General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Bike upgrade or not? Rss Feed  
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2013-03-14 10:21 AM

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Subject: Bike upgrade or not?

Hello -

Quick introduction.  I competed in my first Tri last summer (Life Time Minneapolis) and LOVED IT!  Signed up for the 2013 race the week after!!  I am very much a beginner in this sport.  I grew up swimming so did quite well in that part, but my bike and run were pretty slow...but met my training times.  I'm a Clydesdale, 6'2", 240lbs, so I'm not going to be setting any records on the course.  I would however, like to improve and continue doing Tri's for awhile.

My biggest concern/question is regarding my bike.  Last spring I purchased a Trek 7.2FX.  Its a "Flat Bar" road/hybrid bike. (http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/town/fitness/fx/7_2_fx#/us/en/model/qa?url=us/en/bikes/town/fitness/fx/7_2_fx).  I had them put on smaller, slick tires (not sure the specs) and that was the bike I used in the Tri.  I have since purchased bike shoes and clip in pedals (did not use in Tri).

I'd really like to get a true road bike but wondering how much of a difference it will make.  If I did get a road bike, I'd probably be look at a pretty entry level model.  Should I see improvements in time/efficiency/etc?  Or for me, a beginner, am I better off just training hard on the bike I have and rolling with it?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

 



2013-03-14 10:59 AM
in reply to: #4659479

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Subject: RE: Bike upgrade or not?

MY thought's are that yes you would probably see an increase in speed , and  a decrease in time for the same power output on a roady over the hybrid, How much is just a guess but I think 1 to 1.5 Mph right off the top and if you added aero bars to the roady another 1 mph. As you got stronger and could stay in aero longer you will see a bit more.

weather to upgrade or not would be totally up to you, you certainly won't Loose a huge amount of time by staying with the hybride  as long as you are only doing sprints, but you will loose some for sure. IF your plan is to continue  doing tri's then I sure think a bike upgrade would be worthwhile for you, its just a question of when, now or later and how much you want to spend. I might wait till I could  afford to get into a mid level bike myself  especially if I knew I was going to continue in the sport.

By switching from an old cromeoly 10 speed roady to a carbon roady  20 speed I got 2.5 mph right out of the gate adding areo got me another .5 to 1 Mph depending on the ride and conditions, training and strength increases over the last 2 years another 2.5Mph. So I went from a tick over 14 to  right around 19.5 to 20 in a year and a half. Can I do 20 on My hybrid commuter No way maybe 17.5 tops and that would be working it.



Edited by RRH_88 2013-03-14 11:01 AM
2013-03-14 11:09 AM
in reply to: #4659479

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Subject: RE: Bike upgrade or not?

My racebike at the moment is an old steel flatbar road bike with skinny race tires.  I might be able to buy 1-2 mph with a better bike, that would move me up from 55th place to 53rd place. Sealed  Worth it?  Not to me...  

That said, when I have the extra cash I will be buying a 'real' roadbike.  Because I like riding and want a new bike, not because the time/placement improvement is particularly important to me.  I'm tying the new bike to some other goals I have, it's my carrot.

2013-03-14 11:41 AM
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Subject: RE: Bike upgrade or not?
norcal_SAHD - 2013-03-14 11:09 AM

My racebike at the moment is an old steel flatbar road bike with skinny race tires.  I might be able to buy 1-2 mph with a better bike, that would move me up from 55th place to 53rd place. Sealed  Worth it?  Not to me...  

That said, when I have the extra cash I will be buying a 'real' roadbike.  Because I like riding and want a new bike, not because the time/placement improvement is particularly important to me.  I'm tying the new bike to some other goals I have, it's my carrot.

I know you're going for humor, but increasing your speed from 17 to 19mph on a 10-mile course saves you ~3:40. I would imagine in a sprint that's a lot more than two places.
2013-03-14 11:58 AM
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Subject: RE: Bike upgrade or not?
the bear - 2013-03-14 9:41 AM
norcal_SAHD - 2013-03-14 11:09 AM

My racebike at the moment is an old steel flatbar road bike with skinny race tires.  I might be able to buy 1-2 mph with a better bike, that would move me up from 55th place to 53rd place. Sealed  Worth it?  Not to me...  

That said, when I have the extra cash I will be buying a 'real' roadbike.  Because I like riding and want a new bike, not because the time/placement improvement is particularly important to me.  I'm tying the new bike to some other goals I have, it's my carrot.

I know you're going for humor, but increasing your speed from 17 to 19mph on a 10-mile course saves you ~3:40. I would imagine in a sprint that's a lot more than two places.

just for accuracy, I went back to the last race I did and checked the results.  It was an olympic length, so a 24 mile bike.  Figure 2 mph faster, that would save me ~ 10 minutes, right?

I finished in 2:54 for 139th overall (12th in division) , 2:44 would have gotten me 111th place overall (but still 12th in division, so I wouldn't have moved up at all). 

2013-03-14 3:27 PM
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Subject: RE: Bike upgrade or not?
Are you regularly topping out on the gearing of the hybrid? If so I would look to upgrade as the gearing, more aero position and less rolling resistance of a road bike would help.


2013-03-14 5:45 PM
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Subject: RE: Bike upgrade or not?

Food for thought....certainly if you intend on doing more than a few events per year...keep what you have, maybe with some minor changes, like road bars for your flat bars, and use that for 50%+ of your training rides and get a tri bike for your harder effort workouts and races. Moving your body into that aero position, assuming you get a good fit, will make a pretty significant difference from your hybrid as set up today. 

I started with a friend's old road bike that was ill fitting for my first 6 months and 4 events, then got a tri bike for the next year...all of my training and racing was on that. About 6 to 8 weeks ago I purchased a gently used, but pretty good road bike that I now use for 75% of my training. 

If you expect to do only 1 or 2 triathlons per year, then moving to a nice road bike is likely your best option as it's the most versatile. 

Good luck!

2013-03-14 8:13 PM
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Subject: RE: Bike upgrade or not?
Yay another person who found triathlons! The Trek FX is a great commuting, tooling around town bike. That said it has 8 speeds. A road bike is going to get you in a better body position, allow you more gearing and be much more comfortable for a sprint and beyond.
2013-03-14 9:53 PM
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Subject: RE: Bike upgrade or not?
Thanks for all the great feedback!! This is one of the reasons I am beginning to love this sport...the people!! Great support and information!!There was a comment regarding attaching "road bars" to my flat bars. Are these the same as "aero bars"? I kind of like this idea. Would this accomplish me getting into a more aero position and thus help with some speed and/or efficiency?Would my LBS have these kind of bars or do I look for them online? Any thoughts on a specific style/type that would be best for my setup??Thanks again!!!
2013-03-14 10:19 PM
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Subject: RE: Bike upgrade or not?
I forgot to also mention, my hands often get quite numb with riding. So wondering if adjusting the hand position with road bars would help this. Also, read something about "bar ends" what would be the advantages of these??Thanks!!!
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