1. On the racer bike keep your elbows relaxed and slight bent. I was riding with the elbows tight and straight. Every bump in the road use to send a shock through my shoulder. Over a long distance this can hurt.
2. Your hand should be on top of the bar for tri riding on a racer bike. Thats a more relaxed position. While racing, get to the bottom bar of your bike and in that position your more aero dynamic. This is possible for short durations and trying to over take a rider. By moving your hands to the bottom handle, you automatically lower yourself by 6 inches.
3. Left hand brakes and gears are for the front of the bike. The scott bike has Shimano gears and two front gears. One is the easy gear for climbing and the second is the hard one. What i didn't realize is that within each gears there are subtle shifts which move the bike from the lowest position in 1st gear for tough climbs to probably two other positions in the first gear. During my normal riding on flat surfaces, i should be riding on probably gear 1 in the second or third position. Not to ride on the 2nd gear as that is for racing and going downhill. In the second gear, the chain moves to the upper front ring. Clearly visible to the naked eye and you can feel the power. Probably at 30 km/h speed you need this gear.
3. Position of the thighs and knees while riding. Need to have them close to the bar and straight. I was riding incorrectly with my thighs opening up during the ride. I was riding v shaped, which is wrong.
4. Moved by riding seat up by half an inch. More aero dynamic. Also i have to buy the quick release for seat adjustment.
5. Hitting speed breakers. Don't slow down. Just raise your butt off the seat and stop pedaling when you just about hit the speed breaker. The following benefits happen. Your speed does not drop radically and your butt is safe. Makes a big difference over 50k rides.
6. Right gear for back wheel works with two finger push for a easier gear and single push for a harder gear. As i ride, i should be adjusting basically the back gears on flat surfaces and leave the front gear in a semi easy position as explained above. The Scott bike has 9 back gears with number 9 being the easiest (one close to the wheel) and then each gear becomes harder with the toughest gear being one which is the gear furtherest from the wheel.
7. Helmet has 2 straps for either side of the face. Always ensure that one strap should be behind the each ear for the correct fit. The bottom of the strap should have one or two finger gap to prevent the strap from being very tight.
8. Gear changing should happen before the change in gradient happens. This way if a climb happens, you have already moved to an easier gear and your cadence continues to remain the same with almost the same effort.
9. While climbing, move to the lowest gear within the 1st gear as the climb gets very steep.
10. Buy the cadence meter, Shimano shoes and the clip on pedals.
11. Remove the heavy lock chain while doing 50k plus. Don't add weight. Also keep cell phone in zip lock.
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