Wish List - Triathlon Gadgets & Stuff

Well, here is yet another post about triathlon gadgets. This time It is about a few items I do not have (yet) but I am looking to get sometime this season.  Here we go:

Garmin Forerunner 910XT The perfect watch for the Triathlete. My 310XT is acting up after 2 years, so I may give it to my wife and get me this one by the summer. Full review here
BikeBoxAllan - Box Case With the E118 I cannot afford to take it on the soft case I have. I need this box to protect the E118 on my travellings. Full review here.
Garmin Edge 800 The best bike GPS computer! Not much left to say. Full review here.
Argon18 - Gallium Pro 2012 My E118 is not allowed on some  races, and I also need a road bike  to train. This bike is my dream  road  bike, and its an Argon 18! What else can I say?
Zipp Sub 9 Disc Wheel A disk for my E118 is a must, specially for the 70.3 and full IM distances. No other disc is better than the Sub 9.  Aero Wheels/ Discs comparison here.

Now, I will come back to update this page if/when I buy any of these! Gotta save up BIG TIME!

My Argon 18 E118

I went to pick up my E118 yesterday and spent some time at the shop fitting it.  Here are some photos of the beauty. 

The front bars are still too long. Gotta shorten them

Those 808 Zipp look lovely on the E118

Prologo Evo Tri 40 saddle

Front Look

Di2 Battery nicely tucked away

Shimano components all the way

Front cable wiring 

Di2 Shifters ont he brake lever

Di2 cabling

There are two things I want to look at though. First, the length of the extension bars is still too long so I need to find out from Argon 18 if I can cut the bar a bit more from the front end so the Di2 shifters sit right on my hand. Se below:

The second one is the height of the pads! The guys at the shop fitted all the spacers so that my aero position would be flat, with my upper arm perpendicular to the floor. See below: 

Im not sure about all those spacers on the aero bar. I might remove a few.

I will give it a few weeks and then I'll take a view on keeping it or getting it refitted. 

Now, I gotta think of a name for it. Any suggestions?

I got my Argon-18, E118

Finally, I got my new frameset this week while in Spain after a very thorough price comparison.  Here are some shots of the frame when I got it home.

I was able to save quite a lot £££ by buying it in Spain and I can not wait to build it up over the next few months.  I have also just bought the Prologo Nago Evo Tri 40 saddle to put on the E118 which should arrive in the post in the next few days.

Next, I need to save up to get my Fast Forward F9R wheelset as per below:

Following the wheels I will need to make a call on the groupset and shifting system as Im not sure if I want to spend the money on the fancy Di2 or if I should go for the SRAM Red TT with the R2C shifters.  Time will tell!

"E118" or "Shiv S-Works" for 2012?

Some of you may have read my post where I mentioned I was getting a Planet X for my next bike. Well, I changed my mind and I will start building my new bike from one of these two frames. Please leave me your comments with your preference and the reason behind it.  I have done plenty of research but am really torn between these and as of today I do not know which frame I will buy.  Please comment and "give me the light"!

ARGON 18 E118

SPECIALIZED SHIV S-WORKS

Decisions, decisions....

Oakley Fast Jacket & Race Course

We got to Spain on Wednesday morning and the first thing I did was take the bike to the local shop to get it tuned up for the race.  Checked out some of the gear they have (as you do) and compared the prices with London prices to see if there were any bargains to take advantage of.  Nothing to spend money on.. I dont know if that's good or bad.  The following day, Thursday, I went to pick it up and rode it to my in-laws which is where we are staying.

Today I went for a nice early swim and did around 2000m in 1 hour, not ideal, I know, but to be fair I didn't really count the laps, I just kept my head down (literally), and finished my hour as per my schedule. I then went to meet some old friends who live here in Barcelona and, before I headed home, I went to a local sunglass store  which gives us up to 40% discount on all sunglasses and got me my OAKLEY FAST JACKETS for €160.50. Great deal, dont you think?

No photos of me with them yet, tomorrow I should have some :)

Tomorrow I have to go to the race venue to pick up my race number, backpack and other items.  It will be a great opportunity to get a feel for the environment around the venue, which promises to be great with a variety of different stands with great goodies to buy! I better leave the girls at home....

Below is the race course for the swim, bike and run on Sunday.  

750m from the Barcelona beach to the Olympic port to T1 (Boxes)

Two 10Km laps around the course. Lovely Bogatell beach bike course

5Km course down Bogatell beach as well

Tomorrow I hope to post some photos of the event venue and any other gadgets or goodies I end up getting from the event.

2XU Compression Calf Guards Review - Father's Day Gift

It feels great to be back in London next to my wife and daughters.  These trips, although necessary, can be a real pain, but I must admit the best thing about them are the hugs I get from my daughters when they see me upon my return, and this time they came with a nice father's day present. 

As we get back from picking up the girls from school I see Sonia handing them something in a box with WIGGLE on it! Hmm... it was either something for Sonia or for me, I thought. Anyway, WE get in the house and the girls hand me this box and they both start shouting HAPPY FATHER'S DAY.

I opened the box and it was a set of the 2XU Compression Calf Guard w/ Stirrup.  I was really surprised as I was not expecting anything really.  I tried them on right away (the wrong way) and they felt great. After I looked at the box I realised I had them on the wrong way and immediately changed them.  I was eager to go out and try them on so this morning after we dropped the girls off at school I went for a quick 30 minute swim and then took Sonia for a 10Km run to help her get a quicker pace than her usual 5:37min/Km.  On trying them on this is my overview:

- Fit: They fit great around my calve.  The pressure is on the back of the leg and it really keeps the muscle from wobbling while one is running.

- Comfort: great comfort and not too tight either, just right.

- Stirrup feels a bit like it is going to slip from under your foot, but once you put your sock  and/or shoe on it actually holds on quite well.

- Snags: If any, I would say the angle of the bottom strap which holds on to the bottom of your foot is a bit too small.  I thin it actually holds on tighter to the foot if it is worn with the large X facing the front, but thats just me.
- Price: Varies from £25 to £31 depending on where you look. My wife bought mine with our www.wiggle.co.uk account since we always get a minimum discount for being return costumers.  Other retailers are the usual suspects like Amazon and Chain Reaction Cycles. I suggest creating an account on Wiggle if, like me, are an addict to gadgets and Tri gear.

They come in three colours but I actually like the black one better than the white or tan one.  I am looking at buying the new Fusion triathlon suite in white and I think it would go well with this.

My next bike - Planet X Exocet

UPDATE: I ended up not getting this bike! I got this one instead.

Now that I have my dates set for my first half and full ironman next year, I think its time I consider spending some cash on a proper TT/Tri bike for the second half of this season.  Since I currently ride a Trek I have obviously  been looking at Trek TT bikes but, as I am sure you are all aware, they are quite prohibitive in price, and this has led me to look elsewhere for options.

On a recent trip I did to Lisbon I entered a Specialized Concept Store at a mall and I saw the Transition Tri bike which is a beauty to look at, and Im sure feels even better when you ride it, but again, prohibitive in price for someone of my level who, to be honest, just started with Tri a little more than a year ago.

On this months edition of the 220Triathlon magazine there was a very detailed review of the Exocet compared agains the Quintana Roo CD01 Ultegra and guess who came out on top? Thats right, the Exocet did.

After very in depth research I have made my decision on a very important point most triathletes base their decision on: IT LOOKS GOOD!...ok, and its the best £2,000 bike out there on the market according to 220Triathlon.  In my case, If I spend anything more than £2,000 will result in a divorce from my wife and I am not keen on that since I love her very much! :)

Now, looking at my schedule I am thinking I could potentially hold on buying this until after summer but the question is... will I be able to hold on the temptation?  Apparently you can only buy Planet X Bikes directly from the manufacturer on from a handful of direct distributors and I found a store in St. Albans who can properly fit me for the bike at the same time.  I am guessing what I will end up doing is I will probably go up there in the summer time and speak to them about the bike in order to get some more details before I buy it. 

Back in the UK - New Toys from Wiggle!

Garmin GSC10 Sensor

Just landed back in London and got the best welcoming anyone could get.  Both my daughters came out to the backyard running into my hugs.  Nothing beats that!

After all the unpacking and playing with my girls Sonia tells me my wiggle order had arrived.  This was my Garmin CSC10 cadence sensor and my Quick   Release Mounting Kit.   I spent about two hours on both of them, mostly on the cadence sensor.  I spent some time online looking for some forums on issues I was having as the lights on the sensor were not flashing nor was the watch showing any info on cadence details.

Apparently you need to pay close attention to the sensors and the magnets.  My issue was that the magnets were a bit further apart and that was causing the lights to not flash.  Also, I needed to synch the forerunner 310xt and change exercise mode to Bike1.  Cadence sensor working and quick release kit hooked on the handle bar, I was ready to give it a go.  I tried both the Bike1 and Multisport function and the cadence readings were on the spot.  Now I obviously have try on the road with a proper ride, but thats for another blog post.