I can't really speak to many different frames, but I like my Trek Speed Concept a lot more than my old Cervelo P2 for climbs. And if you see yourself riding lots of technical bike courses in your tris, I'd say that Di2 comes in pretty handy with being able to shift from the brakes.

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Raf
http://www.shutuplegs.org

It's not about the bike.

It's not the bike, it's the rider.

I can climb on my P2 and my old S32 as well as I do on my road bikes.

jaretj

This

The answer is the one you put the hard work into

That. You can climb on anything. Unless you are trying to win a pro race frame stiffness won't make much difference. Weight may, but again a couple of lbs this way or that way doesn't matter all that much unless you are at the very pointy end of a race.

First thing that popped into my mind when I saw the title was Di2. Doesn't matter the frame, but being able to shift from the brakes and from the aerobars is probably the biggest advantage you can buy yourself if you are going to be climbing a lot on a tri bike.

S5

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36 kona qualifiers 2006-'23 - 3 Kona Podiums - 4 OA IM AG wins - 5 IM AG wins - 18 70.3 AG wins
I ka nana no a 'ike -- by observing, one learns | Kulia i ka nu'u -- strive for excellence
Garmin Glycogen Use App | Garmin Fat Use App

Yeah, but very few triathlon climbs are steep enough to warrant getting out of the aero position.
And if you are riding on the hoods, you're not likely shifting that often anyway.
Only people who road race in the mountains really need secondary shift positions.
That said, Di2 kicks ass, and more choice is better than less.

I mean.. some tri bikes are 5-8 pounds heavier than a road bike. It surely can't HELP you to have that extra weight. But it shouldn't half your speed or anything...

What a cool thread. Despite what some folks say here, I do think it CAN be about the bike. Right now, I own (and ride!!)

1. Quintana Roo CD 0.1
2. Softride Road Rocket
3. Norco Team Time Trial Bike (converted to road bike)
4. Scott Foil 30 (to replace my stolen Cervelo Soloist)

and based on my current level of fitness, I can pretty confidently say that Scott and the Norco are much better and enjoyable for climbing than the Softride or QR, and not just because of the aero bar end shifters on the tri bikes.


as far as being in the aero-position on climbs, I don't really see a benefit to doing that unless you are going above a certain speed, mind you, I am a person who likes to go from the aero bars, to the hoods, to the drops, while climbing.


getting back to the original question, is there a superior tri-bike for climbing? I'd say the QR ain't it.

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

Concerns about the CD.01 is what got me started on such thoughts. And regarding the types of hills I'm talking about: Savage Man Half

have base bars that drop lower on any bike. ALso having shifters on the base bar is nice. At roth I saw the canyon cycling top end bike with electronic shifters on the arero bars and base bar!

Sure they could be heavier but:

2009 P2 TT race set up is 19 lbs
2012 F5 road set up is 18 lbs

Both mid range bikes at nearly the same weight

I completely agree that it's the rider and not the bike, but would this race be better suited for a road bike? I'm thinking of competing in 2015 and currently ride a 2014 Argon E-118, which I'm thinking of offing to get a less expensive TRI bike and picking up a road bike as well. The most climbing I've ever done was Muskoka which is about half the elevation gain thats in Savage.

Any thoughts?

They all handle it the same, other than the lighter ones will go a few seconds faster uphill.

Even on a course like Savageman though you will usually be faster overall with the more aero frame than the lighter one.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Savageman could be faster on a road bike if certain conditions are met. Like if your road bike is light and aero and your TT bike is really really heavy and you lose a bit of power on your TT bike, and you can't descend well on your TT bike.

The descending at savageman isn't super super technical, you aren't carving tons of switchbacks, if you are practiced on your TT bike and have decent brakes and good bartape you should be able to descend as fast as a road bike.

The time trial position is an amazing thing and will more than make up for the time lost on hills from extra weight.

Some people chose to go hybrid, like using a semi aero, super light, Rca with clip on TT bars. That isn't a totally crazy idea but I think an S5 with TT cockpit might be faster (splitting hairs though)


It doesn't make a TON of difference either way on that course though.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter