HELP - Making the jump from road bike to tri-bike

just curious what race are you doing? im doing one the same day. anyways for your question i had a hard time getting use to the shifters. i would downshift when i wanted to shift up. get familiar with that. other than that just get comfortable with being down on the aero bars.

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1) Make sure that you've got the fit right.

2) Ride, ride, ride to get used to the new bike and position.

As the late, great, Freddie Mercury said: "Get on your bike and ride."

The Pumpkinman in S. Berwick, ME.  I signed up for the sprint, not the HIM.

Thanks, and I'll keep the shifting advice in mind.

I got the main theme - ride a lot!!!

But thanks for the extra things as that is what I was really looking for.  I have done the fit test so I am hoping it is set up for my build but I know that there will likely be minor adjustments as I get a better feel for the bike.

My main concern is just what some of you stated, the sense of a lack of control compared to a road bike.  Again, thanks for the input.

It took me about a month of riding to get the fit tweaked perfectly and get my body totally used to the new position and different handling characteristics of the tri bike. I would especially recommend getting used to the braking, and the way your hand interacts with the brakes levers while off the aerobars on bumpy terrain and especially while shifting off the aerobars. If you reach with your right hand to shift (like I do) and don't make a conscious effort to take your left hand off the brake lever, it's a crash waiting to happen.

I took a bad fall in a race because of the braking differences between my road bike which I've ridden for thousands of miles, and my tri bike which I'd ridden just a few times. Long story short, coming into T2 out of my shoes and pulling my leg over for a dismount, I accidently hit the front brake too hard trying to slow, the pads stuck on my Zipp front wheel and I went over the handlebars badly resulting in the first of my two AC separations this summer.

I did the same undulating loop in a low traffic park when I first got on my tri bike. I repeat a few of the corners and also carrying the momentum and changing to the outer bars when starting a climb. Cornering with confidence didn't take long, but it was something I had to do more than once. Enjoy the feeling and just like a car in snow, pay attention to the feeling around the corner. You'll figure out your threshold of confidence. Get comfy with that then try to practice transitions with the shoes clipped. Have fun. Always great to hear someone got a new bike!