Transition from road bike to tri bike.

I had a good 2-3 hr fiting at the beginning. My first ride after 20 miles was like "I don't know if I like this fit.." to 50 miles in the saddle and in aero and no problems, the process took about 4 months for me to really get used to that position. Its one thing to do it in a shop fitting, but another thing being in that position on the road for more than a couple hours. I found that I had to recondition my legs a little since I feel like I am using slightly different muscles.

Now I am going for a re-fit, which is part of the package deal.

Hard to say if my bike is really that fast versus my road bike. Maybe just a little. The big impovement is coming off the bike onto the run. I just don't ache like I did on my road bike after those long rides. For me its all about fun and now I ride more because I'm more comfortable = more fun.

Yes, it takes some time to get used to pro-longed time in the bars. For me, it was mostly in the neck. I found having a good helmet was important. I had a cheapo road helmet that weighted a ton and didn't sit on my head well. Went out and got a Rudy road helmet and it cured a lot of my lingering neck issues. I've never go cheap on a helmet again.

After riding my road bike for several triathlons and century rides I decided to buy a tri specific bike last fall (I really didn't like the idea of buying aero bars and readjusting my road bike).

The first few times on the tri bike were hard. My neck, shoulders, and back were sore. A part of me was thinking that this purchase was a mistake and that I should have just stuck to my road bike. However, after reading posts on here I decided to give it a chance and suck it up. After a while I adjusted and now it feels pretty good. Now I think I can stay in aero about 90% of the time. Overall, it took about a month of riding several days a week to finally have it feel comfortable. To date the longest ride I've done on my tri bike was 56 miles and that was duing my half ironman. This weekend will be another test for it as I am planning on doing a 124 mile charity ride.

In terms of speed, I think I might have gained 1-2mph, which might not even be from the bike but rather the training I've been putting in. One thing I've noticed going from the road bike to the tri bike is how great my legs feel getting off the bike and starting the run. My legs used to feel like lead for the few couple of miles and now I feel sort of energized when I start the run.

Yes, it gets better (at least for me). For me it's soreness in the neck. 2-4 weeks on the bike and it gets much better.

To truly adjust to a new position, you will need somewhere between 500-1500 miles. If's not uncommon that it takes almost a full season before you start seeing any significant benefits.

I remember my first ride on my Tri bike and thought I made huge mistake. I was sore, felt uncomfortable and ready to go back to my road bike. Now I love my Tri bike and ride six hours without any issues. I road my road bike a few months ago and it felt so weird compared to my Tri bike.

Thanks for all the feed back guys. I appreciate it!

The other thing that seems to make a big difference IME is how comfortable an athlete is on a bicycle. If you spent your childhood riding everywhere, often on BMX and/or MTB, generally it is easier to move between bicycles with shorter transition phases.

OTOH for athletes who are learning to ride, the transition can be much longer, especially since a tribike handles quite a bit differently than a road bike.

Shane