Completely Confused over bikes

all those for the most part are true in one way or another.

i went through the same choices, the issues/reasons looked like this:

road bike is going to be WAY more versitile, you can road race, climb better, etc

tri bike can only be used for triathlon/time trials.

for what its worth a well set up tri bike will be comfortable.


i use mine for group rides and all my training (in really bad/cold weather i ride my mountain bike).

if your goal is to race triathlons, a tri bike makes sense.

that said, there is nothing wrong with clip ons on a road bike, plenty of people do it and do it well.

if you are purely riding triathlons then i would go tri bike, if not a road bike for the first one makes a lot more sense to me.

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I agree completely.

The main question you have to answer is are you going to only be racing and training for triathlons? If so 100% go with the tri bike. If you're going to be doing any road races/group rides in addition to triathlon then you're probably better off with a road bike with the clip on aerobars.

That would be my fault.

This is why it is important to try them out and get a physical feel for each one.

Take some of the things Tom writes about with a grain of salt (like ability to run off the bike better), but this is a decent article on what the differences are:

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/bikes/difference.shtml

As I said before, there are some people who are better served and fit better on a traditional road bike and clip on aero bars (may have physical limitations as to how they bend, may have atypical body proportions and things like that).

If you find a bike that fits you well based on your proportions and budget/needs, then you can be fit to a position that will be aero and comfortable.  Based on what you mentioned with the types of terrain you have to deal with in a normal ride session, a road bike may be a more versatile choice.  There are some manufacturers that make road bike models that have a little bit more aggressive angles (like Cervelo) that are more conducive to a multisport athlete that still needs more road like characteristics.  Again, you simply have to try them all out and find a salesmen/mechanic that you trust will fit you to the bike correctly.

also, i am not getting why people say you cant go on group rides with a tri bike............


i have been doing this for 4 years, and on every single ride i run into at least one other person doign the same, i have now seen this in OH, CO, NC, SC, IL, WI, MI

people can ride with other people on a tri bike.

agreed here. something like the soloist (or whatever the current model) from cervelo is called is an awesome choice in this area.

It is not that they can't ride in groups, it is that a lot of groups don't want someone in the aero bars while IN the group.  Too sketchy, even with experienced riders.

Edited by Daremo 2009-04-21 1:15 PM

Depends on the group, but agree that it's not an either/or.  When I am group riding with my friends, odds are most of us are on tri bikes.

But if I go on a "roadie" ride, a tri bike is not welcome.  Hasn't happened to me, but a friend had clip ons, was riding on PCH (local cycling route), got caught up in a roadie group, one of them said "you can't be in here," even though he wasn't down on his aero bars.  Not all roadies are like that, but if a group came by I would not join them on the tri bike.

Many roadies also believe that tri bikes are too twitchy.  There is also an argument that the slightly more aggressive seat angle might lead to an endo if you brake too hard.. at least one roadie has told me that.

I went with the road bike first, thinking all of the reasons that your LBS told you. I put aerobars on it and everything. I rode it all of 1.5 years before I got the tri bike.

1. The tribike is faster than a roadbike with aerobars, at least for me as I could never quite get the position right on my road bike, though it was similar. And I was professionally fit on each one.
2. I ride alone 90% of the time, so I didn't need the versatility of the road bike.
3. I doubt I will ever road race, but I see triathlon in my future for a long time.

So now I have two bikes. Road and tri. But had I gotten the tri bike first, I would not have gone back and gotten the roadie.

My roadie has been on the trainer 99% of the time since I got the tribike. It is nice to not have to switch my bike on and off the trainer, and it is nice to have a bike to use if I ever have to ship my bike for a race or have it in the shop for any reason.

My advice to you is to test ride both and see which one you like better. Keep in mind how you will be using it.

And when you want to get another bike, keep the one you first got and add on something different...

edited because I can't spell

Edited by SuzanneS 2009-04-21 1:18 PM

Ah, we all know what opinions are like...no? That being said:

My first bike was my tri bike. My logic was, I intended to do triathlons. And even if I quit tris, I didn't want to do road racing and rode alone or with other tri people, so a tri bike was again fine.

I learned to ride in the aerobars in an aggressive position, plus I was fit well, so it was comfortable to me from day one.

I had no NEED for a road bike. However, the same could probably be said had I gone the other way ;-)

I bought my road bike a few years ago b/c I WANTED one. I like having two road bikes for a variety of reasons. I still don't race my road bike, but I do use it on the occasional group ride, and I ride it early in the season when the roads are bad, and I ride it to commute (although I have commuted on the tri biek...road is much easier). Plus, being able to have one bike on the trainer and one not in the summers is great--no futzing. And being able to switch it up form time to time is also nice.

So, yeah...having two is great. HOWEVER, if I had to go back to just one, I'd take my tri bike every time. I don't know if I'd RECOMMEND that path for other people, but for me it was ideal.

(And, fwiw, the tri bike is faster. it's DESIGNED to be faster for solo riding.)

The endless debate continues!

In terms of tribikes on group rides - I do it all the time (I don't own a road bike), and I have had no problems, even in the middle of a tight paceline. It brakes, steers, and handles nearly identically to a roadbike once you're used to it.

I will warn however, that you will get a LOT of prejudice if you do a group ride with pure roadies. I do a ride with the LaGrange roadie bike club every week (not paceline), and I always start in the back, and generally try and ride either solo, lead, or last guy on the pull line. Nevertheless, before we start, I think I hear comments EVERY time from some guy muttering to his friends how tribikes shouldn't be allowed on the ride.

Ironically, these same guys have no qualms whatsoever trying to draft me when I pull ahead of them on the big climbs - I routinely pull 5-6 guys up behind me on every climb since I start from the back and move toward the front. It strikes me as prejudice, pure and simple, but there's not much you can do about it other than ride well.

I also haven't heard/seen of many (any?) aerobar-in-paceline wipeouts; it's common sense not to use them in dicey situations. Still, convicing the roadie crowd that we're safe off of 'em doesn't tend to work.

I struggled with the same thing. I ended up buying the Cervelo S1 (formerly called Soloist) because it can be converted from road to tri. I think you compromise some in the tri position as compared to a dedicated tri bike, but it is a really great road bike. For me this was a compromise I was willing to make to get a great road bike. I would eventually like to get a dedicated tri bike, but if you buy this first you cannot convert it to a decent road bike. It seems to be a one way street. You can go from road to tri. My vote is for a good road bike and then a dedicated tri bike when your budget allows. 

Kevin

As do I.  That's why I only have a tri bike...

The ONLY reason for me that I would want a road bike (other than to just have another bike!) is to go on some group rides, it's not even critical for that and long as I'm not hugging someone's wheel while in earo.

Edited by Aikidoman 2009-04-21 1:49 PM

You haven't been riding long enough  

ETA - I recently bought a roadie after being on a tri bike solely for the last 3 or so years.  My road bike handles very differently than my tri bike.

Edited by ChrisM 2009-04-21 1:57 PM

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Maybe because they actually want to become a faster rider.

I ride my road bike 90% of the time outdoors and my tri bike 100% on the trainer.  Right now my tri bike is sitting in my basement with the Zipps still on it from my race at the end of March ...... haven't touched it since the race.  Which works out nicely because it means there is very little I need to do to prep it for this weekend's (and next weekend's) race!

Roadie group rides don't want you to ride with them because you will go too fast and make them look silly.

I am getting a road bike first because I want to do sanctioned cycle races, if they allowed tri bikes to race I would just get a tri bike. But.... since they don't I will get the road bike first and then later I will double it up and get a tri bike. 

Are there any links out there with the same rider and same route riding both a tri bike and road bike?  What is the time gain between the two?

+1

I got my road bike after 4 years or so of nothing but a tri bike, and it is a different machine. MUCH easier to handle, more agile and nimble. You can throw a road bike around in a way that you just can't with a tri bike. Tri bikes are "straight ahead hammer bikes." Road bikes are much more nimble.

Anecdotally speaking, on an easy relaxed route I am probably 2 mph faster on my tri bike.

Yep I only have a tri bike and only ride in groups with other triathletes since I've heard this about "roadies." I don't get it.

My boyfriend, on the other hand, rides his tri bike with roadie groups all the time. Never heard any comments from the local groups, but personally I wouldn't feel comfortable knowing the general attitude towards tri bikes out there.

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Haha.  It gets worse on the decision front.  What frame material?  What bike company?  What component manufacturer, Shimano, Campy, SRAM?  Full double, compact, or triple cranks?  What component level (105/Ultegra/SL/DuraAce/etc)?  What frame level (for example, the Trek Madone has about 13 versions of the Madone + another half dozen women's versions)?  What kind of wheels?  Pedals?  Shoes? etc, etc, etc.

I have just ordered a Trek Madone 4.7.  It's coming with a triple crankset, but I had wanted a compact so the LBS has agreed to swap it out for a compact (which actually requires replacing about half the components).  Now I'm not so sure I want them to and may have them leave the triple.  I'm a clydesdale living near the mountains, that granny gear might be really handy, although the compact actually comes pretty close on the low end.  It won't be the fastest tri bike, but compared to my running 12 minute miles, I'm not that concerned about speed on the bike just yet.  I wanted a road bike because I'd like to use it for other things than just tris & tri training, I'd like to do some group rides and ride up in the mountains.