Road to tri bike transition timing

thekidduxc

When do most of the members in the house switch from a road to a tri bike in their training calendar?

I am < 60 days from moving into my IM minimalist plan. I have read the guidance to transition to my tri bike at the commencement of week one.

But I wanted to see what others do/have done. And there is no way I will ride a tri bike all year round!

Let's pretend that I didn't fail in getting more than one ride in my tri bike before IMWI 2013 and I am looking to learn from past mistakes!

 

Thanks in Advance

ezellrh

Full transparency - I was a roadie long before a triathlete. I really enjoy riding road geometry and in groups (I never group ride on my tri-bike). I switch to the tribike around 2 weeks before I drop into a IM plan. That usually works out to about 14-16 weeks prior to race day. That gives me around two weeks to adjust to the geometry and then 3 solid months of tri riding only.

YMMV.

thekidduxc

Thanks Roy - do you notice a difference in FTP as you move from the road to Tri geometry?

Paul Hough

I have 2 road bikes and 2 tri bikes and use whatever I feel like. In the off-season it's almost entirely the road bike. When I am approaching an IM/70.3, I will start riding more on a tri-bike, but still maybe 50% on a road bike.

I offer Jordan Rapp's advice on why you should train PRIMARILY on a road bike:
http://blog.rappstar.com/2014/04/why-triathletes-need-road-bike.html

ezellrh

David re: FTP delta. I am a beautiful individual snowflake, but I typically notice a drop in my FTP number moving from my road bike to my tri-bike. I always retest near the end of my 'two week transition period' or right at the beginning of the IM plan that I start. As my time on the tri-bike progresses (and my race gets closer), the actual value (defined as importance) of my FTP gets less and the value (again, importance) of my sustainable power (4/5/6 hour) becomes much more important to me. I tend not to test for FTP after the first test on my tri-bike because of the importance that the other measurements hold to me. YMMV.

Dave Tallo

I'm on my road bike until 12 weeks out from an IM. Paul's reference is a good one, and I've tried to ride in the drops a lot in the final weeks before moving from my road to tri bike to ensure a comparable hip angle.