Depends on the bike and which position you want. My understanding

Positions:

Road (72-74 degrees)

Multisport (75-76 degrees)

Tri (in Europe "american position) (77-81 degrees)

Bikes:

Roadbike, Multisportbike, Tribike



On a Roadbike you can get a roadposition (with shorty clip ons like the profile jammer) or a multisport position (eg. with the small syntace c2 and a flipped seatpost). I would prefer regular road bars and sti shifting.

On a multisportbike you can get all positions, though the road position doesnt make a lot of sense. Dedicated tribars as well as roadbars could make sense. I dont like multisport bikes.

On tribikes you can ride within a mulstisportposition or in the american position, tri bars make sense here.

I personally think, that everybody should own a roadbike, if only one bike you can do tris on them, get sti and road bars. The second bike should then be a tri bike with tri bars. I don't think Multisport bikes make sense, better have a roadbike thats adapted for tri racing. Nothing against taking a slightly steeper road bike (eg. Trek 1500 with 74-75 degrees) though, than a completely flat model.

I'm not sure the previous post answered your question. I have a new P3 on order and I will be choosing between one of two "dedicated" aerobars. Either the Hed aerobar or the new Easton Attack bar. Now this bike is tri only. No leisurely group rides. Buy a cheap road bike for that stuff.

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Doug in Michigan

It all depends on what your end stem stack height is. If you are going with a bike that needs a stack of spacers for your height (or preferably a flipped stem), then an all-in-one is NOT what you need. Only one exception applies here: something like an ITM Dual or other bar that has a higher armrest height will work. The Hed arm rests are pretty flush with the bar, but could possibly be modified (I have not tried it-anyone who has done this?).

What kind of bike are you going to ride? I know that the was covered in another post in this thread, but I am going to hammer this point home once again: shorties for a road, traditional aerobars for tri. A "multisport" bike is a mixed bag, and who knows what will work until you get with a fitter.

I never knew how much the fit of my bike depended on my aerobars. I had measured my position (which I continually refine) from the last bike (from which my ITMS were on) when considering the purchase of my Fox. When I destroyed my ITMs in a crash, I had to scramble to find something. I rather than taking my Profile UPS off of the extension that was on my ITM, I had figured out that my 3TTT mini sub 8 bar brackets were a perfect fit for my ITM extensions. But I had to put 20mm of spacers on my steerer to make it work, as the armrests ended up about 20mm lower from the armrests being flsh with the base bar. My Syntace probably would have worked better, but I was lazy and needed by bike put back together in a hurry.

I have even repaired my ITMs and heavily modified them in order to make them safe to use on my Fox. I am going to try to get the pics of my new Dual F1 bars up somewhere for everyone to see.

Thanks for the input..

Right now I am looking at a Cervelo P2K or whatever Kestrel offers in a similiar price range.. Ironman Wisconsin is my 'big race' next year, but I don't think IM is going to be a yearly deal (never say never).. Otherwise most of riding/training is geared around Olympic & 1/2's.. I'll also probably do triplebypass ride as an annual event. However I don't see myself getting in bike races.. (it's mainly a culture thing, roadies vs. trigeeks..)

I have been told by some that I might want to consider no going with the dedicated tri bars for IMOO because the course has alot of rolling hills..

Do you tend to hold onto the flat part of the base bar when going downhill? Then an all-in-one is definitely NOT for you.

A P2K could end up making many of the one-piece bars and flush-mount arm rest bars too low for you. I would suggest going with a good default- like the old, trusty Syntace C2.

I will repeat what is always said: make sure you buy basd on fit dimensions, not what you think looks cool. It seems like you're well on your way.

That makes sense.. I agree with you on fit.. I don't suscribe to 'gear envy'.. I've been riding my trusty Trek 320 for the last four years.. cro-moly frame & fork, Shimano RSX components.. I did 2 1/2's last year.. I swear I had the cheapest bike @ Wildflower by far !! It felt really good when I passed all those nice setups on the hills !! - Rock on..

Thanks.. I'll make my decisions based on the feel of the fit..