Yanti & Salty RidiculoSnarky Almost Intelligent-Charming Manatees PART 4 - Full (Page 62)

A decent roadie is a better pick for some people for a number of reasons. Better climbing isn't one of them. That's entirely dependent on the gearing and rider experience/ability.

The only significant advantage a tri bike presents over a road bike on most triathlon courses is aerodynamics (primarily by decreasing the frontal area of your body). That's not an insignificant difference, but like Janyne pointed out, the straighter and flatter the course (and windier), the more of a difference it's going to make.

So, last night we got to go to one of the most interesting music events I have ever been to. It was hosted by NPR music and NPR all songs considered and had a limited audience (I think 100 or so, maybe?) But the format was they would play a song, everyone would hold up cards to vote (1-10) and the audience would engage in a conversation about why they rated the way they did. Anyway, it was a really cool way to look at music and engage with the greater audience. Something you don't generally get to do. 

How come you get to have all the fun?

How many songs? Which genres/countries? Were there any guidelines given on voting at all, or strictly on personal interpretation/impression?

All genres. The voting was totally personal and we had the conversation on how our voting would more than likely be altered listening to it in such a critical way VS say, driving in your car. (With the caveat that if you gave something a 1 or a 10, you better be ready to back your stuff up )

The playlist was something like this:

Cat Power

Spoon

Amanda Palmer

Dan Deacon 

Macklemore (almost perfect 10s)

Nils Frahm (probably my favorite, it's all dark experimental, ambient piano music)

p*ssy riot (lots of conversation around context, how most people would reject that song on a first listen but now that they are relevent, people want to at least give it a shot)

There was more and I could go on forever but it was really cool. 

My sincere apologies,  I don't want to be labeled as one of those folks perpetuating bad/incorrect knowledge.  I'm not even going to argue my point!

Never apologize. We must speak freely here or all the good information that ALL the manatees have doesn't get out.

You read Salty's signature lately?***

Also remember--you can buy a superb road bike for $1000 or kind of a crappy tri bike, and that doesn't include positioning (fitting in some parlance). Bottom line is the bike you can afford that you're comfortable on is the bike you will ride more, in any kind of terrain, and that's the bike that's best for you.

***Damn, she took it away. It was the only easily accessible record of my ignorance ...

I took it off. I didn't want anyone catching on...

Unfortunately, it's probably too late anyway. But thanks.

I can see that. You're kinda dark, experimental, and ambient, although only piano at first. You move to forte pretty quickly.

I'll remind you any time you'd like. You know, just returning the favor 

Heh heh, why thank you. At least you didn't make a p*ssy riot comparison. 

It's entirely possible for one or a number of people to have a different experience. Overall, however, there's no appreciable difference in climbing between a road bike and a tri bike, given that all other factors are equal (for example, one of my tri bikes was a much better climber than my roadie, but there were a number of varying factors that played into that).

A few questions. Are the road bike and tri bike of comparable quality and components? (In other words, not the same price, but let's say a mid-range roadie with mid-range components and a mid-range tri bike with mid-range components, or wherever on the spectrum they lie).

Do you have equal miles of climbing experience on both bikes?

Does the ease of shifting (I'm assuming bar-end shifters on the tri bike) play into the perception of the road bike climbing better?

Do you climb in different positions at all on the road bike and tri bike (in other words, on the exact same hill, would you be in the same position in the same places on the road and tri bike?)

Do you actually climb and descend faster on the road bike, or does it just feel easier?

That one just seemed to go without saying.

Same components.  Similar grade frame material (different brands and they both use proprietary material so not exactly the same).

20,000 miles on the road bike, 5,000 on the tri bike

Probably not.

Mostly.  More likely to be seated longer on tri bike.

I get up the steepest climbs faster and with less effort on the road bike.  By steep I mean what MayMyRide labels as Cat 5.  Normal rollers are the same speed and effort.  Basically, if I would normally do it seated, the bikes are fairly equal in speed/effort.  If I want to got to a standing climb due to a steep or technical section, the roadie wins.

On the pointy end, Cat 5-type climbs, or other very steep or technical climbs (and particularly right before the crests), there's no question that a roadie is going to climb better. Better access to shifting, likely to be out of saddle (tri bikes are built to put the body in the least-drag position, not for stability or very precise handling), and while obvious, the fact that people have most likely done the vast majority of that kind of climbing on a road bike.

However, of even the hilliest and most technical longer-course races (Savageman, Auburn, St. Croix, Phuket, IM Lanzarote, a few others) a tiny percentage of the entire bike course is so steep or otherwise difficult that a road bike presents clear advantages over a tri bike on those sections. Weighed against the entirety of the course and the aero benefits that a tri bike would bring, for speed gains alone, a tri bike makes more sense.

That's why I pointed out (specifically in bold): "The only significant advantage a tri bike presents over a road bike on most triathlon courses is aerodynamics." It doesn't present a significant DISadvantage and definitely not an overall disadvantage in terms of the type of climbing found on triathlon courses. That's why, for a triathlete, in specific response to Melanie's post, "better climbing" isn't a reason to pick a roadie over a tri bike (though, as I said, there are many other reasons to pick one over the other).

If the vast majority of the terrain one trains on is in fact extremely steep hills/mountains, switchbacks and corkscrews, that should be a roadie, all day, every day (and it's no use to race on something you don't train on), and not just for climbing but descending as well. Road bikes handle better, period (some of the new superbikes with integrated, sometimes electronic, shifting are beginning to change that though).

Anyway, all that detailed jazz aside ... for most people riding most triathlon bike courses, most factors being equal (including rider experience on both bikes), climbing isn't one of the factors that's going to present a clear advantage between using a road bike or a tri bike, either in speed or effort.

I'd post a cute cat picture, but I am definitely not Tom Demerly ... but WTH, my cat's cuter, I'm sure. This is Biscuits trying to prevent me from putting anything in my suitcase (cat faces kind of all look the same to me, but that one is clearly NO).

I have good drugs for whatever the heck it is I have now (totally inflamed/congested resp system, air moving in my throat HURTS and so does coughing, and fever/chills/body aches), but I will tell you that absolutely nothing has made me feel so good as eating the goodies in the Manatee care package and drinking hot honey lemon tea out of my Manatee mug.

Not even the codeine.

(001.BiscuitsSuitcase (Small).jpg)

Kitty!!!!! Awww. So is the hobbit looking after the pets?

Not even the codeine eh? That sounds like a stretch. Can you even consume anything from that box with a sore throat? 

1. Pop Tarts dunked in hot tea go down reaaaaally smooth.

2. Kix and mini-Mini Wheats, when soaked in milk for long enough also go down very smooth (I don't care if it produces more phlegm at this point I'm hawking and snorting multicolored loogies from every orifice in my head except for ears, though those are plugged up too. Yeah, I blew some snot out of my eye, even, I cannot even describe the grossness and pain).

3. Lemon Power Gel Gummies are very soothing to suck on and they have a liquid center.

4. I can actually taste all of the above, whereas everything else (potatoes, carrots, apples, even chicken) kind of tastes like a refrigerator magnet. Don't ask me how I know what those taste like.

5. I even tried the pure-chili-paste from Indonesia's hottest chilies to clear my head trick and all it did was give me dragon mouth and make my throat hurt worse.

6. Yes, the Hobbit Maid is holding the fort down. For whatever reason, the place and pets are usually in BETTER shape when I return. I still can't figure that one out.

Ew. Ew. Ew. I can't eat soggy things.

I have SO many things I'd like to say here, but I shall hold my keyboard and just smile quietly to myself.