I thought the way this usually worked is that you just say the road bike gives you a headache.

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

Which is it?

trav

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"As for "xxxxxx"...what can I say? You sound like a dick. If you don't want to answer the question, just shut up." AllezPappa

she WANTS a tri bike, but in order to actually get it, she has to convince her husband that she NEEDS it.

I thought women had all the convincing power in a relationship?

Yes, it is a want not a need. I just need some valid points from you wise people as to convince my husband that it is a need.

I think the best reason is hip angle will help you run. That is bike geometry based and you can't make a road bike do it.

Now keep in mind that if you are going to be doing shorter distances you will likely see more draft legal racing which will require your road bike no aero bars.

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Member of FishTwitch - Arriving to T1 alone and watching you go by on the run.
My Blog: http://poseidom.wordpress.com

If there is financial trust between each other, you shouldn't have to 'ask' at all. I bought a new bike a couple months ago and my wife found out about it because of the big box by the trash can. It's my hobby. She doesn't understand bikes. However, she does understand I am financially responsible. I treat her the same. She likes these shoes with the red soles. She has tons of them. I think it's the only shoe she wears. I know they are expensive, but I trust her to spend wisely.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

This is the strategy I used to convince my Director of Finance (aka wife) on my last 4 bike purchases: whine, beg, plead, throw a hissy fit, "but all my friends have one". I have also knowingly misrepresented a previous bike's ability to fit me properly and be suitable to my biking style.

Good luck. From experience, they eventually wear down. It has taken me about 12 years to master this art.

Edit to add: I've also (allegedly) said, "I swear, this is the last bike I will ever need".

I was close to your situation when I told the wife I wanted another bike (to build a nicer one myself). Still working on buying it though but I've told her that most of the money (at least the components) will come from reward credit cards (I have a couple that have decent cash back). Also, I am being put on mandatory OT for a few weeks starting soon and will be using some of the extra money to help get me closer to that next bike. Kind of sucks being asked to work OT but I am at the office more than 40 hours anyways so might as well take advantage of the opportunity to get paid for it. No time and a half though since I am salaried to begin with but better than nothing.

As long as I'm being financially responsible she is cool with and recognizes that I should get the opportunity to spoil myself as I see fit.

You have a vagina. What else do you need to convince your husband to buy you what you want (I've been married for 33 years by the way)?

With that said, triathlon is like any other sport from an equipment aspect. You can do just fine using "pickup game" equipment, but if you are going to get serious you are going to spend a lot of time with the equipment, and if you don't like it, or it is substandard in your eyes, you will not do as well.

There is a reason the triathlon bike was created. It is faster and more comfortable than a road bike. It allows you to do that by changing your position. To get anywhere close on a road bike would require the recruitment of muscles that will have a negative impact on your run.

When my wife changed from a road bike to a tri bike she could not believe the difference it made in speed and effort. We train where it is very windy and suddenly she was not shifting to the 34 to keep her cadence up going into the wind. She also went from 1000 bike miles a year to just under 3000 a year, simply because she loves her purple slice and the matching wheels. Her CAAD Synapse is probably feeling very neglected.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

To be your best, you have to have a tri bike.
Your improve position and the aero of the bike WILL make you 1-3 mph faster.
Your position on the bike is also more comfortable/less taxing for the same effort, which WILL make you run faster too.
Also better equipment makes you want to train more and better - this means better health, which in the end is the primary way I justify purchases in my head. My health is worth it.

I agree with some other posts here - if my wife said "i really want this super whiz bang thing" and we could afford it, she would have a super whiz bang thing.

I second this argument. No set of wheels will change the muscle recruitment difference.

The difference in speed between your road bike / aero bars and a full on Tri / TT bike will not be large. Assuming you can get much lower or more aero on the TT bike I'd think 1 mph. If you are already very low on the road bike probably 1/2 mph.

As stated above there are other reasons. You can ride with a more open hip angle on a TT bike. That can help your run.

If you want to compete it's absolutely ridiculous to try to do so on a road bike. Even with aero bars. If that's important to you your husband should see that. If you are MOP and don't care about placing I don't see the need to have a TT bike.

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex