap out the shiv bars and replace with a lower stack aerobar/extension part. 
An example of this is Craig Alexander, he went with a set of Shimano Pro Missile Aerobars to get a lower stack for his fit dialled in.  
To be honest, I thought I'd need this.  I wanted the standard bars to fit but suspected the extra 10mm or so may be required.   
Just as an FYI, the reason the shiv doesn't cater for certain low stack's is as it's tailored for the majority of us triathletes out there.  We can't ride uber aggressive like the pro's, and in many cases are better off with a bit of height (stack) for comfort etc. 
The Shiv comes with a higher head tube and in that sense doesn't allow for really low heights unless you go the route of swapping out the aerobars. 

Fortunately for me, the standard bars in their lowest position feels very very comfortable and I think just perfect. IT actually feels like my back and head are more aero as a result. 
Time will tell but I'm very happy with current fit.  

So today I headed out for my first outdoor trip.  
Before I did so, I fitted my fuelselage (bladder drinks system), new garmin cadence sensor and race wheels. I had a bottle on the downtube but I won't need this for racing as the bladder more than caters for my hydration needs up to Olympic anyway. 
I had read reports of the bite valve on the straw being a bitch to get liquid out. 
Many of the USA folk over on slowtwitch have swapped out to a camelback system due to these issues...  
Now the fuelselage comes with 2 bite valves. One which is upturned and always open - so simply suck. 
And the bite valve which you have a grip for your teeth and it then opens the valve as you suck.
Sounds hard but is incredibly easy and well designed.  From the first attempt I was "sucking diesel"..! Ok, it was water but you get my drift. I can't understand those that have swapped at all! 
Lucky for me, on first attempt the fuelselage fitted straight into position also.  Specialized have made up a video of how to fit it again for those that struggled, maybe I was just lucky who knows. 

So out the door I go.  I've a mini lapped route up my area with a couple of uphill and downhills as well as fast turns to test out any changes I make so I set off in the sunshine. 

First impressions - very very impressed.  With everything about it! 
It's hard to explain, but it feels like it handles like a road bike. The fuelselage system is awesome. I usually fail to consume much fluids on races, and even training for that matter when out on road. But with the straw right beside my arm I drank the lot over the ride and found the system excellent. 
The magnet worked perfectly and didn't get knocked at all - again something I had read. 
I can imagine on real bad bumps it could slip loose and so I'd have to put it back or else get a stronger magnet as backup so I may do this if so. 
The Di2... well....  I popped into a recent Phoenix Park duathlon to watch fellow Pulser Joe Lynch battle it out with Bryan McCrystal.  Bryan is rocking a Trek 9.9 (I think) fitted with Di2 and I had asked what he thought of it.  Class, but perhaps not worth the full price! 
I can't argue here, the system is excellent, seamless and so easy. Shifting in the brake position is so nice on a tri bike - not that we're in that position much but for those little times you are, it's there :-)
The gear shifts on bar ends are comfy, fast and you get used to it quick. 
Just about the only possible complaint is not knowing what gear you're in unless you have it in your head.  With manual, we all know down is obviously high for rear cassette etc.  With Di2, you just have to know on feel or number of shifts done.  Again you get used to it fast and to be honest it doesn't make a difference, if you are going hard enough that you want another gear and shift and nothing happens, well, just pedal faster same as manual system! :-) 

The Shiv is so easy to turn, so comfortable in both aero and up positions, brakes are an improvement and very good, it's not twitchy and for me perhaps most of all, I'm very comfortable in the aero bars and if anything feel more powerful from it! 
On the Ridley, I had noticed myself tending towards front of saddle (I was maxed aggressive wise at around 78-79 degree's angle) and whilst I was comfortable, the Shiv just feels even more so. 
I'm not shifting back or forth on the elbow pads, I'm centre of saddle and for me it feels perfect. 

There's only one way to know for sure, and that's by comparing bike splits over a race or two against those I can track from previous races etc. 

So initial impressions are wow, what a bike. I can see what all the hype is about and I can also see these bikes being very popular on the tri scene. Their UCI illegal with the massive head tube depth and the aero benefits are supposedly quite beneficial in the drag and wind conditions most experienced by triathletes. With the range of fit, the range of spec and price range there is a model for everyone. 
I've seen a few club-mates out there on them and we are all very happy. 
It really does feel designed for triathletes. 
For the weight weenies out there, in the spec below with full bottle on downtube, bladder and Garmin fitted it's a bit under 8.5kg.  With 404's, Sram Red and no bottles I'd imagine you'd be close on nailing 8kg if you were that way inclined!   
My Ridley with was just under that with no bottles so it's quite light for a tri bike. But we all know aero trumps weight anyway! 

I don't expect this bike to give me any free time, I bought this because it's my dream bike and an opportunity came up at a price I could accept and I went for it. 

I have 2 GPS systems on route to trial and it is insured to it's gills as well! 

I'll throw up a review of the GPS system once done also. It's a tiny device that can be hidden in many many places and in my opinion anyone with a valuable bike should look into it. Stay tuned for upcoming review. 

So, a couple of photo's for now... 
The colour is FAST, has to be seen to be appreciated more and didn't come out as well in pics imo. Looks even better in the flesh. 
It's a very Deep Red and I know already it's at least 0.5kmh faster than any other colour out there.... :-)  

Obviously, my continued theme of Black, Red, White continues... 

Athlone will see me use 3 new things....   This is the 1st, and clearly the most impressive! 
I can't say that any of them will give me any extra speed, but the Shiv has got the best chance of them all of that! 

Sorry for the long review!! 

After a recent mishap on bike flying mount attempt, my top tube cracked on both sides as seen below in pictures. 
Now it wasn't too bad, still had structure but obviously needed repairing. 

A fellow Club Mate provided contact details for a carbon fibre specialist who repaired his own bike in the same position. 
Apparently all frames are at their weakest in the centre of the top tube. You can press down and it flexes a little compared to other areas on the bike. Makes sense really. 
Anyway, I got lucky with timing, and within a few days I had Ridley back and repaired. 
He did a great job, and the colours even slightly blended in - bar the obvious carbon strip in the middle of course!! 

The repair is done very well, there's less flex now in the top tube but still enough to absorb road conditions etc. 
Strangely, the upset in paint work doesn't bother me. 
I could get a graphic/sticker over it, or go all out and spray it back but I don't plan on doing this. 
I have another plan in mind, which will come to fruition soon enough. 

Contact details for Carbon Fibre Repairs:
Mark Downey
http://www.roughstuff.ie/portal/index.htm
Very reasonable rates and a nice guy.  

Ok, the social media hype had spread rumours like no other in the Friday before this race. 
Being a big McLaren fan and knowing Jenson's passion for triathlons also it did make sense he could be in for it. 
Seeing the twitter feed pics of a swim in Athy, a Bike Fit on his Specialized Shiv Tri and general hanging around with the TI Elite squad suggested that yes, he was surely going to race. 
So a nice novelty to start off, and let's get the standard photo shoot out of the way! 
Thanks to Jenson for what must be pretty tough getting swamped everywhere for photo's here and there etc. A down to earth decent guy with a love for triathlons is how I'd describe him.  
He was with a few of his friends - I recognised Mikey Muscles his trainer at McLaren and spoke to him after the race also - he did a PB of 2:27 and is obviously loving it. 
He rides a McLaren Specialized Venge as his choice of weapon... NICE.  I'm sure he got a company discount there...  

So, with that out of the way it was time to zone in on race mode. 
Did a shorter than normal warm up and got the wetsuit on. 
Weather was pretty much exact same as last year, so very similar conditions. 

I was in Wave 5, with a few fish of the names Bjorn Ludick and Stephen Early (2 of the favourites), along with a few others I know from similar positions at previous races.
So some good markers, and attempts to draft for a short period anyway! 

Swim: 22:29 - 25/541

Started off around 2nd line back from the fish hoping to get some draft at the start.
I started well, drafted in behind one faster swimmer and felt in control of my stroke. 
A little snaking and I lost a little bit, but not much and obv being a river swim was easy to correct line etc. 
Noticed fish had a gap from early on but kept plowing away. 
Got a bit more draft here and there, but mainly on my own up to turnaround. 
Around the buoy and there were 2 white caps ahead of me from my wave. 
I made a push and got on their feet for more drafts, but they were snaking a little also. 
I ended up passing these by a back marker from green hat wave and carried on at a decent pace. 
Mainly on own downstream, but latched onto another white hat near the end and drafted him into the finish. Passed a couple more white hats here through his help  

I got out of the water and saw 22:xx... ! Delighted. Exact same swim as last year, in what felt similar current conditions and I was over 8 mins faster. 
I'll take that. 


Wifey was down as photographer and though she didn't get me coming out of the water.... she did manage to get someone else.... ! :-) 

T1 - 1:16 - 66/541


Not much to report, I lose a little time removing my quick release garmin from wrist and mounting on bike, as well as feet were a little slow to get out of wetsuit (again). 
Out and onto bike course. 

Bike - 1:01:46 - 10/541


As I was running out, I copped my left tri shoe had unhooked itself from the elastic... Ok, just stay on the pedals please.
It was bumpy by the mount line but I carried on and attempted the flying mount.... 
It was here things went bad...  
As I jumped on, my left foot missed the loose pedal and I lost balance and fell to my right. 
My right leg jerked out to prevent fall, and bike went down but only on aerobars hitting ground and foot holding me up. 
Can't wait to see the picture of this as there were plenty of camera's around! 
Anyway, picking myself back up and the crowd are shouting your chain, your chain. 
Look down and it's off the front derailleur... 
Ok, marshal says calm down and I am just fixing it normally, get the chain back on and a slow start to head out. 
I lost over 1 minute here, seen by others who were 1min down on my swim catching up straight away as I was still sorting my bike so hence I lost massive time at the start! Doh! 
Thanks to the crowd for their shouts. I think I did try to get on and pedal before realising the chain was off and listening to them. Never mind! 
Now, the bad part here was when my right leg jerked out to stop me falling my calf obv took some kinda shock and tightened up quite a bit. 
First thing I noticed straight away but headed out anyway. 
So, as if that wasn't enough I'm 100m out the road, and something is rubbing. Look down and my garmin cadence arm has been knocked onto disc cover. 
Stop again and fix that before starting away. 
My calf is tight, and I'm spinning a bit easier instead of hammering away. 
I don't want to stress it further this early, and hope by starting easy I can keep it ok. 
Thought crossed my mind that it may be hard to run, but I continue and will cross that bridge later! 

So, start passing people, take a drink, and get the head down. 
Still spinning easier for a while in light of calf which I can constantly feel. 

Out to the 15k turnaround and I clock Bjorn and Stephen coming against me. 
I take a note of the time and make it to the turnaround. 
Double the time and oh dear, I'm 6 minutes down already! 
That can't have been just swim, did I really lose that much extra on bike already? Maybe... 
OK, head down and I start to put a bit more effort in now that legs warmed up. Calf still tight but not affecting my cycling really now in fairness. 

I see Mr McCrystal and his Yellow Boots hammering it and try to gauge time gap. He started in swim wave behind so 10mins give or take. 
I track and reckon he's 6 mins behind at most, so has made up unreal time already. 
The man is a legend on the bike, and run for that matter and with my bike being my strength he's someone who's bike strength footsteps I'd like to follow shall we say! 

I only noticed 1 or 2 drafters, but didn't bother saying anything. What's the point, if they want to race like that they can. 

Around the 25k mark I take my first gel. I pass a guy in the process as didn't realise I was approaching him that quick. He repasses me straight away and no chance did he allow the 10m gap first. 
Not to worry, I finish my gel and pass him again before the turnaround. 
I did clock Bjorn again and timed it around 5-5.5mins ahead now. 
Clocked BMC again and just put the head down as I didn't want to be caught by him! 

It's an honest bike course, rolling, turns, drags, flats, country roads, nice normal roads. Pretty good in fairness and I liked it. 
I saw Stephen around 1km plus out on the run as i was still approaching transition. 

Into T2 for the business end.  

T2 - 1:08 - 51/545


I struggle to get my slightly numb feet into runners, but not the worst. 
Out into Run course and got a shout out from Elvis. Cheers man  

Run - 39:22 - 24/541

Headed out on the run with gel in hand and legs were good. 
Calf didn't act up at all, and I was straight into target pace and running 3:40's. 
KM 1 through in 3:42, followed by the incline KM2 in 3:49.
I pick up a panter behind me who latches on and provides company from here on in.
KM 3 in 3:46 followed by KM 4 in 3:48
I'm running fine, try to surge a couple times but it's hard to maintain momentum when passing traffic in the rough stuff. 
Course is busy now and passing folk every 50m or so. 
Still have my buddy for company. 
KM 5 in 3:53, turnaround, and KM6 in 3:56. 
I'm starting to fade here and really want to keep below 4min...
KM 7 in 3:58 and I through some water over the head. 
I haven't had my gel as felt ok, but possibly should have. 
KM8 in 4:08 and I'm fading here. 
I get passed by Patrick Quinn and he's running strong. Try to hold on and up pace but not happening. 
KM 9 in 4:08 and my buddy has also passed me now too. 
KM 10 in 4:02, and final sprint of 120 m in :21 for a strong finish. 

So, I finished strong and have a sprint in me, but suffered in back half of run and couldn't up tempo. 
I feel I need to learn to suffer more at race pace, and perhaps even just psychological to push through that barrier and deliver a better run. 

Overall - 2:06:04 - 13th Place 

I'm happy with overall result. I swam well and my best yet, I biked well after my poor start, and I ran well at start but suffered near end, as did most from talking to them and that run course contributes to that. 

I'm thinking ok, gotta be close to a Top 10 with that time... 
Over to the timing tent and 13th... Really?  
Ouch! Harsh! 
I would have been 3rd in last years times and felt similar conditions. 
Standards are really improving so much all round. 

Looking at the results, 7th Place was just 1 minute 10 seconds ahead of me. 
Yes, 6 places in just 1minute! My bike issues, Doh! 

I enjoyed the day, headed onto my niece's birthday then and was late back to Dublin. 

Calf is tight today, defo needs a proper massage.  

So, recover, back to training and try sort my run race pace out. 
Next up is Athlone in 4 weeks, my first A race and a course I love. 
Swim should suit me, Bike the same and Run whilst plenty of turns it's same for us all and on roads so at least consistent. 

I want to finish with a note on the top class event and standards of the race yesterday. 
Basically the whole of Top 5 beat the winning time last year. 
I don't think there was any wind last year so it's a reasonable comparison.

Russell White's times are top quality, as are all the Sub 2 guys and most of top 10. Obv his swim and run stands out as head and shoulders above others. 
Assume we will be seeing him compete in ITU soon hopefully! 
He's gotta be on course for Olympics in 4 years with that swim and run capability at his age! Fair play, that's top bombing. 

Anyone that ran 37 or lower yesterday has really got to have a 35min 10k off the bike in them in my opinion on a nicer course. 

BMC's bike split is sick  to recover 4 minutes to leaders like that is just class. I can't wait for Athlone to try and be better than 5 minutes 46 seconds behind his bike split!  And to follow with a sub 36 run, just a couple weeks after IM Lanza. Hoping he has some strong Pro races ahead it's great to see. 



There was one bad thing from the day with my bike having cracked at the top tube from the fall when aerobars hit the ground.  Didn't expect that but what can you do. 
Centre of top tubes are the weakest parts of carbon frames apparently. And I know a club mate who had same bike and had his repaired a good while ago and said it's actually stronger now and no issues.
I have 2 options, repair and get the frame strengthened and cover up with a sticker or else upgrade anyway.  

I had been toying with the idea of changing at the end of the season as I really like 1 or 2 of the new bikes and am spending enough time in triathlons to justify it in my mind anyway! I don't drink nor smoke obviously and this sport is my main luxury at the moment so it's easier to justify some spending here and there!  Heck I even have wifey's approval...! 
I haven't quite decided just yet, and am looking and researching a bit more to see fit and if I'm happy to spend the kinda cash for the bike I have in mind. Either way, I'll have repair or replacement sorted in the next couple weeks and ahead of next race in Athlone...

Watch this space.... 

Ridley Dean only a hairline crack forming but needs repair to be used again.  May be for sale once done at a good price, or else back on the road for Athlone!