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Road-to-tri Bike conversion question
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 2010-07-09 10:19 AM |
Master  1441    North edge of nowhere |  Subject: Road-to-tri Bike conversion questionI've got a road bike (Madone 5.2) that I'm considering putting a Profile Design Fast Forward seat post on (w/ a tri-specific saddle) so that I can use C2 aerobars correctly. My thought is to be able to swap seat post/saddle combinations so that I'll have regular road bike geometry and remove the aerobars to be acceptable in group rides, or put the Fast Forward post w/ saddle on and put the aerobars back on for when I'm in a tri or riding on my own. Since my technical knowledge is very limited at this point, I don't know if this is a good idea beyond theory. It'd certainly be less-expensive than buying an entirely new bike, but are there some detriments that I've not considered? The current road set-up was fitted to me and the seat post is marked, so removing and re-installing that wouldn't be difficult, and the same would, of course, be done with the FF post. Since the C2 aerobars aren't adjustable, I don't predict a problem marking the requisite installation location between the aeros and the drop-bars to achieve consistency. So, I'm looking for feedback regarding the viability of this idea: should I proceed or just forget it? |
| 2010-07-09 10:40 AM in reply to: #2970689 |
Pro 5169 Burbs | Subject: RE: Road-to-tri Bike conversion question I tried to do this with my road bike and I just couldn't get comfortable.. sucks, too, because I got the FF seat post, aero bars, pro fit, etc. I ended up just sucking it up and getting a tri bike. |
| 2010-07-09 10:56 AM in reply to: #2970689 |
Champion 11989 Philly 'burbs | Subject: RE: Road-to-tri Bike conversion question I did this with my bike. Well, not really. I intended to switch back and forth but once I went "Tri" I never went back. In fact, I put on bullhorns, and bar end shifters and brake levers. It's my Frankenbike and I love it.  |
| 2010-07-09 11:06 AM in reply to: #2970816 |
Master 1367 Dirt Road | Subject: RE: Road-to-tri Bike conversion question mrbbrad - 2010-07-09 11:56 AM I did this with my bike. Well, not really. I intended to switch back and forth but once I went "Tri" I never went back. In fact, I put on bullhorns, and bar end shifters and brake levers. It's my Frankenbike and I love it. Did you ride it with aero bars but without the forward seat post. If so, how much difference did the post make? |
| 2010-07-09 11:19 AM in reply to: #2970862 |
Champion 11989 Philly 'burbs | Subject: RE: Road-to-tri Bike conversion question Karibu - 2010-07-09 12:06 PM mrbbrad - 2010-07-09 11:56 AM I did this with my bike. Well, not really. I intended to switch back and forth but once I went "Tri" I never went back. In fact, I put on bullhorns, and bar end shifters and brake levers. It's my Frankenbike and I love it. Did you ride it with aero bars but without the forward seat post. If so, how much difference did the post make? Nope, never did. I literally never switched back. I had the seat post and bars installed at the same time and got fit for that setup with the idea that I could put the stock post and seat back on when I wanted a "less agressive" setup. I have the stock seatpost and saddle in my pile-o-gear in the basement, along with the drop bars and original brakes and shifters. |
| 2010-07-09 11:25 AM in reply to: #2970910 |
Champion 7233 | Subject: RE: Road-to-tri Bike conversion question you may also not need to the FF post. depending on how you fit on the bike now it may not be needed. I road my ex's road bike set up with aerobars (clipped to the road bars), and all i needed to do was lower the stem/move the seat forward. a FF post would have put me over the front the bike. its very easy to do any of the owrk needed like this and all you really need is an allen wrench. |
| 2010-07-09 11:26 AM in reply to: #2970689 |
Champion 5376 PA | Subject: RE: Road-to-tri Bike conversion question When I got fit on my new road bike, the shop didn't use my FF seat post. I was concerned about it but decided to trust their judgement. I felt more stretched out but to be honest, it feels a bit better. They pointed out that in my case, my back is now flatter and more importantly, my hip angle is more open so I'm not fighting myself as much. It seems to feel a bit better than how I was set up with the aerobars and FF seatpost on my old bike. |
| 2010-07-09 2:26 PM in reply to: #2970689 |
Veteran 129 Chicago | Subject: RE: Road-to-tri Bike conversion question I used the FF and some other PD components to convert my Trek roadie over the winter. Eventually I'd like to get a real tri bike and convert this one back to a roadie. I saved the bars and shimano 105 shifters/brakes. I did the clip-on aero bars for a while, but was too lazy to take them on and off. I don't do too many group rides so I just went all tri. (Optimized-bike.JPG) Attachments ---------------- Optimized-bike.JPG (71KB - 8 downloads) |
| 2010-07-09 2:33 PM in reply to: #2970689 |
Expert 792 Leicester | Subject: RE: Road-to-tri Bike conversion question Is your group ride so snobby that they won't let you ride a roadie that has clip on aero bars?!  maybe I don't ride with the fastest group ride, but no one has told me off for having clip on's, for safety, I don't use them when on a group ride unless I'm off the front of the pack... or the back  FYI, I got a seat post off e-bay that has a central clamp rather than the throw backwards std clamp, that threw the seat forward 30mm which added to sliding it forwad on the rails was enough for me, cost $25 instead of the $100+ the LBS wanted for a FF post. Edited by alex jb 2010-07-09 2:36 PM |
| 2010-07-09 2:42 PM in reply to: #2971444 |
Master 1441 North edge of nowhere | Subject: RE: Road-to-tri Bike conversion question alex jb - 2010-07-09 1:33 PM Is your group ride so snobby that they won't let you ride a roadie that has clip on aero bars?! maybe I don't ride with the fastest group ride, but no one has told me off for having clip on's, for safety, I don't use them when on a group ride unless I'm off the front of the pack... or the back I don't know that they'd make a big deal about it unless I put bar-end shifters on the aerobars and couldn't get to the breaks, which I wouldn't want to use if I was in the group. Luckily (?) I've been dropped pretty quick the couple of times I've ridden with them, so I could pretty much ride with whatever I want. I was looking at the FF post on eBay. With a TriStryke saddle I figure $50. I still need the 31.8 adapters to mount my C2 bars, then I'll experiment with them before I go forward with any other modifications. |
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