"Modifed" flying bike mount?

IMO I hesitate to suggest doing the shoes clipped in thing at all.  I have see far too many times, in all types of athletes, where mishaps cause more harm then good.  Shoes dropping, near accidents looking down trying to get shoes horizontal or reaching down to strap in, etc...  Unless your racing at a level where every second of every point in the race is worth it, I'd say, stick with what you know works....put on your shoes in T1, run and hop on the bike and crank away.  It may be an extra 2 seconds but it saves any accidents that may cost you more then seconds.

Just my 2cents 

If you practice, then this is "what you know works."

Maybe the method isn't for everyone, but it works for me and I guarantee it saves more than two seconds. But to me, the biggest benefit is that I no longer have to replace cleats every other race after they get chewed up running through transition. I haven't had to buy a set of cleats in three seasons.

x2 w/ Bear. having shoes clipped in works much better for me. trying to run in my bike shoes creates more problems than the mount/dismount with my feet on my shoes.

back to the op, I do similar to what you described, except I start with the left crank at about 9 - 10:00 so that when I step on the shoe it gets the bike moving forward. So far, I've not used anything to hold my shoes level but that would make my mount easier. Also, I have found that by adjusting my float to be very tight (i.e no float) I have very little concern of my shoe coming out of the clip. 

I'm all for keeping shoes clipped to the bike.  But I don't think that doing a "flying mount" is all that beneficial.  The risk to benefit just isn't there.  I've seen too many people end up on their azz thinking they could save "X" seconds by running onto the bike instead of just putting one foot on the pedal and throwing the other leg over.  Not worth it to me.  Especially when the majority of people are not within those micro-seconds of winning their AG or the overall that they might save.

In a sport where there are so many places to make up or lose large amounts of time, taking the risk of learning to do something like that for a couple seconds just seems counterproductive to me.

I mount/dismount with shoes clipped in on just about every ride. Doing so is a great way to get used to this method. I've done it so often I don't need to look at my shoes to get my feet in and shoe strap fastened. On my training rides I start with the shoes just hanging, but in races I use rubber bands to hold them parallel to the ground because that makes them far less likely to accidently come off.

I also do the flying mount and it only took me about 30 minutes of practice to get proficient at it. After I learned it I only need to do it about once every other week to keep the skill.

The problem with some people doing it is they never practice it. Then they try it at a race and fall on their azz or impede others in the mount area.

I do agree that unless a person has a reasonable chance at an age group award, they should just skip it. Saving a few seconds in order to finish 24th instead of 25th seems pointless. Better to put more effort into training the three disciplines to get faster.

Great video!  Last year I tried teaching myself (unsuccessfully) the "flying mount", with no clue what I was doing.  This morning I took the hints from the video and in about 5 minutes was doing it comfortably at low speed with sneakers on, and after 30 minutes I was doing it fairly comfortably at a decent speed and barefoot.

The things I learned were:

1) It's not a "flying mount" since you really shouldn't be getting any height.  It's really a "step-onto-your-bikeseat-without-losing-a-stride mount". 

2) It's easier if you practice with sneakers to get the technique down, but you obviously need to practice barefoot or with bike shoes depending on how you plan to race.  I found it harder barefoot (I didn't try bike shoes).

3) I can definitely save a few seconds (maybe 4 or 5?) in using this technique rather than the "stop-mount-go" technique I currently use.  I was outsprinted at the end of my last tri, being passed by a guy in my AG who beat me by 6 seconds.  I'll take any "free speed" in transition I can get!

I need to practice this flying mount while tired to see if I can still do it without crashing or embarrassing myself .  If I feel confident I'll try it at my race next weekend! 

FWIW, my transition times are usually among the faster in my AG.  For people newer to triathlon, I'd recommend concentrating on all other aspects of transition before worrying about gaining a few seconds at the mount line. 

Brian

Daremo - 2008-05-17 9:40 AM Well, considering that the mount/dismount are part of your BIKE time because of where the timing mats are, it doesn't matter how fast your transitions are.

Not related to the flying mount, but leaving your shoes on the bike puts the task of putting on your shoes in with your bike split rather than in your T1 time. Regardless, I'd rather be putting my shoes on while I'm going over 20mph than while standing by my racked bike.

Crank Bros Quattros have composite adapters that offer the same grip, keeping the actual metal cleat somewhat recessed, allowing you to run with confidence on grass or ashpalt. The added benefit of double-sided entry allows you to mount cyclocross style, which I'd argue is as fast as the technique of keeping the shoes clipped in.

I just see the flying mount as too much potential for permanently altering my manhood.

More and more races (at least some of the big ones) are prohibiting this, hence most of last season I got my shoes on at T1, ran out, jumped on the bike and I was on my way and when coming back I did dismount leaving my shoes on the pedals...