Triathlete switching to road bike

[Wahine]

That's actually a really good question and believe it or not, I can't find the answer online. The only information I could find, and it wasn't from Kestrel was that the seat tube angle was 73.5, but that seems a little slack to me. I may have to measure it sometime.

I find it really interesting that I don't actually know the answer to this.

[salsabike]

That's interesting! Let us know if you find out for sure. The seat tube angle on my Bianchi is 74, which was one of the reasons I bought that bike. But am now thinking of getting something a little lighter and faster as I contemplate Olympic length races next season, so I have been pondering all this just lately.

What's ALSO interesting is that you are the second coach/PT in less than 24 hours to say---not sure that a tri bike is better than a road bike for races. Especially around here, where some of the courses are pretty hilly.

[Veronica]

Thanks for the info. So are you saying if you could have two - you would?

But you would still do most of your training on your road bike.

Veronica

[Wahine]

V. - that's exactly what I'm saying.

Salsa - Having an aero tri bike is definitely not right for everyone. First of all, having an aero bike does nothing for you if you can't maintain the aero posture and are sitting up a lot of the time. Second - aero bikes are more twitchy and don't handle as well as a road bike. Third - unless you're riding at 16 mph or more, the aero advantage is minimal, the exception to this is when it's windy. Fourth - even if you can ride aero, if makes your back sore it may be a detriment to your run.

I had a client who was super intent on riding his tri bike in competition. He has a history of back issues and in every race his run would be much slower than I would have expected given his performance in training. He also told me that the aero posture would often cause some numbness in his leg. At his last race I convinced him to ride a regular road bike, his bike times were just as fast. His run pace went down a full minute per mile over his last 3 races.

[Veronica]

Interesting info, thanks Wahine!

I'm finally to the point where I am thinking about my bike and do I want to make any changes there. I could get a tri specific bike if I wanted. I just need to decide that it's worth it for me.

Veronica

[pinkbikes]

V. - that's exactly what I'm saying.

Salsa - Having an aero tri bike is definitely not right for everyone. First of all, having an aero bike does nothing for you if you can't maintain the aero posture and are sitting up a lot of the time. Second - aero bikes are more twitchy and don't handle as well as a road bike. Third - unless you're riding at 16 mph or more, the aero advantage is minimal, the exception to this is when it's windy. Fourth - even if you can ride aero, if makes your back sore it may be a detriment to your run.

I had a client who was super intent on riding his tri bike in competition. He has a history of back issues and in every race his run would be much slower than I would have expected given his performance in training. He also told me that the aero posture would often cause some numbness in his leg. At his last race I convinced him to ride a regular road bike, his bike times were just as fast. His run pace went down a full minute per mile over his last 3 races.

Ah - Wahine! I just love it when people talk good sense!

I did my first tris back in the early 80s and have drifted in and out of the sport over the years since then. It is hard to avoid noticing that triathlon has become a very image-conscious sport and that there is much marketing aimed at "buying speed" through triathlon-specific gear.

While much of this hyped up gear is probably great stuff and would probably buy you extra seconds if you are at the elite level (which I am most certainly not) my belief is that most everyday triathletes would benefit more from spending their time (and hence the money they would need to earn to pay for some of these yummy toys) on better quality or more targetted training. All things do not work for all people - buying the super-flash tri bike is not always the answer.

That being said - I am a firm believer that N+1 is "the answer." N+1 is the right number of bikes to own where N is the number of bikes you already own! I just don't think it guarantees a faster tri!

[Cederfield]

Thanks all - good info. I've been fitted three times on my tri bike. After the initial fit, I went to a LBS fitter recommended by my coach. At that point, I was having not so much saddle pain but more neck pain. I don't have all the technical details as to measurements available to me here, but to give an idea the fitter put a longer stem on my bike and basically raised me up to a less-aero position.

That worked for another year and then I started to have increased saddle issues. The second fitting was with another tri coach and we decided to put me back down into a more aero position, shorter stem and slight saddle to aerobar drop. I figured I was just going to have issues either way so might as well go with the more aero position and experiment with saddles. Which brings me to my current situation.

I also think my GI tract just doesn't enjoy being in aero position either. Half-iron races I am on the bike for about 2:45 and start having a lot of gas build-up, to put it bluntly and experience a lot of upper abdominal discomfort on the run and IM distance I start sitting up and changing position to help alleviate this (and the saddle discomfort), so am losing the aero benefits anyway.

So I guess I will just start trying road bikes - maybe get some measurement info and share it here - sounds like some good technical knowledge out there.

now I wish I could find a gynecologist who is into cycling. My gyn sees my issues and just says "you should consider biking less; take some time off". Really helpful.

[salsabike]

What's ALSO interesting is that you are the second coach/PT in less than 24 hours to say---not sure that a tri bike is better than a road bike for races. Especially around here, where some of the courses are pretty hilly.

The first coach who told me that was also talking about her own experiences. She is quite fast and very comfortable in the aero position. She has done four IMs--Canada three times, CDA once. She said her fastest bike time was on her old road bike (taking into account different conditions on different race days as best she could), and that she--a fast hill climber on a road bike--noticed that she loses significant climbing time on her tri bike. So even if all the things you mention are working for the athlete, a tri bike may not necessarily give an advantage.