Subject: Tri bike to road bike I have been making do with only a tri bike. That was fine as most of my training in on the trainer. *We vampire types avoid the sun mostly.* I would do the occasion long ride on my tri bike but have become reluctant to do this as my position in aero produces severe tunnel vision. Even though most drivers around here are courteous to riders I just don't want to take the risk any more. I want to do more outside riding and do some group rides. Right now I don't have the money to drop on a high end road bike. So, for the moment, frugal being that I am, I have decided to exchange my integrated aerobars for drop bars and brifters. I was surprised at how easy it is to do and with the resulting ride. I was never comfortable riding hands off whilst the bike sported the integrated system. First time down the street I was back to riding free handed. It's enjoyable to be riding on the road again. Cost of conversion was minimal. I had the stem and drop bars in my parts pile. Bought the brifters second hand for a good price. Bought new shifter and brake cables. It took me off of 20 minutes to do the surgery. That was a big boost in confidence. Now I have two bikes in one; drop configuration for the road and tri configuration for competition. Two sets of bars, shifters, brakes, and cables make the conversion relatively painless. Have wrench, can do.... If this educator thingie runs out it's nice to have a secondary skill set to fall back on. Have an others done something similar? MIchael |