Art Lindop

Art Lindop

Tom Bishop’s Training Advice

We’ve experienced a rapid change of lifestyle over the past few weeks, from being out doors training, to near lockdown. I’m not going to deny that I have been hugely rocked by the Coronavirus pandemic. National governments have taken drastic actions to help slow down the rate of devastation caused by the virus. Social isolation seems to be the most effective measure thus far. We are currently only allowed out for ‘essential’ work, to exercise once a day and to shop for essentials. For triathletes, this social obligation means that our training needs to be adjusted from both a practical consideration and also a psychological outlook. I fully embrace the measures that our government have put in place and so you can be sure I will practice what I preach.

My goal at the start of this year was to qualify for the Olympic Games. The Olympics are still on the cards, with the announcement yesterday of postponement until summer 2021, however my training has completely changed focus. Here are a few of my principles that are guiding my day-to-day decisions regarding my training:

  1. Be socially responsible. Only go out once a day and don’t bend the rules. I’m training safe and not taking risks. I’m also not going out from dawn till dusk on my bike. We have a privilege that some nations don’t have, to exercise out doors right now, let’s not abuse the advice.
  2. Use the opportunity wisely. You cant do all your training at home right now. We don’t all have treadmills or turbo trainers, so chose the session you think that is most important for each day and do it outside. This could be anything from run intervals to a sweet-spot session on the bike. However, always assess
    the risk of the session. Don’t go and do something you wouldn’t normally do, the last thing you want now is an injury, or even worse and accident which may require the emergency services. 
  3. Establish a routine. We love routine and familiarity and there is still a chance to create a weekly plan. I’d encourage you plan what you’re going to do each day of the week. Make it manageable and not too ambitious. 
  4. Get online and do some research about home training. This will be for turbo sessions, gym work, treadmill sessions and even dry-land swim exercises.
  5. If we’re in this for long long run, consider periodisation. I’ve basically started again. I took a week off training (like end of season) and began a very easy build. Each session is easy and manageable. I’ve knocked back both volume and intensity. I’m fit now, but I cant sustain this indefinitely and in reality our
    circumstance wont allow that. I intend to lose fitness and then build it up again so hopefully when our social restrictions are lifted I’m in a safe and healthy place to restart my usual training.

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Engineered carbon:

materials & method

Because attacks and sprints place such great loads on road race bikes, we drew on the engineering of our Vulcan tri bike to make the Vekta massively stiffer than any rival. We used the technology that made a beam bike ride like a road bike to make a road bike ride better than any before. We achieved this in two ways: material selection and construction method.

Carbon fibre comes in many grades and, as with everything, the best fibres are more expensive. At REAP, all materials are selected by engineers, not accountants, and the Vekta is made with a blend that is over 80% ultra-high modulus Toray M40J unidirectional fibre. That’s a vastly higher percentage and grade than most manufacturers use in their top models.

Our raw material cost is around 50% higher yet the Vekta is very competitively priced; it’s a reinvestment that we can make because we sell direct to you and, unlike the vast majority, we don’t outsource production – we are our own factory. Expert deployment is crucial to get the best from these materials and that’s where our 25 years of composite engineering experience are invaluable. The carbon fibre lay-up is intuitive to us.

The performance of the carbon fibre lay-up is boosted significantly by our trade secret manufacturing method, a hugely effective innovation that’s unique to REAP. We can’t tell you what it is, but we promise you will feel the difference it makes.

As a true monocoque, the Vekta is made in a single piece, whereas mass-produced bikes are made in a number of pieces and then joined. Our way is more difficult, but the result is an optimised frame, free from parasitic weight – mass that is made necessary by compromised design and doesn’t add value.

Every element of the Vekta is designed for maximum performance. Sure, there are slightly lighter aero-road frames, but none that come close to the way the Vekta feels. We chose to invest a little frame weight to achieve a huge increase in stiffness which results in levels of steering precision and power transfer efficiency you’ve never even dreamed of. We know that you’ll feel it as soon as you stand on the pedals.