What type of bike do you ride?
I have gotten the green-light to purchase a new bike for the 2010 season 
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The first step is to determine what type of bike I want to purchase: tri or road? I am a minority in the Haus and have not made the jump to triathlons, yet. My primary focus is duathlons and straigh-up bike racing. My races for 2010 are: American Zofingen, Centurion Cycling Colorado and Powerman Zofingen. I am thinking that a road bike, with clip-ons, is probably a better fit.
I thought I would take a poll to see what the rest of the Haus uses and thinks.
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I believe both Zofingen events are non-drafting so there would be a big advantage for you to be as aero as possible (i.e. Tri Bike) plus you have to run before and after and the tri-bike could help with that. However, the Centurion events will not allow aerobars (and possibly not even tri-bikes).
The best around option is definitely a road bike, as you can add and remove clip ons easily. The trick is to get a road bike that fits both as a road bike and tri bike. The Cervelo Soloist (now S1,S2,S3) was a good option for this. My suggestion would be to work with someone that understands both road and tri bike fit and see if you can find a solost or something similar that you can easly add clip-ons, lower the bars and move the seat forward when you want to be in a tri or tt postion. Todd at ttbikefit.com could help with this if you don't have anyone locally to work with.
What bike do you have now?
What Matt said. Funny thing is, when I ready the Q (before reading your comments after the pole) my reaction was "it depends on what kinda race it is" I have a road bike and a tri bike. If I were only to have one bike, and I was planning on doing some road racing, I'd have to go with a road bike that I could add clip ons to for TT/Tri events.
I currently ride a Trek Pilot 2.1 Road bike. It is pretty much a base model and was purchased as a starter bike. It has definitely served me well over the past few years. It currently has a triple (50-39-30) and a 25-12 cassette. I am sure that I could utilize this bike for the Centurion and go for a new tri bike for the other races. That way I would have one of each and have the option to choose the best bike for the race.
When it comes to major purchases like this I am totally OCD. It could take me months to decide on the right bike, and then the right setup. I definitely need to find a LBS that has some decent selections so that I can go try out a few different things. I think I am going to ride into Brooklyn this weekend and check out R&A Cycles.
My goal is to have something purchased by the time my race season starts (Feb 22, I think). This doesn't leave me much time.
I've come to an oddly Cervelo stable: an R3 as my road bike and a P3 for triathlon. I'm remarkably happy with both bikes.
3X to what Matt said. Todd Kenyon is a doode to speak to about bike fit.
I am sure that I will use Todd and TTBikeFit to help dial in my fit once I have a bike. However, I am not sure how I can utilize them to determine which style and brand of bike to choose. If they were a bit closer I would make the road trip to their shop.
Working with Todd or a good fitter prior to getting the bike is key in order to make sure you get a frame that will fit you. Especially if you want to try and use it both as a road bike and then put clip ons on for the duathons.
If you are happy with your Trek Pilot as your road bike I would personally go with the tri bike. This would give you one of each and the best of both worlds. Then a few years down the road if you really get into road races you can always upgrade to a better road bike.
Just my thoughts, but I'm also a guy that has more bikes than I need
Seems like a good way to go. I currently have a starter road bike which suits my needs and I have a very nice tri bike. My next purchase will be a nicer road bike but that probably won't be for a few years. Long course triathlons are my focus.
Pete,
If you contact Todd, you can send him a video of you on you on your current bike and he'll ask you to take measurements of yourself. He provides easy, detailed directions. From there, he'll actually recommend a brand of bike that best fits your measurements, then you can buy what you want and he can fit you on that bike. Send him an email. He's super easy to deal with.
I had a road bike that I did all my triathlons on thru this summer until I got a tri bike in July. Todd helped me dial in my fit on my road bike with aero bars and then I worked with him on the tri bike I got.
FWIW, I delayed buying a tri bike because I love to ride and especially love to ride with other people. I had a hard time justifying $$ for a tri bike since I did ok in races with my road bike set up. That said, I do race TTs as well as tris, so I broke down and got a tri bike.
Good luck with your decision.
Dave
Ditto what everyone has said about Todd. I was unsure of what to get and sent him my measurements and he recommended a few different bikes based on my measurements. I ended up buying a bike from him and he has been very responsive about helping me get fit properly. All of this from across the country. I have been very impressed and would highly recommend him as everyone else in EN has as well.
Good luck!
Funny comment having to Google "crit."
Wasn't too many years ago I did the same thing.
Just wanted to jump on getting with TT Bike Fit or a local bike shop expert to help you identify you requirements BEFORE you choose a bike or brand. A good example is Cervello as a great choice for either road or tri cuz they fit so many people, just like Asics running shoes. But not everyone can comfortably wear Asics. So work with someone first to get sizing, etc, and then narrow down your choices.
Also, one of the biggest bangs for your buck in regards to time ROI is going from road to tri bike position. It's amazing how much less drag you have in tri/bike/position on a tri bike vs. a normal road set-up.
And I have seen Todd at TT Bike Fit's work with the video thing. I was skeptical but he does a great job. Just requires a little effort taking the vid and sending to him. He is very, very good. Well worth the time.
Kepp us posted on what you choose.
I believe I saw, in the EN 3.0 forums, that a few EN members have raced the American Zofingen before. I have been examining the elevation profile for the bike, and not being a long time biker, am a bit nervous about the hills (primarily the downhills). Not have ridden a tri bike before, I get nervous about big down hills and people saying "you steer with your elbows." So I am wondering if a tri bike an appropriate choice for this race?
A tri bike, or aero position, is definitely the way to go in any non-drafting event. You will be faster at a lower power output. While it may seem scary, downhills in the aero position are fun. Sharp turns would be another matter. Either way, you can just sit up if you have to. I regularly see a 2mph difference at the same power between my road and tri bikes. Aero is faster!
Sounds like you understand the value of TT bike geometry in general, but you are anxious about holding a TT position in a downhill. First of all, remember that most US IM courses have signficant hills, either steep or long, and many can have a total elevation gain of 5-6000' over 112 miles. Courses which might be most similar to AmZof are Canada and Lake Placid. The elevation profile indicates two climbs per loop, three loops, with a drop of about 11-1200 feet in about 7-8 miles, steeper at the top than the bottom. But the grade does not appear as steep as many in CDA or Wisconsin, just longer, like Canada.
Here's my own philosophy of going downhill on a TT bike, from the perspective of a 60 y/o who has a high anxiety about falling and breaking a hip. If the slope is gradual enough that I can pedal and generate significant watts (say, 85-90% of my target watts for the race), I stay in the aero bars and feel quite comfortable. If I spin out, and start picking up speed even while coasting (for me with my gearing, that's at about 30-32 mph), then I will shift to the bull horns, lower my head and torso closer to the top tube, and get my weight farther forward to stabilize the front wheel (took me a while to learn that, as I did a lot of mountain biking, where moving BACK is the strategy for stability in downhills). Cornering works just the same as a road bike, just requires a little more finesse(softer movements) due to the twitchy front wheel geometry.
BTW, everyone I've ever talked to has been nervous about the wisdom of getting a TT bike, and then having to use it on hills. And after they ride it once or twice, they "get it" about the design of the bike, and how it can help them (a) go faster, (b) be more comfortable going into the run. If you're going to race, and you want to go fast, and you are going a long way (84 miles?), the the TT bike is the better choice, for speed and comfort.
TRI BIKE ALWAYS for all tris and du's. The AZ course is nasty. There are huge hills. I remember goign up them much more than going down. The only "scary" downhill is right at the start of the loop going down from the mountain house cause it is turny and pretty fast. It would be scary on a road bike as well. Tri bike is goign to save you a bunch of time on that ride. TIme you will want back later on when going around the "run" course.
Same is true of all fo the IM courses. There is a reason why the tri bike was invented, it is better for triathlons. It would likely be better for road racing [other than crits] as well but not allowed. Same watts, considerably higher speed...thats a good thing right?
Not sure if I am dumb enough to race it in the spring but will be at AZ to drink beer for sure...see you then
Here is a pic of the Irish car bomb aid station last year...not kidding...my friend did the middle distance and used 3 car bombs as his nutrition, one in T2, one after the first lap and one at the finish:
I waited til the finish
Any race that offers Irish car bombs as part of the race is just my kinda race
. However, I think I will wait until I am finsihed before parting in any of the fun.
I only live an hour or so south of the course. So once spring gets here I definitely plan on riding the course a few times, maybe my RRs. I think this will help my overall mental well-being.
I soooooo want to ride with you now!
Wait, wait, when is this race? Car bombs? Beer? Why have I not heard of this before?