Quick Newbie Q: Big ring only in Tri's?

I was just reading an article in a bike rag that stated that the only ring allowed in TT's or Tri's is the big ring. :confused:

Is this literally true, or were they just making a point about the nature of time trialing and triathlon riding?

Thanks! :)

I have no idea about TT's but that's untrue for tri's. I don't know what point they were trying to make. There are a lot of hilly tri's around. You need that small ring to be able to save your legs for the run. I've used all of my gears depending on the course.

You are allowed to use your small ring for both TTs and Tris. They are making an overall point- in a TT you are going all out(same idea for Tris) and there is no point to be in your small ring unless there is a massive climb.
In all aspects of road racing(crits, road races, TTs, Tris- I have no experience with MTBs...) You will start off in your big ring and only drop to the small ring if needed.

In TT I start in the biggest gear I possibly can from the holding start and still get a good sprint off the start line(so start somewhere sort of easy in the big ring and then spin up to a bigger gear). 99% of the time in a TT you will not shift, shifting raises your heart rate and you lose wattage.

There are also mountain TTs and hilly-to-mountainous Tris- you'll want /need options.
I've seen it claimed too, even that they wouldn't even HAVE a small ring. If you know the course and can shave off a few grams by unmounting it, ok...

Thanks, all. I thought they might just be making a point...but I got scared! I was thinking...well, if I'm not even allowed to have a smaller ring on my bike...well...forget it! :o

Thanks, all.

I use all my rings in tri. (I like my knees, and want to keep them!)

I would shave off more weight by visiting the port-a-pottie before the bike leg than I would by removing a ring.

Yes, me too. In fact I have a triple on my bike (not tri-specific). When the only thing that's stopping me winning is that extra 100g then I'll think about changing it, but I think that day will be a long time coming....

Round here plenty of beginners use mountain bikes, with loads of low gears for triathlons - if it's your first and it's a hilly sprint, then why not (DH used his city bike, complete with luggage rack and mud-guards for his first tri).

Ooo...does that mean you're gonna do a tri? Yay! :D :cool: I remember you said last year you were considering it but were dithering a lot...

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Originally Posted by teawoman

Ooo...does that mean you're gonna do a tri? Yay! :D :cool: I remember you said last year you were considering it but were dithering a lot...

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Not this year...right now I am training for a pretty big goal event for the bike...and also taking a few days of active rest to try to keep a knee healthy that has been acting up.

Would like to next year...but now wonder if my knee will hold up.

I did discover a real weakness in my gluteus medius, and thanks to some folks here on TE, also have an exercise to work on it. I found an interesting article linking a weakness there to my ITB issue...so am thinking that weight loss and strengthening of some new muscles might be key to being able to start a walk/run program in the fall (which would give me LOTS of time to build up some running).