....if I were going to do an Ironman I'd do it on my road bike with a pair of clip-on aerobars so I could change positions over the distance....that's what I do when on long training rides as the discomfort starts to come in......I'd go part of the way on the aero bars, part on the hoods, part on the drops....thats what I reaslistically think would be best for ME.

So it does not surprise me so many people use road bikes....actually Ironman Lanzarote was all raod bikes as far as I saw from TV coverage.....but that has real climbs eh?!

So, if there's any sort of hills on the course a road bike is best anyway cos you can change gears easier and the bike weighs less....I can go uphill better on my 7kg road bike than my 9kg TT bike....no question.....

I think TT geometry bikes should be used for TT's (up to 60km or whatever it is) and not for triathlon....just move the saddle forward if you are obsessed with seat angles and how it affects running legs..

So to answer the question, in my view, a road bike could actually be faster for most people cos you will have done most of your training on the road bike and you will thus be more in tune with it and more comfortable on it and thus you will perform better = faster

---

Stephen Perera
Gibraltar, Europe
graphics@gibraltar.gi