Electrical tape is a TTers friend
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Was wondering if there was a way to hide it out of the wind, I think there are some stems which have a compartment for it but they’re mega $$$. It won’t make a huge difference but it looks a bit clunky under the stem.
Cutting the steerer is a piece of pish with a cutting guide, a new 32 TPI hacksaw blade and a vice or B&D Workmate. A metal file helps smooth the end result. Measure thrice, mark and cut. Do it outside if it’s carbon. The first and only time I had my LBS cut a steerer they did a 5/10 job on it - it was slightly squint and some carbon strands had peeled. I’ve since cut steerers, MTB bars and seat posts with the cutting guide perfect every time. Ti seat post was a bit more work but perhaps blade was blunting. Good luck!
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After looking at a lot of wheels I went with Swiss Side as the areo credentials seemed very good. Honestly it’s impossible to know one vs the other which is best
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OK. So I’m going to start the hunt for some new wheels for my Trinity. Once again, coming from a position of limited knowledge in this field.
I have until July, so no rush, which means I can take my time to watch the 2nd hand market.
What am I looking for exactly? What are the key compatibility issues I need to be aware of - stuff like hubs, 11sp etc.
Do I stick to the known brands, or are random ones likely to be OK for 2/3 uses a year?
I don’t really want to learn about tubs, so would prefer clincher. But I’m aware my budget is low, so I will entertain tubs as a last resort as I’m guessing there’d beore deals to be had there.
Usual spots for hunting - ebay, Facebook, time trial forum etc?
Ta
Edit - something like this?
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I’ve got a pair of 80mm SRAM clinchers I picked up for £200. They’re a bit heavy I think but pretty bullet proof which is fine by me.
A couple of learnings:
The longest valves you can easily get are 80mm so if you get shallower rims than that you don’t have to mess with extenders, tape, removing valve core etc. On my 80s I can just about get at the the top if the valve so use an extender to blow them up but then take it off again.
Brake pads, if running rim brakes think about carbon or aluminium rims. Mine are alloy so don’t need to change brake pads and work OK in the wet. Carbon rims in the wet can be lethal, hence the growth of disc brakes.
I’d try and stick with a well known brand second hand, the Chinese wheels often use some obscure hubs and not always easy to fix and get parts.
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Perfect. That’s the kind of intel I was hoping for 
thanks
Hadn’t thought about valves etc. I have the dexterity of a 3 week old chimp, so easier the better in my world, cos I’ll only 
it up.
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Don’t be scared by tubs, they’re not that hard and you can find some right bargains out there.
I got a 90mm carbon front for £90 including wheel bag, skewer and postage off Facebook. Doesn’t match the rear but I simply don’t care.
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Yeah I’d be with you on that. I’m not fussed in the slightest about colour matching, brand matching etc. At my end of the budget scale I just need the thing to be functional (and hopefully fast! 
).
Think I need to read this from the start to get some learnings, being in the same position as @gingerbongo, except with even less knowledge!
Know helmets were discussed, search suggest the Rudy Wing57 has never been mentioned on the forum. Google seems to suggest its one of the most popular elsewhere, anyone any insight? Might get my first tw@hat, one locally on fb for £40 unopened which seems a bargain.
#1 in all circumstances, and the best ‘aero on a budget’ measure, is to get a good position on the bike!
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That was true, until I moved to latex tubes. Valve stem lengths in latex are much less variable.
I’m similar to @JaRok2300 with alu brake tracks. All my wheels are like that, as that way I just don’t have to think about it. The location of the rear brake on my TT does mean swapping pads would be a faff.
For Cotswold, weight will have no bearing, so alu will make no difference (and are often cheaper). If you can find one, I’d also get a rear disc.
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The Aerohead generally gets good reviews but the Rudy is also very good but can be a tight fit (I think). As Jorgan says it’s mostly down to aero position but I’d expect you should have reasonable flexibility (given your age and swimming background).
Skinsuit, aero calf guards, tyres, tubes all add up to a few watts that will help over an Ironman, as will either a new chain or treated chain. Some of these don’t have to cost much compared to a set of wheels etc.
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My mumblings:
Go for clinchers only with a Shimano/Sram 11spd freehub.
I would say avoid the Planet X wheels as I’ve seen first hand they are not the best quality and given everyone is going disc you should be able to pick up some branded ones at a good price second hand.
Alloy brake track is a good choice as carbon complicates the brake block choice you will get better value for your money & any weight gains would be lost by reduced braking confidence if it rained. Look for minimal wear on the brake track for low mileage.
Look for flat bladed spokes
Probably not worth worrying about which shape of fairing is fastest, the difference from a 60mm from PX or a 60mm from Zipp is minimal.
60mm depth for the front is a good sweet spot for speed vs handling.
The deeper the wheel on the rear the faster it is but it’s less relevant than the front & doesn’t really effect handling but the gains are marginal as the air is already quite disturbed by the pedalling legs . My advise would be to have a pair of 60mm wheels & get a wheel cover to mimic a disc if it bothers you. The reason being that you will have a universal valve size for your spare without having a massive valve stem on the front (I bought dissimilar sized wheels for my road bike for the marginal gain & really regretted it). This is a more convenient wheelset to use on your road bike too assuming it’s not disc if your doing a road bike event.
Definitely go for latex tubes (but not for your spare) & GP5000’s are a good balance speed vs puncture resistance.
How the tyre meets the wheel rim will likely have the largest impact on aero & should follow the 105% rule (rim should be 105% the width of the tyre) for best results. Benefit of good branded wheels is there should be good advice for what tyre & sizing is known to have good results in the wind tunnel with the wheels.
Older narrower wheels (the trend has been to go wider) will likely benefit from a 23mm tyre but a slightly wider wheel with a 25mm tyre (& lower pressure) will likely be faster on most UK roads.
Go with a 25mm tyre on the rear regardless.
Use Silcas calculator for tyre pressure. SILCA Professional Pressure Calculator
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@gingerbongo - Try and and find the PX82/101 combo and get a Vitesse disc cover from eBay.
Swiss Stop yellow pads are great on them, even in the wet.
Conti GP5000s with latex tubes, for sure.
Make sure the valve cores are removable and you have the longest extender on your spare tube.
I’ve had four pairs of the PX carbon rims (2 pairs of 50s and 2 pairs of 82/101) and I’ve never had an issue with them.
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You can pick up the GP5000 non-tubeless tyres pretty cheaply.
My favourite lids are the Aerohead and the Kask Mistral (Wiggle has the lid at 45% off at the time as it is the Australian track colour).The Kask is better for spares availability as well. As @Doka has said the mid depth rim is the best alrounder. I picked up my Enve 7.8 from a mate who owned a bike shop and although a big buy at the time they are the only wheels I have used for the last 4 years. Mavics can be picked up for a good price as my favourite eBay site had them for a stupid price as well as the DT Swiss wheels. The Prime wheels by Vitus/Wiggle get good reviews as well.
The other piece of the puzzle is the saddle, good comfy saddle will make the aero position easier to maintain. They are personal choices but I use the Geomedized TT saddle which is basically the Syncros Belcarra TT saddle which was developed with AB and Sebastian Kienle
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Any decent sources for a Giro Aerohead, anywhere remotely less than full price is OOS.
Did find one near Corsham on Facebook very cheap but the person won’t post it at all 
Loads pop up on FB time trialling pages.
Yep, I keep looking and found this one for £50. Just too far for me to go, unless anyone on here happens to live really close.
Will keep an eye out