Road Bike vs. Tri Bike
I wanted to get everyone's opinion as to whether there is a big advantage to the tri bike over the road bike. I am very new to triathlon having just done some sprint length tri's last summer. I enjoyed this a lot and would like to improve and go for longer distance races. I am signed up already for the Kansas 70.3 this summer. I just purchased a new road bike this fall. My previous bike was a steel frame and now I am on a carbon fiber bike so I feel a huge difference already. I do have some clip on aero bars but I realize that doesn't put me in the best aero position or best hip angle.
I am not currently a FOP person. I would like to be more competitive though which is why I joined EN. I am 6'4" and not the most flexible so I know I present a lot of surface area for drag.
So, my main question is it worth spending the money on a tri bike or will I be ok with a decent road bike and aero bars? Will I notice a big enough difference to justify (convince my wife
) buying another bike? Thanks in advance for all your feedback.
Comments
Buy a tri bike. If you are serious enough about triathlon to be here, you are serious enough about it to have the proper tools to get the job done. Can you race IM on a road bike with clip ons, sure you can. There are no IM or 70.3 races where a road bike will be faster than a tri bike. Period. People who say that you are better off on a road bike because they are more comfortable, or can't hold the aero position, or that a road bike "climbs" better, or insert any other over generalized thing that sounds like it could be true but does not mean anything... either do not have a good bike fit or more likely are just repeating the nonsense that someone else who does not know anything told them.
Just as a point of reference: I'm planning on doing IMLP with a road bike and clipons. It's my first IM. I'm waiting to finish my first IM before I upgrade to a full fledged tri bike. It's more of a budget and spousal approval thing than my desire to have a tri bike. I was I would also make sure you have the right gearing.
RnP have info on approved gearing in the wiki.
I looked at a different side - best use of the limited $$ I have. IT's all about ROI isnt it? I really thought about getting a tri bike because I wanted all the advantages (and bike envy) that a nice bike would provide. But in the end decided to put my $$ in a PM. It seemed to me that I will get so much more speed/time/fitness for less $$ by training with a PM than not. Sure if I had a couple of thou' just laying around I'd get me an aweome tri bike... but I don't........
In the end, listen to the WSM's - they're the smart ones around here - I'm just a MOPer on a small budget having fun.....
@steve, what the heck is a MOPer...
Hey Brant, can't you have both? I have an older tri bike and a newer, pretty decent roady. You don't have to buy top-of-the-line to get both. All of my bikes, I have bought as middle of the line bikes and upgraded the guts over time. There are really decent 2-3-4yo bikes available from the likes of eBay.
Brant - 80% of your work to increase your speed at 20 mph is due to overcoming wind resistence. At your size your have more to gain than most by adopting the mostaerodynamically efficient posture while riding. The geometry of a "tri bike" with its steeper seat angle etc allows more efficient pedaling while in the most aerodynamic position. Regarding comfort, there may actually be a benefit to the tri bike. A jury rigged road bike with aerobars clipped on may result in a more uncomfortable and less effective run after you bike for 3-6 hours using a position that bike was not really designed for.
If you do decide on a tri bike, MAKE SURE your maxmize its potential by getting a professional fit. Think of it as another compenent you are purchasing to make the bike work better.
The EN Kool aid on bike fitting is here. Many ENers swear by this guy for a fantastic online fitt (I have not used him myself.)
You will also look better at the tri races and for many of us who aren't that fast, might as well look good if our times are great!!
If you can afford a tri bike, get one. If you can't right now, but have $800-1500 burning a hole in your pocket, a PM purchased now, during the OS, would probably be a better investment for you right now vs a tri bike. So, short answer, would be to purchase a PM now in the winter, and tri bike in the spring, closer to your races.
And there are NO Ironmans in the US where a road bike is faster than a tri bike. Period. No halfs that I would consider either. Show me a half with 8k feet of gain and switchback descents and I may consider a road bike but other than that...tri bike, always.
There, I just saved you from having to wade through similar annual debates on other tri forums
As another point of reference, I was in your position about a year ago having already signed up for IM Louisville with only a road bike. Despite it being my first IM, I decided that if I was going to do it, I wanted to go as fast as possible, so in February I bought a used aluminum Cervelo for $700. This was before I had power, but I figured if I'm going to do X amount of work on the bike leg, I might as well be going faster. Over a long period of trial and error, I fit myself and did Louisville with a borrowed front wheel and disc cover in the back in relative comfort (I am 6'3"). I did end up getting a professional fit and I recommend it.
Fast forward to November, and it was time to add power to the equation. The beauty of a Powertap wheel over a Quarq or SRM is being able to easily use it on multiple bikes. So after establishing my zones on the tri bike, I put the wheel on my road bike and did one of the OS workouts. I always knew I was slower on my road bike, but I was amazed at how much slower, and as Al pointed out, the faster I went, the bigger the difference. For the same stretch of road, my average speed for a 12 minute interval was 3mph slower on the road bike for the same wattage. Also keep in mind that my road bike is a nice carbon Trek that weighs 3 lbs less than my tri bike.
Now if I could just swing a nice carbon tri bike...
@Brant:
Iw ould tend to agree with Chris G and the others who recommend getting a tri-bike... with one caveat. Make sure it's not a financial hardship to do so. As others have said, you WILL benefit from the proper tools. You have demonstrated a commitment by being here. Why not get the right tools for the job? BUT, as others have said as well, you don't NEED it. My first Ironman in 2004 was on an aluminum road bike with clip-ons. I still have the bike (it's now my commuter/winter bike). So, I guess what I'm saying is if it's not a huge deal for you and/or your family to drop a couple grand on a tri-bike, then do it. You WILL benefit from it.
I have a >$2k road bike that weighs <17lb and I have an aluminum tri bike that I got used on Craigslist for $800 and weighs >20lb. I was professionally fitted for both.
Over many, many, many times riding the same 38mi loop on both bikes I average ~1.75 mph faster on the tri bike when training alone (and that includes a lot of time in the drops on the road bike). No question the tri bike is faster.
As to the question of "worth it", every person has to answer that based on tradeoffs that are inherently individual...
I am also a tall guy (6' 4") and found that when I did buy a tri bike that I picked up about 1.5 MPH avg on the same course over my road bike from the lower wind resistance. I'm pretty flexible and have been able to get relatively low on my bike. For me the decision to buy a tri bike was based on a desire to have the right tool for the job and as a reward for losing 40# this year since I started endurance sports. Do I need one to do an Ironman? Probably don't have to have one but I know for me that I work harder and am more motivated when I have the right tools to do the job. FWIW, I did invest in a RETUL fitting before buying my bike so I would know what the right geometry would be for me. I'd highly recommend something like this to make sure that you get the right bike for your fit needs. I didn't care who made my bike, as long as it fit.
I am totally practicing the aero position as much as possible, yeah for a 54 its alittle difficult and that is why I work on the aero so much. Somehow i will get up to 7 hours in the aero whe I attempt IM W 11.
Trade-off is being alittle closer to the ground on / in the aero is alittle harder to steer the bike, so going around corners you have to practice turning alot more on a real road. I bought my son and I a tri bike at nytro.com, their package for us was great.
This weekend I rode with a friend of mine. It was the first time since last April I had been on my rode bike. He was still on his Tri bike, I wasn't pushing it (at first) then we started going down some hills and I could not keep up with him. Normally I leave him in the dust. Every hill he would get a little further ahead until I finally gave up trying to catch him. When I finally caught up to him he was sitting at a convenience store drinking his Gatoraid.
I struggled on the cheap for years on this sport (5 kids and all). I went the clipon route for years and not only did I pick up instant speed when I switched, I found the run significantly better off the tri-bike. Also, I'm super tight too. It took me a while to get adapted to the new bike--allow time (ie. don't buy a month before a race). WIth that said, you'll find you spend more time in the aero bars within a couple of rides.
You can always pick up a used bike--get measured at a bike shop before buying.
I raced my first two seasons on a road bike, the first with clip-ons, the second without. I found the handling way too twitchy with the clip-ons, they will put more of your weight over the front wheel than should be there, given the geometry of your typical road bike. The shorty clip-ons, like they use in ITU, would probably be better.
I found racing without them was a matter of getting in, and staying in, the drops. Staying in that position made the first 20 minutes of my run "the suck"
With money being a consideration, I also agree you should strongly consider used bikes. If you buy one from the LBS, you will pay more for it, but they will almost certainly fit you on it as part of the price and do stuff like exchange stems, etc. But there aren't that many used tri bikes in the LBS I haunt, so that may not be an option.
Lots of great bikes out there, and I will confess that I only know anything about the brand that is in our house (Cervelo). For the cost-conscious, a Cervelo P1 (or P2SL as it was known before...long story) can be a great choice. It's Aluminum, but the Cervelo Al bikes (P1 and soloist) are well known for being top notch among bikes mad from that material. Looks (quick ebay search) like the going price is about $1000 or less.