Ride what you're most comfortable with for long stretches. You've got 10 months to become a non-rookie on one, or both, if you want.

Gearing is likely more important than tri vs road in my opinion at LP. Done the race 5 times; 2 on a road bike with aero bars and 3 times on a tri bike.

see you at Mirror Lake race day!

Do you already have both of these bikes or are you looking to go shopping for the tri bike?

Sure there's plenty of climbing, but the Placid course also has a 20 mile section, per loop, which is pretty well flat (miles #15-35) and one should expect to be in aero position as much as possible there. I did it this year on my Venge with aerobars, but I'm a MOP cyclist who didn't want to commit to buying a true TT bicycle.

lets throw some simple math at it. Lets say the breaking point between sitting up and being seated was just 3% grade. With 6900ft elevation, that's still only 44 miles spent climbing. The other 68 miles you'll be giving up at least 1mph not having aerobars.... and the road bike isn't really better for climbing over a tri bike. Both allow you to put out power at or below threshold just as easily.

I see 2 common problems both mentioned above 1) They are not fit properly on their tri bike and cannot spend 5+ hours in the aero position. 2) they don't have low enough gearing. With proper gearing, wind, hills, flats, it doesn't matter, it's all the same. You don;t need to learn to climb, or practice climbing... unless you need practice moving a level or pushing a button.

Don't over think hills. Pick a gear, ride to your target power... then when you get passed realize either 1) faster than you and there no reason to chase them or more frequently 2) you'll catch them on the flats later in the ride or they will be walking on the run.

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com

Depending on your goal, I'd suggest going with comfort; whichever bike that may be for you. I did IMLP on my tri-bike and wouldn't want to use my road bike. Why? Because it can be quite comfortable to be supporting body weight on the aerobars for a long distance like the IM bike (if you get your position correct). Yes, you'll want to get up out of aero sometimes to stretch. So use the bigger hills to do so. The hills on the Lake Placid course aren't crazy either. Many of the hills are fine to ride while still in the aerobars if you pay attention to gearing. I guess I'm trying to say don't chose the road bike because of fear/apprehension of climbing. With 10 months to go you can be more than prepared for the course.

 My road bike does have aero bars and both were fit by a good fitter. Im just looking to see what would give me the best advantage. I want to train on the bike im going to use. I appreciate the advice

Also think about weather conditions and bike handling. It has rained (sometimes downpours) like 7 of the last 8 years, and there is that one long steep downhill stretch in each loop. Whatever bike you pick, make sure you are comfortable riding it in the rain.

Tri bike. I did IMLP this year and have been there to train multiple times. The climbs are long but not super-steep. You will be much happier on the flatter sections with the tri bike. I went with a 12-27 cassette rather than 12-25 just to have one easier gear for the climbs on the second loop.

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Pete Githens
Reading, PA

Making a lot of assumptions - you will always be faster on a tri bike, if that is important to you.

However, as other's have noted, ultimately you need to ride what is most comfortable for you. I made the case a few years ago that some/many, might be "better off", riding a road bike set up as a road bike!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

A road bike cannot be really optimized in an aero position, regardless of the quality of the fit. If you use your road bike, you should ride it set up as a road bike as Fleck suggested. Going half way by added aerobars will likely be very uncomfortable and only slightly more aero than being in the drops, not to mention will likely kill your hip flexors due to the tight hip angle.

Jack

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"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
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My tri bike was in the shop getting the frame warrantied when I did it, so I rode my road bike with my 999's on it and aero helmet. And since I barely had 1,000 miles in my legs for the year to begin with before the race, I was more relaxed and didn't get the urge to push it like I would on my tri bike. Riding my road bike made me stick with my plan for the bike leg and I finished that portion happy and on target.

Of course that year it rained the whole frickin' time, so it was uncomfortable all around no matter what bike you rode!

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Rick, "Retired" hobbyist athlete
Trying to come back slowly from acute A-Fib

If you already have a high quality road bike I don't think it would be worth more of your money to buy a tri bike. If you have a cruddy road bike and looking to spend money then IMLP should be easily enough ridden on a tri bike with a compact or mid-compact crank.

Generally when you hear people say "road bikes are better for climbing" they are talking about the gearing, which on road bikes is generally taller between gears (say 11-32) than TT bikes (11-22 or 11-25) which give you a nice tight spacing - better for flatter roads. You can easily replicate road gearing on a tri bike.

What isn't mentioned very often is that a real climbing position for high grade inclines is generally hands on the hoods of a road bike which in TT terms is on the horns, which isn't the same position at all. You only need to go onto the hoods of a road bike for climbing grades that most public roads in the US don't reach. When I ride in the rocky mountains my cohorts never ride their tri bikes because they wouldn't be in aero long enough to justify it. When we ride in the foothills we are 97% in aero, even when climbing, so out come the TT bikes.

I would say we tend to overestimate the importance of bike technology. I see the same thing in my other passion which is photography. People fall into gear envy, people ask "what is the best camera system" and I say "whichever one is pointed at the thing I want to take a picture of, could be an iPhone". Same thing with bikes, sure, the potential might be better on one than the other but when it comes right down to it the best bike is the one you are riding. 99% of people on the road and on these forums are not using whatever bike they have to the maximum of that bike's technical potential.

Bikes don't climb hills. People do.

A time trial bike is faster on the flats, and you can pedal it uphill just as fast as a bike with standard setup.

Have done it both ways. Tri bike was about 18 minutes faster. It is not a bad climbing course. Nothing will take you out of your saddle. You can probaly stay big ring the whole way unless you are using something like a 55.

Go with the bike that you like the most and the one that you do most of your trainings with... I did LP lot of times and my best one is on a road bike (9h16m51 ... with a Giant TCR and Mavic Ksyrium wheels).

tri bike. hands down. there's a lot of climbing on the front and rear of each loop but you'd want to stay tucked in for the flats and rollers!

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