We continue our series "the bikes of the pros" with Ain-Alar Juhanson's Scott Plasma. Find out what the big and powerful Estonian thinks about his ride.
ST: Ain, why this Scott Plasma versus any other frame?
Ain: First you have to consider that I am 220 pounds and my best Ironman average power is 407watts! I need a frame that can transform all this power into forward motion without letting me down. I have been riding in the past with 5 different manufactured bikes and I have broken at least one a year but for the last 4 years since I started with Scott I had no problems. Scott frames are always lightweight, stiff and most importantly reliable!
ST: Can you tell us how were you fitted to this bike?
Ain: Well, it has been a process during my career. I started with a very roady position seat angle around 73 degrees! Three years ago I started to move my saddle little more forward which allowed me to lower my upper body. Now my seat front is level with my BB and I have been riding like this for 2 years and I am happy. I still would like to use wind tunnel this year for some small changes.
ST: Our readers would love to know why you are using this bar setup.
Ain: The Scott Plasma XL frame is almost perfect for me but I have only one problem. The head tube is 1.5 cm too high for me and that is ok for most of the triathletes as they don’t use a very extreme position to ride the distance. So I am using the Oval adjustable stem with -20 degrees and the Oval JetStream 911 bars made to my measurements. The setup is extremely stiff and very reliable even if when am pushing up 20% hills!
ST: Would you mind telling us why you selected the Zipp 808 wheels?
Ain: Well, my first race wheels were 20 years old 36 spokes alloy wheels from my dad, but I also raced two years with a Corima 12 spoke aero in front and 4 spoke or disc in the rear. I also remember doing my second IM Lanzarote with Mavic Cosmic Carbon wheels. Now I use Zipp 808 and Lightweight disc. As I often say, I am choosing my stuff very carefully! I like my Zipp 808 wheels. They are very aero and are not too scary to ride during extreme wind conditions.
ST: What about the tires you use, can you talk about them?
Ain: I am using Vittoria EVO XP tubulars and reason is simple. They are holding up to 14 bar pressure. Most tires are designed for average rider weighing around 150-160 pounds.
ST: You have the SRM Dura-Ace power meter on your bike, why are you using it versus anything else?
Ain: I am using an SRM Dura-Ace 180mm 58/50. My first power meter was from Ergomo and it was working very well and I was pleased with it. But I am using 180mm cranks and with my weight I wanted to make sure that I am not losing too much watts through an old fashioned BB. So I changed to the SRM Dura-Ace system and it has been serving me well so far. The chain rings were highly recommended by Steve Hed through my coach Jimmy Riccitello.
ST: Your bike is set up with 4 bottle cages. Do you use them all?
Ain: I have been using 4 bottle cages on my bike, but with my experience in IM racing I don’t need to carry more then two bottles at any time. The third one is insurance against losing the bottle or missing the aid station. IM races usually have aid stations on the bike every 20-30 minutes and that gives me a chance to replace my empty bottles very often and thus I don’t really need 4 cages on my bike!
ST: Why did you pick the Fizik Arione Tri over any other saddle?
Ain: When I was about 13 years old I started to ride my bike to ski school about 100 miles! I had my fathers old 8 speed road bike with frame shifters. After the first ride I understood that the old leather saddle on my fathers bike had to go! My butt was hurting and I saw my friends had newer plastic saddles. So the next day I spoke with my dad who was metalworker at the time that I wanted to make a new saddle myself. Well it took me one day to make a thin metal base for the saddle. My mother helped to cover it with leather and my dad attached the rails. I was very happy about my new production and went straight on the 100 mile ride to ski school. I made it through but it was hurting me for the next two weeks like hell and I never used it again. That was a good lesson! Since then I am choosing very carefully what equipment I am using and the Fizik Arione Tri has been faithful to me so far.
Bike details and numbers:
- frame/model: Scott Plasma
- size: 58cm
- bar drop: 21 cm
- saddle setback: 0 cm (tip to center of BB)
- saddle height: 86.5 cm (center of BB to center of saddle)
- fork: Oval JetStream
- seat post: n/a
- saddle: Fizik Arione Tri
- stem / size: Oval adjustable
- bars / width: Oval JetStream 911
- extension: n/a
- Cranks / power meter / size: SRM 180mm 58/50
- rear derailleur: Dura-Ace
- front derailleur: Dura-Ace
- shifters: Dura-Ace
- chain: KMC Gold
- cassette: KCNC
- brake levers: Oval
- brakes: Oval
- wheels: Zipp 808
- tires / size: Vittoria Evo XP
- bottle cages / drink system: Zipp carbon
- pedals: Time
