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Kona, is perhaps the most revered location in endurance sport. Since 1978, the Big Island has played host to one of the gnarliest triathlons. An Ironman is hard enough, throw in the humidity and conditions then you’ve got yourself a true test.

In 2024, the elite men were back on the island, and boy did records fall. It was Patrick Lange who made headlines, taking his third Kona crown with a mind-boggling marathon to bring a new course record. The day’s early story though, was that of the 2023 World Champion, Sam Laidlow.

Laidlow rode a 3:57:22, a new bike leg course record, if you look carefully he has a Sync product on his frame too.

“They are taking advantage of not only their position but the size of their gears”, the commentators observed as Sam pulled away from the front group.

In the past five years, the bike course record at Kona has dropped by almost twelve minutes.⁠ There has clearly been a change in the tide at the top end of Ironman.

There is an awful lot to it: athletes are more prepared through training, there is more knowledge around fuelling, bike tech is getting faster and positions are becoming more aerodynamic.

Sync Ergonomics was born to improve human-bike interaction. Yes, that means having an aerodynamic position, but it’s also about the full package. From bike fit to equipment choice, we want athletes to be as efficient as possible.

For Kona this year, the biggest story for us was chainrings. On his record-breaking ride, Sam Laidlow rode part of our newly released Driveline Ecosystem: a 64T 1x chainring.

On the way down from Hāwī the athletes experienced a small cross-tail, which combined with the descent, meant high speeds. This is where driveline considerations come to the front of mind. As it has been this year in World Tour competition, chainring size is most certainly influencing performance in these high pace moments.

The commentators noticed too: “He [Sam Laidlow] is ripping the legs off his competition” on their way down the descent.

While it was Laidlow that took the headlines, he wasn’t the only athlete to be using our 1x chainrings which were manufactured in conjunction with CSixx Components from South Africa.

Age-grouper Sam Musgrove proved that it wasn’t just the pros that could benefit from this set-up. In his first trip to Kona, Sam chose to use a 58T 1x option in his Trek SpeedConcept.

“It felt smooth as butter all day long, and I never had any doubts of chain slips. Combined with the Sync x CSixx Pulley Wheels and YBN Waxed Chain I had full access to, and silky shifts throughout the range of the cassette. With an average speed of close to 40km/h and a crucial long downhill from Hāwī, the bigger gearing option allowed for optimised performance throughout the bike leg.”

For Matt Burton, Kona was a reminder of how cruel elite sport can be. Matt is an athlete who has had more than his fair share of setbacks. Then, going into the swim he was stung by a jellyfish and suffered an anaphylactic reaction to them. He’ll be back, but Kona was gut wrenching

“The performance of the CSixx x Sync 1x chainring truly optimises the gearing available in a twleve speed cluster with the unique offset. It allows for full use of the cassette with the drivetrain precision you’re always searching for. The manufacturing quality and specific alignment of the ring enhances the ride-ablity of a range of gearing options to suit a variety of courses. Simply, it has been a dream to ride.”

Whether you’re an elite World Tour tester, at the front of the pack in the world’s biggest triathlon, an age-grouper or an amateur, 1x is becoming a must-have piece of equipment on the bike.

To read more about the current state of play on Driveline Efficiency, click here.