Weekly Mailbag–August 7th, 2010

Here’s this week’s edition of the weekly mailbag.  This is a weekly series where I feature a handful of the e-mailed questions I received from the previous week or so.  I try and pick a wide variety of questions. Some are technical in nature, some sport related, and sometimes all sorts of other randomness – as you’ll see below.

This week’s mailbag covers the following topics:

1) Clip-on aerobars
2) Coolest kids tri race report…evah!
3) Crashing with a carbon bike, and replacement

Item #1: Clip-on aerboars
From Patrick-

“Thanks for the blog, I find it a great source for everything really.  Quick question:  I noticed your Fuji road bike, and it is quite similar to one I have recently purchased for my first bike (mine is a SL).  I was wondering what aero bars you ended up putting on it?  I saw this post:

But it seems the (Performance) links are now dead.  Also, did you make other fit adjustments after installing the aero bars, or stick with the “road” set up?”

Yup, I ended up using the Profile Design T2+ bars.  In my case I just clipped them on.  But I eventually removed them off the road bike and they went onto The Girl’s Felt tri bike as her previous bars were a bit clunky.  Despite being clip-ons, they’re actually very versatile from a configuration standpoint (more so than even my stock bars on my Cervelo P2/P3).  In her case our Coach actually spent the time to fully wire the shifting into it as well – which is pretty cool.  He’s simply awesome that way.

Oh, and here’s the link for the Profile Design T2+ that I…errr…the Girl has now.

Item #2: Coolest kids tri race report evah!

This comes from my Aunt’s popular cooking blog – you remember, the one who hosts me when I do races in New England – such as the Boston Marathon, Ironman Rhode Island 70.3 2008 and 2009, and all sorts of other events.

This past weekend her two adorable kids (little boy and girl) completed their first triathlon.  And she put together a in depth post with a gazillion pictures of both racing and training.  You’ll have to wander on over there.  But here’s a picture from just after Ironman the finish of Rhode Island 70.3 with Julia (my little cousin) checking to see if I was still alive:

Ironically, the following year in that very same spot…I’d end up in the med tent.  Go figure…

Anyway – it’s highly worth the read – so go check it out!

Item #3: Crashing with a carbon bike, and replacement
From Brian-

My question however has to do with your bike accident back in May.  I recently was hit by a car while on one of my training rides for my first Ironman triathlon. (needless to say I will not be doing Ironman Fl this year)  Basically the lady ran a red light and ran into me causing me to fracture my clavicle, patella and humorous, among may other nasty stuff.  I have a P2 Cervelo carbon fiber bike just like you used  to have.  It is now cracked in several places.  My question is at what point does carbon fiber become unsafe to ride and how did you go about getting a replacement bike quickly as you did?

I’m super sorry to hear about your accident, especially given how badly you were hurt, and that you were training for IMFL. :(

Unfortunately (not that you needed any more sentences that started with that word) – carbon fiber is very susceptible to blunt force impact, such as whacks from a car.  In fact, in my case (when I got hit earlier this season during a race), there were no clear cracks on the bike itself, but both the bike shop and Cervelo recommended that if you’ve been in any accident with a car, to have it replaced.  This is because the only way to validate that internal damage hasn’t been done, is to give the bike the equivalent of an MRI.  Of course, this really isn’t practical for most of us.  In your case, if you already have cracks (which it sounds like you do), then you really need to get the frame swapped out.

The good news is that Cervelo has a crash replacement program via your local bike shop.  The whole process (paper to bike) takes less than 7 days once the bike shop fills out the form and sends it to them.  There is typically a discount of approx 35-40% off of retail, so while it’s not free, it’s much better than full price.

Lastly, since it sounds like the lady was at fault (as was in my case) – her insurance will absolutely pay for everything re the bike.  Also don’t forget items like new helmet (required anytime you hit the ground), and wheels, tires, etc…  In short, you shouldn’t pay a dime to get your bike fully swapped out.  If you want to pay a differential, such as to upgrade to the P3 from the P2, Cervelo also supports that.

Get well!

—

Last but not least – don’t forget that I’m giving away a Garmin Forerunner 310XT, and the entry period closes in a few days.  You can read all about it here.  Good luck!

Recent Mailbags:

Weekly Mailbag – July 31st, 2010

– DCRainmaker.com featured on IMTalk
– Strands iPhone and Android App
– Draft Legal Age Group Racing
– Me in a Fox News TV clip for the NYC Triathlon
– More discussion on drafting penalties
– Reminder: Garmin 310XT Rebate Program Ends Today!

Weekly Mailbag – July 24th, 2010
– What I eat prior to a weekend of workouts
– Compatibility of Nike+ and Garmin ANT+
– What to do with fading Garmin Forerunner 305 battery

You can find all past mailbags here.

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