Mountain Bikes vs Racing Bikes

I am not about to make a guess, but I will say that you are going to feel and see a differance. Lighter, less friction, more areo position, and higher gears. Mtn. bikes are great, but are just designed for trails. There is nothing wrong with them to try a tri, but if you are going to get serious a road bike is recomended. I think you will enjoy the change.

oh yeah. At least 3 mph, most likley more. Your riding position on a road bike is much faster/more efficent/more aero. You don't need to spend thousands, but investing several hundred in a decent road setup will make your times soar!

yeah, its hard to compare the speeds of the two bikes as it is quite easy to reach 70km/h on a mtb however it requires a hell of a lot more energy than to do so on a road bike... so you will gain a tremendous time and energy advantage if you race with a road bike (well thats my theory anyway)

I made this same transition last year... Gained around 4 MPH in bike and had more gas for the run

Long story short.....go with the road bike. You won't be sorry!! :-)

I have a 15 year-old road/racing bike that works like a dream; point being, it's not new and it's not tri-specific, except for the bolt-on aero bars, and I am averaging 17 mph early in the season. So certainly, a pickup of 3 mph seems the least I think you should look for on something newer. Have fun!

I agree with everyone's estimate of a 3mph gain just for switching from a mtb to a road bike. Then, you could factor in other variables such as the frame, components, racing vs tri-specific bike and the gain could be even higher and lop off an extra mph for each factor. Also, what kind of training program have you initiated for your cycling leg? Do you spin and use all your gears effectively?

I recently made the transition from my Mountain Bike(Nishiki Colorado) to a Road Bike(Kestrel Talon). I found the mountain bike to be *much* more comfortable, but the road bike is much more efficient. I concur with the 3-4mph improvement. I feel like I am cutting through the wind.

Thanks for all of the really helpful thoughts. SIL and I went to a local bike shop to just price road/tri bikes. So much for my theory that everything you purchase to enter a tri costs about $100!

With respect to my training, I definitely could have done more of it, but I spent the month before the event riding 2-3 times per week (distance varied). I was pretty good with the shifting gears because I knew I had to stay aerobic, and I had to run after the bike leg. But I knew I also had to go as fast as I could in the meantime.

I did stop twice in the race. The first time was to ask if I could help a cyclist with bike dificulty (flat tire). He asked if I had a cartridge; I didn't, but I do have a small tool kit. Didn't help. The second stop was at the half way mark to drink some water. At mile 2 (in a headwind), I promised myself that I'd stop halfway if I would just keep on going. I'm a big water drinker, but I don't feel coordinated enough to drink while actually biking.

I think I need to head over to the "what's for sale" thread to see if I can spend less than $1000 to solve my dilemma. Please don't get me wrong, I'll likely never be fast enough to be competitive; I just don't want to dread the bike leg. I mean, hard work and an almost guaranteed slow time doesn't exactly inspire, does it?

If you find too difficult to drink from a bottle, you can either get a bottle with a tube that straps onto the aero bars or a camelback water dispenser.