by Patrick Davis

Trainer season is here in the midwest. Temps are dropping and snow is looming in the near future. This doesn't mean cycling has to stop. It just means the next few months are filled with blasting tunes, movie watching, and fun trainer rides.

Trainers are, for the most part, made to last forever. They have great warranties and, unless Mark Cavendish locks in, these things will get most riders through decades of riding. Over time, however, some parts might not work as great as when they were new.

Continue reading →

Patrick Davis has been a part of Discount Tri Supply since nearly the very beginning. While training to become a professional triathlete he came aboard and really helped to refine and implement the company vision.

Patrick Davis at Discount Tri Supply

Patrick has worked at Discount Tri Supply since May 2010. The website was launched that August.

Continue reading →

by Patrick Davis

Earlier this year, the DiscountTriSupply.com team members got together for a meeting. For such a small company, it was shocking to see that some people still had not met. There are five full-time and four part-time employees so one would think we would have a close relationship. It was really good to sit down and have everyone introduce themselves and learn about the roles of the other team members. Blog posts on a few members are up and others are in the works. Check them out if you have not done so yet!

Continue reading →

by Patrick Davis

Here are my thoughts on choosing between a Quarq power meter and PowerTap G3 hub.

I am somewhat of a geek when it comes to techy training equipment. I like to use it and get general baselines, but don’t get too wrapped up in analyzing every aspect of training. My mentality is to do what's on the schedule, take a quick look at the data and bank it, and then forget about training until the next time around. I feel like it keeps me a little level headed.

Fortunately, working at a bike shop and liking to play with new gear go together well. In the past, I have owned a Quarq S975 and PowerTap SL+ but have gotten rid of them as wants and needs changed. (Things like buying a car or deciding not to race anymore change financial priorities.)

I recently got back into specific training, which meant buying another power meter. Yay for expensive toys! I ended up getting the standard PowerTap alloy wheelset with a G3 hub. In my opinion, it is the best bang for your buck power meter out there right now.

About a week after getting the PowerTap I was talking with the SRAM rep, who was showing off the new Quarq Elsa power meter. I got the whole speech about the updates and how awesome it is, and I took a shot in the dark asking if I could ride it for a bit. To my surprise he let me keep it for a week! Needless to say my bike easily doubled in price for that week.

Going off my experience with both, here is a general overview of what you should think about when considering a power meter purchase.

Continue reading →

by Patrick Davis

Recently, SRAM completely redesigned their top of the line Red group which left people wondering what would happen to its next step down, Force, group. The upgrades to the Force group are much more subtle than the hyped Red group, but they are sure to make your riding experience better.

I am going to help you understand what they did to the shift levers and how to tell the difference between the older (2010–2012 model) and new Zero Loss (2013 model).

Continue reading →