General Discussion Triathlon Talk » TT o Road bike? Rss Feed  
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2016-01-27 11:15 AM


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Subject: TT o Road bike?
Hi! Im new to this forum and even newer to Triathlons!

Im planning to buy a bike, but Im not sure if buying a Road bike or a Triathlon one.

Some info that might be important for the decision:

+The longest TT Im planning to participate is Ironman 70.3, most others are mainly sprints
+I live in a country/city with lots of mountains, so that would be the comon training ground. Off course I can find spots with no mountains as well though.


Ive heard also that is possible to:
+Buy a Road bike and just change the Steering to the TT, but I understand that the whole reason behind the TT bike is the body position to "save" legs for the running
+Buy a TT bike and change the steering to road, dont no if this has a con.

What do you think?

Thanks!!


2016-01-27 12:38 PM
in reply to: frantona

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Newport, North Carolina
Subject: RE: TT o Road bike?
I think the most common option would be to buy a road bike and add clip-on aero bars instead of changing out the entire cockpit. With this you will have the climbing ability of a road bike with a better aero position when needed.
2016-01-28 12:03 PM
in reply to: frantona

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50
2525
, South Carolina
Subject: RE: TT o Road bike?
Yeah you can put the clip on aeros on there and then if you want you could also change up the rear cassette for easier hill/mountain work . I do this with mine so I can do some road rides in the Mountains. But I do miss my Cervelo P2C, its still in 3 pieces cause some da t-boned me. I am getting sad just thinking about her, sniffle.
2016-01-28 3:23 PM
in reply to: ToxicDonkey


4

Subject: RE: TT o Road bike?
Hi! Thanks for your reply!

Sorry the ignorance, whats the rear cassete? In which bike you used to do this?

Best regards,

Fernando
2016-02-04 12:42 PM
in reply to: frantona

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Subject: RE: TT o Road bike?
I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this question. Which is why so many of us end up with a garage full of bikes. The last time I had a non-cyclist in my garage she asked if I owned a bike store.

I bought a road bike first. Then I added aero bars. I think that's never a perfect solution looking back but - we all do it. I have ridden my road bike in triathlons - specifically Ironman France and I loved my decision. However, the same year Mary Beth Ellis won on a tri bike. So, there is no right or wrong answer.

If you go to any triathlon you will see a huge variety of bikes. I regularly get my butt kicked by older folks on old heavy bikes that can just outbike me no matter what. As the saying goes - it's not about the bike.

I would say look at what you're doing now the most and buy a bike that fits that the best. It's not a permanent decision. The one thing that is sometimes a decider is if you do a lot of riding with groups of roadies triathlon bikes are not always super welcome in that group scenario (depends on the group).


2016-02-05 1:42 AM
in reply to: frantona

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Subject: RE: TT o Road bike?
Option 1) Road bike.

You have the most control over your bike, the best steering, and generally you can get a more comfortable fit. The newer rider you are, the more I'd steer towards a regular road bike.

Also, if you want to use the bike to zip down to a coffee shop, go into a group ride etc. or will be riding around a lot where you'll have traffic to deal with and need quick access to brakes etc. the road bike is your go-to.

I have plenty of friends that do well enough on a road bike.

Option 2) TT/Tri bike.

This gets you more aerodynamic, but you pretty well have to stay in the tucked position to get the aero advantage, once you start moving around, you lose the advantage and may as well be on a road bike.

You have a bit less control over the bike, since shifters are generally on the aero-bars and brakes on the bullhorns, you can't brake as quickly when tucked, which is partly why these bikes are frowned upon in group rides.

Also, riding around in the tucked position isn't particularly safe in the city, as it takes longer to reach your brakes. I prefer to ride my tt bike on marked courses, or out on highways or roads with very wide areas to be on my bike for safety reasons. Any city riding I do on my road bike.

Option 3) Road bike with clip-on aero bars.

This is a popular option, as you get the benefits of a road bike, with the option to get into a more aerodynamic position with the clip-on aero bars.

The problem here is that the position isn't quite as aerodynamic as a proper time trial bike, and you don't have shifters or brakes while on the aero bars. Being able to shift on the tt bike in aero means the only real time you need to get out of aero is to use the brakes, or to have a drink if you're not running a front hydration system, but with clip-ons you have to reach over to your shifters as well.

If I could only buy one bike, it would be a road bike personally, since I like to ride in groups and in town, but in terms of pure performance, a tt bike is best.

Also, I'm not convinced when people say that an aero bike hits your muscles differently allowing you to run better off the bike. I can run about the same off the bike whether it's my road bike or my tt bike, but I can definitely go faster for the same effort on the tt bike, so overall faster times for the same effort, or if I biked the same speed, I am less fatigued.

My bike FITTER however has mentioned some changes that can be made such as cleat position, so if you find your calf cramping on the run for example off the bike, you can take some stress off the calf to run better off the bike, but this is true whether it's a road bike or a tri bike.

Bottom line, only you can decide what your priorities are when buying your bike, there is no "wrong" answer.


2016-02-05 3:25 PM
in reply to: frantona

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, South Carolina
Subject: RE: TT o Road bike?
So I went from a Cervelo P2C Tri bike to a Pinarello road bike. Both had a compact groupo setup however because we do like AOTC, Beech Mountain and Blood Sweat and Gears in the Smokies, I wanted more gear or more easier gears for the mountains. So I opted to switch out that big toothy looking thing on the rear (rear cassette) from an 11x 22T to an 11x25T. You can also do like an 11-28T and I think even a 11-32T. That means if you do a lot of climbing you can spin more and climb easier. And oh yeah several of these rides are starting to ban tri bars because of accidents so clip ons are the way for me unless Santa brings me a Tri bike this year. But more than likely I am getting a lump of coal.
2016-02-06 7:53 AM
in reply to: ToxicDonkey

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Subject: RE: TT o Road bike?
So I started with a roadie with aero bars, then had 2 different tri bikes(Cervelo P2 and Argon 118). Those were both great bikes but I feel the differences were marginal from my road bike. Now I've gone to an Aero road bike with clip ons(Felt AR2). In my opinion, if you are only going to have 1 bike, then you want a road bike. If you have the funds for one of each, I think the Tri bike is marginally faster. If you do any group riding though a road bike is almost a necessity. Funds were not an issue for me but I just didn't see that big of a difference to justify having multiples. That's why I tried to split the difference with an Aero road bike plus clip ons. One thing that really nice if you have the funds is DI2. I have mine setup with both the standard shifters as well as the TT shifters so you can shift while on the hoods/drops or in aero.
2016-02-06 9:00 PM
in reply to: Nussy

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Subject: RE: TT o Road bike?
As far as marginal gains go, I will quote this from elsewhere:

*****

One study published in the German Tour magazine Jan 2007

They put Uwe Peschel on a normal bike:

Needed Watts for Speed = 45 km/h :

Stevens San Remo bike with normal handlebar 465 Watts needed to go 45 km/h
Same bike Hands down the drops: 406 watts needed
Same bikeEaston Aeroforce bar: 369 Watts
Same bike Triathlon position (5.5 cm lower bar, saddle forwards): 360 Watts
Same bike Triathlon position (5.5 cm lower bar, saddle forwards) and
carbon Tri spoke wheels front and rear: 345 Watt

Cervelo + Tri spoke front 328 Watts
Cervelo + Tri spoke front + disk rear wheel : 320
Cervelo + Tri spoke front + disk rear wheel +Giro helmet: 317
Cervelo + Tri spoke front + disk rear wheel +Giro helmet + speed suit: 307
Cervelo + Tri spoke front + disk rear wheel +Giro helmet + speed suit +
saddle 3 cm further back: 293 Watts

*****

So essentially, going from riding in the drops, to riding a triathlon bike saved approximately 11% of the force required to go the same speed, and going from a road bike with aero bars, setup in triathlon geometry, caused a reduction from 345 to 328 watts which is closer to 5%.

Personally I wouldn't want to have one bike basically setup for triathlon, and then use it for regular bikes and triathlons, kind of meeting in the middle, but it works for some people, with some of the benefits and drawbacks I set out above.

I find keeping my road bike in proper road bike fit is more comfortable when I am doing my normal riding, and I don't get the stink-eye riding with aero bars in a group. I do see a significant difference between my road bike and tri bike speeds as a result, especially once I have the disc cover on as well.

Having 2 bikes works well for me, but not for everyone.

2016-02-08 12:21 PM
in reply to: frantona

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Subject: RE: TT o Road bike?
Originally posted by frantona

Hi! Im new to this forum and even newer to Triathlons!

Im planning to buy a bike, but Im not sure if buying a Road bike or a Triathlon one ....



Another option to consider, more details on our company blog:
http://darkspeedworks.com/blog-whatbike.htm

Get lots of info, get lots of opinions, and then get the best set up that fits your needs.

Greg @ dsw
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