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Clip Ons worth it?
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Muleta4
Aug 22, 08 19:51
Post #1 of 18 (685 views)
Clip Ons worth it?
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I'm probably going to do Silverman half this November, assuming my schedule allows it. I have a normal road bike, no clip on aerobars or anything. I've never ridden with aerobars before. Talking with my LBS today, they said it would probably cost around $300 to set my bike up in a tri position (aerobars, forward seatpost, and new seat). I'm a little hesitant to spend that much, especially since I've already spent a lot this season. Is it worth it though to get the clip ons, or would I be fine in a normal road position and I could get clip ons once I have some more money later? Thanks.
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Greg
IronDad
Aug 22, 08 20:10
Post #2 of 18 (665 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [elpresidente]
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Not all bikes ride well steeply, and not knowing what bike you have I can't say yea or nee to converting the bike. I'd say that you probably can't go wrong doing a clip-on setup over just a plain road position. Do a search here and maybe look into trying a slam position.
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softrider
Aug 22, 08 20:10
Post #3 of 18 (665 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [elpresidente]
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Get a new lbs.
HH
Aug 22, 08 20:12
Post #4 of 18 (665 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [elpresidente]
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$65
http://www.all3sports.com/...gn-jammer-gt-aerobar
Get them. Clamp them on. Then come back and delete this silly post. Seriously, you'll never consider doing a race without them.
For a road bike, you want jammer or shorty style. For more info, search around the articles on the front page.
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Hoegaarden wishes and Super Record dreams, HH
IronDad
Aug 22, 08 20:55
Post #5 of 18 (634 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [HH]
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It's not a silly post and there are several options... I personally never liked the Jammers and preferred the
T2+DL
or the
Vision Mini TT's
: Both lighter, lower and I prefer the hand positions. Syntace also makes some called the XXS that are nice and a different bend than both the Vision and Profile.
___________________________________
http://irondad06.blogspot.com/
http://irondad.blogspot.com/
cerveloguy
Aug 22, 08 21:01
Post #6 of 18 (627 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [elpresidente]
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Three hundred bucks?? I've got some Florida swamp land to sell you. Or your LBS is just totally clueless.
Since you're not experienced with tri bikes, don't try to reinvent the wheel, just buy some shorty road geometry aero bars and ride like the ITU draft legal Oly guys do. Profile, Vision, Oval, ect, etc all make these bars.
You'll be a little more aero and will have a bit less fatique since your don't use your muscles as much as if riding on the drops.
"OK, I'll admit I screwed up the facts"
MOP_Mike
Aug 22, 08 21:21
Post #7 of 18 (613 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [elpresidente]
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You guys are making some assumptions on incomplete information. $300 bucks is reasonable for a new seat, forward seatpost, and clip-ons + installation.
Yes, just clip-ons are the budget way to go. But, why not give the LBS the benefit of the doubt -- they've actually seen the OP's bike.
Clip-ons = comfort and some aero gain. Not a true "tri position", but maybe all you need.
Clip-ons+forward post+new seat = approximate a tri position on a road bike (which, like IronDad suggested, may be either a good or bad idea depending on the bike and your fit...)
"...if you are pedaling correctly, it doesn't matter what cranks are on your bike." -- Frank Day
(This post was
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by MOP_Mike on Aug 22, 08 21:22)
Muleta4
Aug 23, 08 0:39
Post #8 of 18 (564 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [MOP_Mike]
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Thanks for the replies. For what it's worth, I have a Felt F75. What I think I'll do is just get a set of shorty clip ons for now and maybe try to set my bike up in a tri position over the winter when the season is over. Also, I guess I didn't clarify enough, they were quoting me ~$300 to set me up in a tri position and everything on my bike, not just put on some clip ons.
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Greg
overcome
Aug 23, 08 0:53
Post #9 of 18 (558 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [elpresidente]
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When I went into trisports to look into buying clip-ons the employee that helped me said olympic distance and under you don't need them. Anything longer than that they make a significant enough difference to justify buying them.
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. -- Albert Einstein
perfcctionist
Aug 23, 08 5:16
Post #10 of 18 (491 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [elpresidente]
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for silverman... maybe just consider riding in the best posture you can get on the road bike... there's hills.
You may get a lot more power staying in the best position you can get on the frame / seat post... and be more comfortable.
Consider what a 'quick & dirty' conversion on the road bike frame may do in terms of costing you strength / power for the run...
HH
Aug 23, 08 7:26
Post #11 of 18 (433 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [IronDad]
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To OP, your post was not silly. I was being silly to try to emphasize the point here. Putting the cheapest clips-ons you can find on your road bike is going to be much better than trying to ride 56 miles on the drops>hoods>tops of your drop bars.
IronDad, let's not make it too complicated for the OP, you might convince him to do his half without clip-ons.
Overcome, the store may have given you bad advice. If you race on a road bike, you will be SIGNIFICANTLY (1-2 mph) faster with clip-ons mounted on their road bike, and should use clip-ons in EVERY triathlon, unless:
(a) The race is on an extremely mountainous course (only a few come to mind, Alpe d'Huez tri, Norseman, World's Toughest Half), or
(b) The racer is a novice bike rider and lacks the confidence, skills, and practice needed to be safe and comfortable riding clip-ons.
Is Silverman so mountainous that you don't want clip-ons? I don't think so. I think all but few racers use aerobars (like most races). Silverman may be a course where a road bike with clip-ons works as good as a tri bike for those who can choose between the two.
OP, get some clip ons, shorty is better, some will work for you better than other, but all will work better than none, so don't sweat it too much. But get them soon so you can practice. You have plenty of time to get accustomed to them. I'd be shocked if you decided to take them off and race without them. Instead, you're likely to say, I can't believe I was debating whether to get these.
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Hoegaarden wishes and Super Record dreams, HH
fatbastardtris
Aug 23, 08 7:43
Post #12 of 18 (417 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [elpresidente]
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I just went through this whole thing this week. I bought a set of Profile Design CGT's at All3Sports (one of my LBS's). I didn't have my bike with me and planned to go back there to have them set up but decided to have them installed by my fitter in case I needed any adjustments (I also needed a new cassette and total tune up and this shop is the best around for that stuff so no biggie). I arrived at the fitter with everything set up. When I got on the bike though we realized that the clip on bars weren't really wide enough for me to ride comfortably. I had to get a new handlebar that tapered at a wider point in order to make the setup work. Luckily the owner had a barely used bar he sold me for $50 but that required $80 in labor to switch out everything. I said no biggie if it got me aero. I came back a few hours later for the "fit" but the fitter said that other than the width these particular bars couldn't be moved any further out. He said that he would have recommended a different type of bar that extended further out (thanks for telling me AFTER they were installed). All3Sports won't take a return if it has already been installed so I was kind of stuck with them at tht point. I went for a quick ride and was fine in the aero position and the length of the bars while not ideal was doable. But I felt very closed off at the hip and definitely didn't feel that I was going to generate more power in that position. The fitter said that since I had a road bike there wasn't much I could do since the geometry of my bike (a Scott CR1 Pro) didn't work well for a tri geometry. He complemented me on being in tune with my position enough to even notice that I was feeling more closed off and said that most people just assume the aero position will be better even on a road bike when in fact a lot of times it is not. He said frankly he would not have advised me to get clip ons but since I had already bought them (at another store who knew what I had) and asked them to be installed before I came to him that he thought my mind was already made up. So between the $130 for the clip ons, $50 for the new handlebar, $100 in labor and $16 in new handlebar tape (total of $296 plus tax) I found out that I probably would have been better off just going with my road bike as is. I felt too financially invested at that point to take them off so I'm justifying the purchase by telling myself that it will be good training for learning to ride in the aero position for when I get a tri specific bike next year. Moral of the story... ask more questions and don't assume spending more money will make you or your bike any better.
IronDad
Aug 23, 08 8:48
Post #13 of 18 (389 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [HH]
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He's a big boy... I don't think giving him a few options in shorty bars is going to have him shun them alltogether... as a matter of fact I think the opposite might be true. My experience is that with some people who have never used aerobars before, if they don't like how they feel they won't use them. The Jammer, Mini TT, T2+DL and the XXS all have very different positions and feel, so if he has a shop that stocks them he can try them out and pick which one he likes best... not just the cheapest one ;-)
OP... here's the bars I'm talking about:
Jammer
Vision Mini TT
T2+DL
XXS
One I didn't mention, the Oval Slam Bar:
If they only have one, and you like one thing about it but not another, then you might look at these others to see if they have what you're looking for as far as pads and pad positions, hand position, adjustability, weight, whatever. We actually have all but the Oval in our house and everyone here likes another one for different reasons, LOL!
And I don't think that $300 to convert and set you up is too ridiculously expensive, but going shorty is less expensive with far fewer down sides to it.
Good luck!
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http://irondad06.blogspot.com/
http://irondad.blogspot.com/
HH
Aug 23, 08 19:42
Post #14 of 18 (297 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [IronDad]
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"My experience is that with some people who have never used aerobars before, if they don't like how they feel they won't use them."
I guess I'm getting old. When I started there were only a few available bars. (And no tri bikes that I ever heard of.) Also, everybody that raced in tris would use aerobars because they made you faster. I've tried and used various ones over the years. Still have never found any that were so uncomfortable that i'd take them off and try to ride on the drops instead. I must be out of touch.
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Hoegaarden wishes and Super Record dreams, HH
IronDad
Aug 23, 08 19:51
Post #15 of 18 (288 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [HH]
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In Reply To
"My experience is that with some people who have never used aerobars before, if they don't like how they feel they won't use them."
I guess I'm getting old. When I started there were only a few available bars. (And no tri bikes that I ever heard of.) Also, everybody that raced in tris would use aerobars because they made you faster. I've tried and used various ones over the years. Still have never found any that were so uncomfortable that i'd take them off and try to ride on the drops instead. I must be out of touch.
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By your comments you're old like me and have been doing this for a long time so yeah, you might be out of touch ;-) It also excludes you from the group "who have never used aerobars before".
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http://irondad06.blogspot.com/
http://irondad.blogspot.com/
Smilin' Bob
Aug 23, 08 20:00
Post #16 of 18 (280 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [fatbastardtris]
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This is why eBay is your friend. I had a cervelo tri bike once and I finally figured out I'm not going to ride aero for any length of time; I just find it uncomfortable and was always riding on the base bar.
A waste of a tri bike if you ride that way.
So I sold it, got a light stiff and fast road bike, put the syntace xxs bars on it, and I 'm happy.
Those bars were found cheap on ebay, and I put em on myself.
I am 1-2 mph faster with those bars. And I keep em on for group road rides too.
If I get dropped, I get into the tuck and hammer my way back up to the group.
Nothing wrong with the ITU style setup. A true tri aero setup is better, if you will ride in that position. A lot of older weekend warriors like me just can't or won't deal with that pain.
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"the trouble with normal is - it always gets worse"
- Cockburn
bikinpolitico
Aug 23, 08 20:18
Post #17 of 18 (264 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [fatbastardtris]
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In Reply To
So between the $130 for the clip ons, $50 for the new handlebar, $100 in labor and $16 in new handlebar tape (total of $296 plus tax) I found out that I probably would have been better off just going with my road bike as is.
Lesson to be learned here is to wait on buying stuff until after the fitting session.
But I'm curious, aerobars are probably the easiest thing besides water bottle cages to install on a bike. Why did you pay someone to do that?
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(This post was
edited
by bikinpolitico on Aug 23, 08 20:19)
fatbastardtris
Aug 24, 08 6:55
Post #18 of 18 (201 views)
Re: Clip Ons worth it? [bikinpolitico]
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Yeah they are definitely easy to install. The only reason I had them installed was that my bike was already in being services and my fitter said it would only take him a few minutes to get them on so the labor charge was really low for that. The expense came when he changed my handlebar out.
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