Deals on Wheels

two married triathletes, an old van, and everything in-between

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Media
  • Schedule and Results
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Media
  • Schedule and Results
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us

Follow us!

Subscribe to stay up to date on blog posts!

Welcome!

Deals on Wheels – The home of Ben and Summer Deal’s triathlon and travel

This site documents our pursuit of professional triathlon, our adventures around the world, and married life as two competitive athletes. Read our race reports, follow our training, and check out our sponsors!

deals_on_wheels_tri

What do you do when the industry wants you to spen What do you do when the industry wants you to spend ~$10,000 on a bike that doesn't fit you?

Switch to a stroller of course!

Or you go back to your roots and build up the (12 year old) bike of your dreams!

I've been pretty excited about this idea. I started to consider it towards the end of last year when it became increasingly clear the predicament I was in with ill fitting bikes. It's important to note that this isn't just a "why not?" build. This Cervelo has more reach than almost any other TT frame ever made. I bought this as a full bike during my 2nd year of racing triathlon for $550. Never thought I'd return to it as my race bike. But simply put, it makes sense. Rather than drop thousands on a new frame only to slap junk on it to make it work (not to mention buying new wheels), I'm going to be rebuilding this bike up in a way that I only could have dreamed of when I first bought it. It'll have the full range of @tririg parts with the Alpha One, Scoops Ultimate, and Omega One brakes, as well as a bare bones @sramroad wireless groupset. No sponsorship here, just the building that makes sense for the bike.

I'm going to be filming a YouTube series talking about my choices as I build up the frame and get ready to race on it, so keep an eye out for that. I hope this build will be a breath of fresh air among the absurdly expensive bikes being pushed nowadays (not that I wouldn't love to have a brand new bike), but it's just not in the cards right now with a baby! While the build out isn't 100% budget focused, I cut corners where possible and just wanted to genuinely make this bike the fastest I possibly could.

What do we think... can a 15 year old frame design keep up in the pro field?
Let's talk tri-bike geometry: There's been quite Let's talk tri-bike geometry:

There's been quite a bit of discussion recently about whether modern bikes need a fundamental redesign. While they work fine for most people, the current batch of bikes is 3-4 years old. In that time, positions at the pointy end of racing have changed significantly. Take a look at some of the top cyclists in the sport: Sam Laidlow, Daniel Baekkegard, Magnus Ditlev, just to name a few. These guys are all riding extremely forward (saddle offset), long (elbow reach), and not especially low (pad stack) positions. They are all on bikes that require custom parts to achieve those positions. It's especially bad for the tall guys as we can't simply size up to add reach to our setups. We're basically expected to spend $8k+ on a bike only to spend even more to get into the optimal position.

These four bikes I've ridden over the past five years don't have drastically different geometry, right? The longest frame reach is ~20mm more than the shortest. But the last thing we want to do is be limited by our frame. Adjustable bars can solve part of the issue. Long super-extensions and pad extenders can often fix the rest, but what we often end up on is an imbalanced mess of solutions just to put a bandaid on an open wound. Longer bikes have existed in the past, will exist in the future, but are frustratingly absent in the present.

As I look ahead to my position and bike in 2024, I'm going to focus primarily on riding the setup that gives me the most ability to ride a modern position with the least positional and stability sacrifices made. Oh, and do it without cutting into the diaper budget... There will be trade offs of course, but I'm confident that the gains will offset the losses in every condition except maybe on marketing material 🧐
A #timetrialtuesday from out of the aero position? A #timetrialtuesday from out of the aero position? Feels appropriate after spending a chunk of time from mile 70-112 in Florida in a similar position. While this wasn't even the bike I rode in Florida, my struggle to find a frame that fits appropriately has been ongoing. Looking forward to something new for 2024, and hopefully that something allows for the position I've been trending towards for awhile now.

Might take some creativity, but it's not my bike if I'm not in a constant state or tinkering!

📸@alexa_jadephotography
Five years ago at the first ever #im703indianwells Five years ago at the first ever #im703indianwells. Still one of our favorite races out there. Sad to be missing it again but safe to say we've got our hands full at home. 
Good luck to all our friends racing this weekend!
Remy made a fast and furious entry into the world Remy made a fast and furious entry into the world last Thursday, but did we really expect anything else?
Mom and baby are healthy! Everyone is tired.
In-season mood ➡️ Off-season mood In-season mood
➡️
Off-season mood
>5000 feet of climbing over 56 miles was no joke. >5000 feet of climbing over 56 miles was no joke. Not my cup of tea but glad it's over and happy to be heading to a few flatter races to close out the season!

#im703augusta coming up in a few weeks!
This photo is almost a month old and Summer's bump This photo is almost a month old and Summer's bump is unrecognizable to what it is now! It's been a very busy season with races, family get togethers, and home projects, but it's not about to slow down quite yet...

Just one wedding, three races, one baby party, and a cross country trip before we settle in for the winter with an extra human in the house!
At 27+ weeks pregnant competing looks a little dif At 27+ weeks pregnant competing looks a little different this year, but still managed to snag the finish line kisses 😘
.
.
.
First triathlon in a hot minute- I (Summer) did the swim and run portion of a sprint relay, with bestie and partner in crime @nicol34ward kicking butt on the bike leg! 
.
.
.
Things look different now, and probably will moving forward (or so we've heard 😜👶) and so what a cool experience to still do the things you love, and also set boundaries for your mental health (re: Summer not biking currently). Running has been grounding me more and more recently and I absolutely love it. So for now, running it is, and maybe some relay triathlons in the future 🤷🏻‍♀️
Nothing hurts quite like staying on the gas in the Nothing hurts quite like staying on the gas in the last couple miles. Fought for every place at #im703maine. Run training has been going pretty well, but a couple of solid track workouts gave me the confidence to push hard right out of T2. Definitely looking forward to getting even faster for the remainder of the year.
Bike splits continue to be the place where I lose Bike splits continue to be the place where I lose the most time to my competitors. This is a combination of power and my ability to respond to the specific dynamics at play at each race. In #im703maine, I was minutes away from joining a pack of guys stronger than me which, if I could hang on, would have put me in a great position off the bike. Unfortunately, just when I thought I was on, they disappeared up the road and I never saw them again. Spent the last 30 miles on my own instead, focusing on nutrition and riding hard on the uphills so as not to lose too much time to the guys I knew were behind me.

This was also my first race on the @ku_cycle TF1. We all know I like weird looking bikes, so it's been fun to play with this one for the last few weeks. More on that to come.

#timetrialtuesday #swimbikerun #cycling #ironman #ironmantraining
"Current"ly enjoying the post race vibes after #im "Current"ly enjoying the post race vibes after #im703maine. The swim was comically fast and didn't exactly play to my strengths so I focused on coming out of the water ready to run hard for the long jog up to T1. Not a perfect transition but far from my worst as well!
A 4th Boulder 70.3, a 4th below average day. Not m A 4th Boulder 70.3, a 4th below average day. Not much else to say.
🤷🏼
Time for a solid block of training before racing resumes for me in late July!
📸@beanmachinetri
#timetrialtuesday
We've somehow made it through a camp, two races, a We've somehow made it through a camp, two races, and a two week trip through Europe without getting sick. By this point last year I had already missed over six weeks of training due to sickness. My volume is still low but the consistency is back!

#im703boulder in a bit under three weeks!
Mid-stride towards the next race: 70.3 Boulder. I' Mid-stride towards the next race: 70.3 Boulder.
I've never had a great race here despite spending the last five years at altitude but I'm riding a high from St. George that can certainly change that!

#im703boulder #ironmantri
Swedish cows 🐄 Austrian countrysides 🏞️ Swedish cows 🐄
Austrian countrysides 🏞️
I had a lot of race weekend support from friends a I had a lot of race weekend support from friends at St. George. That's extra helpful when you realize you forgot your pre-mixed nutrition in the AirBnb the morning of the race 😬. Special shout-out to the one and only @larrylupton and Cynthia of @bambuwerx for the post race love!

Best dressed cheer squad on course? Without a doubt.
I ran the math... This kiss cost me .04 @professi I ran the math...

This kiss cost me .04 @professionaltriathletesorg ranking points.

#worthit
This was a big day for me, but it still feels like This was a big day for me, but it still feels like I'm just scratching the surface of what the next few years will feel like. Qualifying for 70.3 worlds as a pro was one of my first stated goals when I started racing pro in 2019. Feels great to finally check that box. A bit weird to do it on a day when I felt relatively terrible from the moment I got out of the water, but that's almost a comfort moving forward. 

I'll have more thoughts on this race but for now enjoy this 👨‍🍳😘 photo from @justinluau and I'll leave you with this question:

Have aerodynamics gone too far? 😂

#im703stg #timetrialtuesday
Serious business here in St. George. Feeling good Serious business here in St. George.
Feeling good about improving upon my Oceanside performance a month ago! 
#im703stg
Load More Follow on Instagram

Ashe Theme by WP Royal.