General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons Rss Feed  
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2014-09-02 6:51 PM

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12

Lake Saint Louis, Missouri
Subject: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons
I'm sure this question has been answered a billion times, but I couldn't find the right combination of keywords to retrieve the answer. So here's to the billion and first...

Enjoyed my first tri, now considering investing a little more. I currently have a Trek 1.5 road bike, stock except some R540 pedals. Question is, what would be the real difference between kitting my 1.5 out with aero bars, a forward seat post and possible a new stem, vs. biting the bullet and buying a dedicated tri bike? Besides how loud my wallet cries and how long the wife will make me sleep on the couch?

I'm not scared of spending a little money, but at the same time, I need to be seeing something for that money. If spending $500 on my road bike could get me 5 minutes and $2000 on a tri bike could get me 6 minutes, then that's a really expensive minute...

If it helps my current goal is to hit sub 3 hours next year (first race time was 3h23), to maybe do a HIM in 2016, and perhaps even an IM in 2017. I'm not relying on equipment to get there, by the way, before anyone reminds me that it's time spent on the bike, not money, that really pays dividends.


2014-09-03 5:16 AM
in reply to: douglanglois

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Pro
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Subject: RE: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons
First of all, IMHO (although not so humble...), forward seat post is about the dumbest bike invention in history. In a bike fit, the first thing you do once you get the rider on a bike (or fit bike), is to set the riders position in relationship to the bottom bracket. Everything else is moved from that fixed point. The forward seat post throughs off the balance.

If you want to add aero bars to the road bike (and there's nothing wrong with that), get a pair of ITU (aka shortie) bars that allows you to maintain a proper position.

If everything is stock standard on your bike, consider the aerobars, but also a set of race wheels. That will make quite an impact without having to kill your budget (and sleep on the sofa, unless it's an unusually comfortable sofa).
2014-09-03 9:08 AM
in reply to: douglanglois

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Subject: RE: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons

Well, your current bike is certainly not holding you back from your current goals.  In that sense, you don't "need" a tri-bike.  As suggested, you could simply put a set of shortie aero bars on your bike and ride it that way--certainly the cheapest change you can make.  You could try a forward seat post with full bars and adjust the stem, if necessary.  As noted, your road bike was not designed for this and it's handling will likely change somewhat.  But it works well enough for some riders on some bikes that I wouldn't totally dismiss it as an option.  Are you and your bike one of those on which it will work well enough?  Don't know and, unfortunately, hard to tell for sure without trying it.  The biggest advantage in a tri bike is that it allows most riders to (comfortably) get into a more aerodynamic position than they can achieve on a road bike (standard or 'adjusted' fit).  How big an advantage varies from rider to rider depending on how different those two positions are.  Odds are, you will be faster on an 'adjusted' fit road bike than in a standard road bike set-up.  And faster still on a tri bike.  If you are "fairly typical", you might expect to see an 1-2mph increase in moving from road to tri bike and be able to pick up 50-75% of that in adjusting your road bike.

Personally, I would probably start with the advice above on shorti bars and maybe sliding your saddle a bit further up the rails.  See how that goes for awhile.

Of course, the real answer is that you always need a new bike.  :-)

2014-09-03 1:23 PM
in reply to: audiojan

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12

Lake Saint Louis, Missouri
Subject: RE: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons
Originally posted by audiojan

First of all, IMHO (although not so humble...), forward seat post is about the dumbest bike invention in history. In a bike fit, the first thing you do once you get the rider on a bike (or fit bike), is to set the riders position in relationship to the bottom bracket. Everything else is moved from that fixed point. The forward seat post throughs off the balance.

If you want to add aero bars to the road bike (and there's nothing wrong with that), get a pair of ITU (aka shortie) bars that allows you to maintain a proper position.

If everything is stock standard on your bike, consider the aerobars, but also a set of race wheels. That will make quite an impact without having to kill your budget (and sleep on the sofa, unless it's an unusually comfortable sofa).


I can see your logic there, but isn't changing the geometry actually the goal? So one would expect the fit to change.
2014-09-04 5:10 AM
in reply to: douglanglois

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Subject: RE: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons
Why would changing the geometry be the goal? The point is that you're throwing off the balance and basically making the bike something that it's not.
2014-09-04 7:42 AM
in reply to: douglanglois

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Subject: RE: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons

The goal is to become as aerodynamic as possible.  Changing the geometry may be necessary to maximize that, but it's not (by itself) the goal.  And there are other factors which have to be considered like handling, comfort, power, etc.  Chnaging geometry is only desired if it helps you achieve a 'better' balance of those factors.



2014-09-04 9:01 AM
in reply to: audiojan

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Ridgeland, Mississippi
Subject: RE: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons

Originally posted by audiojan Why would changing the geometry be the goal? The point is that you're throwing off the balance and basically making the bike something that it's not.

Why is using a forward seatpost to move the rider closer to if not in front of the bottom bracket a bad thing?  Plenty of tri bikes have reversible seatposts for this purpose.  Yes there will be compromises in how the bike handles, but we're talking about time trialing here.  How much is that handling really going to factor on race day?

2014-09-04 10:27 AM
in reply to: audiojan

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12

Lake Saint Louis, Missouri
Subject: RE: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons
Originally posted by audiojan

Why would changing the geometry be the goal? The point is that you're throwing off the balance and basically making the bike something that it's not.


Well, I'm not an expert, so don't think I'm trying to teach anyone anything here, but everything I've read indicates that tri-bikes have different geometry to aid aerodynamics and change the load on the legs to keep them fresher for the run. So the intent of the forward seat post in conjunction with the clip-on aerobars (and possibly a different stem length) is to mimic the tri-bike geometry as close as is possible on a road bike. The idea being to get 75% of the benefit at 25% of the cost of buying a dedicated bike.

Happy to hear if I am wrong. As I said, I'm really just parroting all the material I've read on the matter to date.
2014-09-04 11:08 AM
in reply to: douglanglois

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Subject: RE: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons

Originally posted by douglanglois [...]tri-bikes have different geometry to aid aerodynamics and change the load on the legs to keep them fresher for the run.

Yes to your first part.  No to your second.

2014-09-11 7:20 AM
in reply to: douglanglois


20

Subject: RE: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons
I would have to imagine that shortie aero bars wouldn't be a good idea for a 70.3 or 140.6 distance just from a comfort standpoint. You could always look at a redshift seat post http://www.redshiftsports.com/. It is basically a system that allows the rider to flip the seat back and forth from a road bike position to a more tri position, effectively changing the seat tube angle. I have heard a lot of good things about them
2014-09-11 7:27 AM
in reply to: douglanglois


20

Subject: RE: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons
I would have to imagine that shortie aero bars wouldn't be a good idea for a 70.3 or 140.6 distance just from a comfort standpoint. You could always look at a redshift seat post http://www.redshiftsports.com/. It is basically a system that allows the rider to flip the seat back and forth from a road bike position to a more tri position, effectively changing the seat tube angle. I have heard a lot of good things about them


2014-09-11 4:04 PM
in reply to: Jarredscycling

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Northern IL
Subject: RE: Tri bike vs. road bike + clip-ons

Depends on exactly how the shorties are set up. I have a set on my road bike that are longer than what would be allowed for draft legal tri, but still smaller and less intrusive all around than more typical clip-ons. Used for a hilly 123 mile ride and were fantastic.

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