After the success of my cockpit re-do last week I decided to take another look at my spare tube(s), tools, and X-Lab wing configuration. I figured I needed to lighten up somewhere because, as I continue to taper before the race on Sunday, I seem to be gaining a little weight elsewhere. If you know what I mean! You can read about the small changes I made to my bike cockpit
here.
Moving on to the junk in my bike trunk. Here's my starting configuration with an X-Lab Carbon Wing, two X-Lab Gorilla Carbon Cages, two CO2 cartridges, a Genuine Innovations Air Chuck Elite Mini Inflator, two spare tubes, and two sets of tire tools. Why I had four tire levers I don't know!
 |
| X-Lab Wing with Bag and Spare Tubes |
As I removed some of the loose items I weighed them. Tire tube - 4 1/4 ounces.
 |
| Spare Tube |
These are the best tire tools I have. My other set from Park Tools is far less easy to use. The little slot behind the curve of the lever is the difference. The slot holds the lever on the rim. Tire levers - 1 1/4 ounces.
 |
| Tire Levers |
Both the spare tube and tire levers weigh 5 1/2 ounces.
 |
| Spare Tube and Tire Levers |
The small saddle bag I've been using weighs an additional 1 1/4 ounces.
 |
| Empty Bike Bag |
Add these all together and that's 6 3/4 ounces of extra stuff.
 |
| Spare Tube, Tire Levers, and Spare Tube |
My second spare tube and set of tire levers weighs 5 1/4 ounces. I'll use these for the Augusta 70.3 on Sunday.
 |
| Second Spare Tube with second set of Tire Levers in Plastic Bag |
I took that second plastic bag with the spare tube and tire levers and shoved it into my X-Lab Wing.
 |
| Spare Tube in X-Lab Wing |
Here's the final configuration. It's 6 3/4 ounces lighter and more aerodynamic. I'm sure it will get me a podium slot. I suppose that could be slightly optimistic.
 |
| X-Lab Wing with Bag and second Spare Tube removed |
This little recheck of my gear only took about 15 minutes. These changes combined with my cockpit re-do have lightened my load by over 16 ounces. The improved aerodynamics will have to be evaluated post race.
My tri-bike is the same 2010 Quintana CD0.1 bike I used when I competed in the 2010 Ironman Augusta 70.3. That year I completed the 56 mile bike segment in 2:43:26 (20.6-mph). I'm hoping for something a little closer to 2:38:00 this year (21.3-mph). Anything faster than that might impact my ability to have a good run. However, I did average 23.9-mph in August on the 14 mile bike segment of the 2012 Peachtree City Sprint Triathlon. It would be cool if I could duplicate that! I competed in the male 45-49 age group in 2010 when the top three finishers in that category completed the bike segment in under 2 hours and 23 minutes. During the 2010 race the top three male 50-54 age group winners, where I'll be competing this year, completed the bike leg in under 2 hours and 30 minutes. A sub-2 hour and 30 minute bike segment might be a bit too much to ask as well.
Thanks for reading.
