Road Bike v. Tri Bike
Hi guys,
I am a newbie on EN and at racing in general so I apologize up front for the rookie questions. I have a 2010 Scott CR1 SL that I have been racing with the last 2 seasons (my only 2 seasons), compact crank, 11/28 cassette, Sram Rival, Easton EA50's. My plan was to clip on aero bars and use it again this season. Then someone in my tri group said it's time for me to move to a tri bike and get more aero, efficient, fast and.... $$poorer. I thought that with all of the hills at LP the Scott would be better than using a real tri bike. I know it makes sense to have both and I agree you can't have too many bikes but for all the climbing I will be doing I thought the road bke would be a better choice. Thoughts?
thanks
-Ken
0
Comments
Hi. Welcome aboard! I am sure one of the WSM will chime in presently, but the conventional wisdom is that aero rules over all for triathlon, so a TT bike will be better than a converted road bike pretty much every time. If you can afford it getting a true tri bike is probably the first major bike-type upgrade for those of us getting into the sport. I would think for an IM distance the aero position and comfort would make it a wise investment. Not sure how a road bike would give you much advantage over a hilly course anyway unless its way lighter than your tri bike, and even then aero trumps weight almost always imo.
Thanks Satish, makes sense.
http://members.endurancenation.us/Training/TrainingForums/tabid/101/aft/10599/afnp/131908/Default.aspx
No. There is only one post. You are going crazy.
The only reason not to get a tri bike is that you can't afford it, relative to your planned career in triathlon. If you (a) envision sticking with the sport for the forseeable future and (b) want to actually *race*, that is, go as fast as you can, then a tri-specific bike will always be faster, regardless of the course. This is due to the difference in riding posture allowed by a bike with TT-specific geometry, not due to any aero advantage of bike shape. I ride a 14 year old round tube TT bike, which I had custom built, then professionally fitted, and I do "just fine". And I also believe that, for longer rides, it's more comfortable - less wear on your butt and your hands.forearems.shoulders.
Entry level tri bikes can be found in the $1200 range. Save up, or spend now, then, after that, in order spend $ on aero helmet, power meter, everything else is a luxury - marginally helpful at best.
Same thing applies to wetsuits. Any wet suit is better than none, but most extra $ offer little to no time advantage.
Like many people in this sport, I'm lucky enough to be able to afford almost anything I want, so I've tried a lot of stuff. Of all the things I've tried, the switch from a road bike with clip on aerobar to a TT bike made the biggest difference, by far. And I've done LOTS of "hilly" courses, like Canada, Coeur d'Alene, Wisconsin, Hawaii. I've never found one where I didn;t spend at least 85% of my time in the aerobars.
(Big Sigh), back to the pain cave to work on the engine.....
But, at the speeds I go (18-23 mph, depending on course and distance), I don't push as much air as the big guys. Also, remember 80% of wind resistence is the body on the bike, not the frame and its components. There's no question there is time to be gained in that 20%, just the $/time gained equation doesn't support going all out for, say, a $12k bike with the absolute best wind tunnel numbers. A bike 1/10th that cost will probably serve 95% of AGers just as well. Anything above that price point (and my bike would cost maybe $8K today) is just personal preference/ego and not necessary for good race results, unless you are in that 5% looking for the last 1-2 % (or less) to get on the podium, or a win, or to Kona/LV, etc.
Geez Al, thanks. Your reply again makes great sense. Thanks for taking the time to give me good, seasoned advice.
I also currently have a road bike with clip on bars, and have been watching ebay for a few months. I would suggest looking around to see what is available in the price range you are looking to spend. Also back about 2 months ago, I got in touch with Todd at TTBikefit and was able to use the directions on his site to send him some measurements along with a couple short video clips, and he gave me some pre-purchase guidence on what bikes would fit me and in which sizes, along with a couple of comments on my current set up. It was about $79 but in the big picture I think money well spent, since now I know what bikes are just wrong for my body type.
Al and Keith would know better than me, but there is also plenty of discussion that with the position on the TT bike opens the hip angle and should reduce stress in the legs (over longer and longer rides) and help with having to run 26 miles afterwards.
Good Luck.
I'm still debating the necessity for a probably 7 hour LP bike split and an uncertain future in races over HIM distance.
There is no necessity. If you love your bike and the TT is a hardship, then stick with what you have. It's just a game. Keep that in perspective.
If you have the coin and you want to go faster, there's no doubt that it will make you go faster to have a tri bike. We use the term "Free Speed", but ironically that means "free of work", not "free of expense".
At short course, as you obviously conclude, the difference is smaller...but as with all distances, it will just be slower than you would otherwise go.
In terms of money, if it were a long term investment, I would have less of an issue because there would be a benefit even if I can only do short course for a few seasons in the future. I still have a few months to figure out all those details out though. I've been fit for a bike, so we'll see how it all shakes out in terms of comfort and finances.
Regarding comfort, this is an interesting question.
I think most people say that riding a road bike in road bike position is a more "fun" ride than riding a TT bike in TT position. I also think there's little argument that the handling is more "sports car" in the road bike. It's better for quick turns and technical descents. In fact, on the TT bike a lot of turning is just different: kind of leaning rather than thinking about turning the wheel. If you adapt a road bike to a TT fit, you do a couple of bad things: (1) you change the steering point and weight distribution. This makes the handling notably worse than it is when you're sitting up; (2) you *probably* fold yourself up a bit more than you would on the TT bike, i.e., narrowing the hip angle. You either do this or you don't get anywhere near as low as you would on the TT bike. Folding yourself up more than you need to will reduce your ability to apply power. Not getting low enough will increase wind resistance...so it's a compromise. On the TT bike, the seat is in a different location relative to the pedals (more forward), to reduce this very problem.
For this reason, there are those who say that putting even shorty bars on a road bike isn't worth it, and just get a road bike fit with the intention of riding a lot with your hands on the lower part of the bars.
Good luck whatever you decide.