Home› General Training Discussions

TT bike vs Road bike for training

Jeff BraatenJeff Braaten
in General Training Discussions

 I bet this has been asked in the past but couldn't find it. How much, if any, difference does it make to do the OS with an aero bike setup vs. a road bike? I know watts drop a bit from road to TT but could a road bike be used effectively for the OS and then switch to the TT bike during the 12 race training period without any negative effects? I would assume if this was done FTP would have to be retested at the end of OS on the TT bike to get accurate numbers for racing.  What are your thoughts?

Comments

  • mattsullmattsull

    The coaches advice on this is to use whatever bike your more comfortable on for the OS. You are right that if you did the OS on your road bike you would have to retest on the TT at some point. I don't think there seems to be a real preference among the team that I've heard. I did my first OS on the TT because I like getting down in the bars. I haven't decided what I will do this year.

  • scott dinhoferscott dinhofer

     I tend to use the Tri bike for my longer training rides and my road bike for shorter rides & Group rides (helps having the brakes handy) there was an article on this in  a recent triathlete magazine, will see if i can find online and copy & paste anything relevent or the link... for me getting the lower back used to the longer aero position is relevant, i have always had a weaker core. I am boning up on doing lots of planks, supermen, crunches and sit ups to strenghten.

    one downside to the road bike is that you use your arm muscles more. I did a 62 mile group ride yesterday on the road bike and the use of arms definitly impacted my swim today....

     

     

     

  • Cary BlancoCary Blanco
    I did almost all of my OS on a road bike, then switched to the tri bike when I went in to race prep.
  • Nemo BrauchNemo Brauch
    If you train with power, it's best to test & train on the same bike (and in the same conditions- indoor vs outdoor) as much as possible. For that reason, I do the OS primarily on my road bike and then move to the Tri bike in race prep. Yes, takes a few weeks to get comfy again on the TT bike, but you don't need to spend all winter locked into the aerobars to make that adaptation when you are going to have 12 weeks of race prep to do it later in the year.
  • dan_forbesdan_forbes

     Wish I had 2 bikes to fight over!  But, I'm a specificity guy and feel the more time you can put in the aerobars the better because I believe the body adapts so specifically that I don't want to have to build my power up on another machine.  When my OS is over, I want all that power on the bike I'm using, not using training time to re-adapt.

  • kjanracingkjanracing
    I run clip ons on my road bike and will probably go that route in my OS. It's a good compromise and, I think, more versatile. Later on in the season, I'll switch over to the TT bike more. Both bike positions are close, I don't feel a big difference switching between the two.
  • Scott AlexanderScott Alexander
    I run the TT rig on the trainer, for the OS. Helps me to sit in the true position. And I can rest on the aero bars while I watch hours and hours of recorded TV (my favorite lately is "how i met your mother").

    That way, if I do get a chance to roll outside, I have the more fun and responsive road bike. Also, after the OS this year, I'll switch almost-exclusively to the road bike for all my pre-ToCA prep. When ToCA is over, back to the tri bike 100%.
  • chuckgchuckg
    I will go back to the road bike for my OS, just as I did last year. I'll begin to ride the tri bike exclusively during transition and race prep. It takes a few weeks to get completely back into the groove of the tri bike but I like the difference between the two.
  • William JenksWilliam Jenks
    This spring, I was doing my intervals on my TT bike (because my road bike is so old it won't accommodate my PT wheel...), but in the upright position because (of course) it meant that I could make bigger numbers. Then, when I went outside, I had to deal with the lower numbers, and it felt like I even had to retrain certain muscles that were just used differently for the upright and down low position.

    I ride pretty low (14-15 cm drop as I recall), but is there any reason I shouldn't have a go at OS more or less "in position"? (but maybe with the front wheel raised up so I can see something besides the floor 6 feet in front of my bike)

    I know the absolute number is higher in the road bike position, but I'm trying to understand why there would be an advantage in training different muscle sets than the ones you intend to use... :-)

    Cheers,
    Wm
  • Chris GChris G

     No wrong answer to this one.  Lots of folks like a road bike in the out season.  IIRC P's answer is that he uses the road bike on the trainer cause it is easier to watch TV.  I have done it both ways and it does not seem to make much of a difference.  As noted above it takes a few weeks to make the transition.  It always takes me a few weeks to feel right riding outside in the spring anyhow so I hardly notice.  But then where I live it is cold.

    This year I was thinking I would do all of the out season on the TT bike.  That way I can just leave it on the trainer with the PM on it til the spring.  I figure I will ride my road bike or cross bike outside if it is nice enough to do so and I will enjoy myself and not care about having power numbers realizing it is a long winter ahead in the pain cave.

    I do not find watching TV on the TT bike any less comfortable and tend to stare at the power meter anyhow.   

  • jasondyckjasondyck
    Here is an interesting article by Jordan Rapp where he discusses the advantages of using a road bike vs a tri bike.
    The jist of his article is that if you are not in your areobars when riding your tri bike you are better of riding a road bike.

    http://iamspecialized.com/rider/jordan-rapp/752/#/blog
  • Paul HoughPaul Hough
    I love my road bike! I move to the tri-bike for the 12 wk race prep. Yesterday, I decided I needed a break and took the road bike out for a 40 mile ABP ride...how sweet it was.
  • Jeff BraatenJeff Braaten
    Like Paul one of the reasons I posed the question was that I also love riding my road bike. In the past I have always used the TT bike on my computrainer for 75% of all riding, good weather or bad, so I have no real comparisons from prior experience. From the posts it sounds like a mixed bag but mainly an adjustment factor when switching. As long as I can get the same increase in power output on either bike I think I will opt for road bike for the OS and move the the TT at race prep.
  • steveperxsteveperx
    I usually use the TT bike on the trainer in order to work on staying aero. Road bike is for outdoor winter riding (when I do it) and sometimes on the trainer if I'm doing a longer ride, or just want to mix it up.
Sign In or Register to comment.