Tri bike vs. road bike (Page 2)

Check out the Cervelo Soloist, its both a road bike and A tri bike.  All you have to do is switch around the seat post.

Do hockey players use figure skates?

I started off with a road bike, then added aerobars.  Eventually I got a tri-bike and I don't regret it for a minute.  By the time I was "hooked" by triathlon, I knew it was time to get a more race-specific bike.  Tri-bikes tend to be pricey and it can be a pretty stout financial endeavor.  You'll want to add a lot of things (swapping some out) as you refine and tailor your bike to you after you have purchased it...these are things to consider.  I won't personally be going back to a road bike.  My tri-bike works just fine in local group rides, 3,000+ rider rally's, riding alone, etc.  It also does okay on race day, when the engine is tuned up properly. 

Chris

Well said.  I was a runner who wanted more.  I wanted to do triathlons, so i bought a Triathlon Bike.  Since all I know is a tri bike I can stay aero for 2+ hours straight with no problem, I am very good at handling in the aero posititon, and the geometry has saved my legs and made me competitive (top 20%) in every triathlon I've entered.  I know guys who have been riding road bikes for several years and I blow past them in races; so either I'm a natural or it's the bike.  And I'm going to vote:  it's the bike.  While they are sitting up, their weight over the center of the bike; I am aero, sleek, with 90% of my weight over the front of the bike pushing down the pedals effortlessly and I glide past roadies. 

For instance, If I sit up on my tri bike and pretend it's a road bike - I will really have to press to keep it at 20mph+, whereas on the same flat if I am in the aero position (atop the pedals) I am breezing along at 20mph+.  For me and from my experience this is fact.

Road bikes handle better, turn better, climb better.  But for straight ahead speed (especially in the wind) triathlon bikes are faster and more aero.  If you are serious about getting into triathlons, my advice is obvious

To the OP - definitely look at what you want to do on a bike. If only tris, and you train all by yourself, and have lots of $$, then a tri specific bike may be for you.

I just bought a road bike. I'll probably buy aero bars soon. Triathlons are fun, but I wouldn't give up my group rides EVER and aero bars/tri bikes are not welcome in most groups.  I just started racing this season and it's a blast - but those with tri bikes and aero bars need not show up - they won't let you race. As far as tris go, the Oly course I'm doing in August is hilly, windy, and only has one 1/2 mile straight stretch that I remember.  Doesn't seem like a suitable course for what is essentially a time-trial bike. I will no doubt be proved wrong by a few people who will pass me on the bike section. I will drool over their Cervelos, but if someone handed me cash, there's plenty of other things I'd buy first.

I have way too many expensive hobbies. Triathlon is just one. I'd rather have a bike that is light, handles well, is geared well for my fitness, activities and personal geometry, and be able to spend more $$ on other things. It is way cheaper to work on the engine.

You can have the lightest tri bike in the world and put those new negative drag ZIPPS on it (drool!!!!)  but still not do as well as you'd like because your engine is just not in that good of shape. You'll still watch people pass you. Plus there's those other two legs to get through too. Would a trainer or swim coach for a year get you better times in them compared to the extra $$ spent on the bike? Just depends on where you need the most improvement.

Happy training!

This will always be a personal choice and some people will stake out a position to defend their choices.  That being said :

I raced my first tri on a mountain bike because that was what I was riding at the time.  I bought an entry level road bike and put aerobars on it.  I used that for half of the first season and all of the next 3 seasons.  Last fall I bought a tri bike and used it for the last race of the season and then so far this year in the first two races.  I am glad I changed, but I am glad I had the road bike for the first 3 + seasons.  I learned to ride road bikes, then switched to a tri bike.  For me the tri bike is better.  I am much more comfortable in the aero bars than on my hands.  That  being the case, the tri bike is more comfortable than the road bike.  My legs feel better on the run after the tri bike than after the road bike.   I can ride in a group if needed, but 99% of my rides are with one other person or by myself (which is how we race) so I am not worried about the group rides.

If I were you, I would get an entry level road bike and ride a lot and race a lot.  then in 2 or 3 years, if you are still interested (addicted) buy a tri bike.  You may decide that you don't like tris but like riding.  You may decide you don't like any of it.