It would not be the only road bike there, but it is not necessary. None of the hills at LP are very long or steep. There are just a lot of them near the end. of each lap. If you are well trained & pace it well, you can stay aero for nearly all of the ride without compromising anything.

I would recomend using your road bike at IMLP ONLY if you are planning on dropping out of the race after the bike portion. Your running legs will thank you for using a tri-set up!

Did you guys brick those hill repeats?

why on earth were you doing monster hill repeats, in february, on only the second rideable weekend day (albeit a bit windy) of 2004 in new york? and assuming you were in new york metro area, where exactly were these hills of which you speak?

Disclaimer/Disclosure: I have never done Ironman Lake Placid.

Having said that I have over 25 customers who have and we have gathered significant intelligence from them on the course.

Our findings are that a low, narrow aerodynamic position is unsuitable at Lake Placid (duy...).

We also propose that a road bike may be suitable for the course provided you don;t have to run afterwards. Trouble is, you do have to run afterwards. So......

A bike that is 2-3 degrees shallower than your normal, optimal "tri" position for a flat race. If you normally sit at 79 degrees (pretty common) dial that back to 76. Be sure your reach measurement DOES NOT GET LONGER. If you screw up and it does you will die a thousand deaths on the run. If your reach was 47.5 cm. before your saddle fore/aft adjustment it needs to be exactly 47.5 after the adjustment. That is cast in stone.

Your aerobars and base bars may need to be just slightly higher than your standard aero position.

Be sure your pedal cleats are new and correctly adjusted.

That's not the whole picture, but it is food for thought. Also, loose the handlebar mounted aero water bottle and the behind the saddle bottle carrier. Carry your bottle low on the bike for best handling and lowest center of gravity. The lighter you and your bike is, the more important that is.

Buy some tubular Zipp 303s and then you'll rule.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Hey Bryan:
Yeah I know. We were doing the repeats on the boat basin hill just off 9W by the GWB, in that low road park. We didn't follow up with a brick but we did continue on for another 50 miles up and around Nyack and Piermont etc. We've been getting some fairly good rides in the last three weekends. I did a recovery 50 today in P Park, which ended up being more of a stand still wind ride, but I'm just so happy to be on my bike with no ice on the road, you know?

Are you doing the NYTC March madness Duathlon? March 28th?

Thanks everyone for clearing my head about this road bike issue.

:/

Thanks Tom. That's some really good advice. I was hoping you'd chime in and you did, in a big way. BTW: I'll be using my trusty old 404's.

i figured as much. you are a bad man. i did my first 50 in central this weekend. i'm afraid to stray too far from the nest in case things get ugly weather wise. too many bad memories of last year where it started to rain/hail every time i crossed the bridge. just curious, are you taking the subway from brooklyn to the gw? if so which stop are you getting off at. i'm through riding from lower manhatty to the gwb. any help would be appreciated.

ixnay on the mm du. i'm skiing in jackson that weekend. eagleman/timberman/some other race to be determined later. cutting out the garbage races so i can pay for my new elite.

The 404s will rule too. That's what I'm using at New Zealand next week.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

now adam tell tom that they are clinchers. go on, you can do it. don't be shy.

My friend has a car with a roof rack, so we did it that way. Sometime I'll have to ride all the way up and over with you (weren't we talking about that last year?). The A train stop is 150 something, I believe. My friend says says the A is a really easy way up there.

I'm in the process of determining which new tri bike I should get. (I just sold my S32 this weekend, I felt like I was saying goodbye to an old friend). The last month I've gone from seriously considering a B2 (nixed), A Felt DA (pure fantasy) to a Guru Trilite (maybe, still) to a '03 Cervelo P3 (pretty sure). All of which R and A carries and all of which meet my geometrical needs.

I've had to cut a few races out myself this year in order to focus on Lake Placid. But man, those duathlons in Central Park are pure cheap (40 bucks!) fun. NYTC.ORG.

yeah a nyack goes like this -- 45 min to the bridge, 10 minutes over the bridge, nyack iand back in 2:30 - 3:00 ish, 10 minutes over the bridge, 45 mintues home. well let's see you just rode 60 miles in about 4.5 - 5.0 hours. lo's of wasted energy. i heard the a train was the way to go too. you should come do the long road some time. it's very urban.

bike shopping is fun. good luck. you have more vig at r&a so it should work out. i went with an elite because i just liked their approach and i can't get anyone at r&a to give me the time of day. you can't go wrong with any of your selections assuming the fit works for you.

It's not the bike. Don't buy the myth. You simply have a better power/weight ratio than your friend.

Bikes don't climb hills, people do.

Bike position in hill climbing has actually been extensively studied in physio labs. Position makes no difference, as long as the cyclist is riding the way they have been training.

FWIW -- all of my PRs on hill climbs around where I live are on my tri bike. Why? Because I do my hard hill training on my tri bike, so it's what I climb best on (forward position). The tri bike doesn't "climb better" than the road bike; I simply do more hill training on it.

Somebody should have told that to all of the mens and womens overall and AG winners! Who all rode tri bikes. Along with 90%+ of the other strong bikers there. That dummy Steve Larsen -- riding a tri bike to a 4:34 split.

Are you kidding me? That ride has plenty of time spent at speed. I can't imagine going from Keene to Jay or out of town and down to Keene hunched down over some drop bars. Or worse -- getting off the bike to run after climbing back to town sitting way back in the saddle and grinding along on a road bike.

I could see running a road bike at Wisconsin -- but only because of the STI shifters with all the rollers.

I'm setting my tri bike for World's Toughest as two bikes in one: Uphill time trial machine and downhill freerider. Saddle as forward as it will go, bars lower than I normally ride. I will be able to climb in a nice upright, open position (ie, spin and breathe) holding the cowhorns, and get as low as Joe Bonness on the descents. That's a good setup for Lake Placid, too.

I did LP in '00 and used a road bike with a slightly shifted forward seat. I am racing again there this year and I'm pretty sure I'm going to use my Tri bike (78 Degree). Part of that decision is that I think I am "dialed in" a little better now on the Tri position and plan to spin the course and not load up the anaerobic system too much. If all goes well I will probably feel a little better on the run. This same issue comes up with Canada as well which I've only ever done on a road position (once with a PR once with a disappointing effort, so go figuire). At Lake Placid the climbs are not real steep and most except for the baby , mama and papa bear climb back to town are not real long. The trick is to train on hills with the Tri bike and get used to spinning in the aero position even on those climbs. In time, I think you will find you adapt and get stronger.

You didn't say what your bikes are but I don't think the road bike idea is out of the question, especially if you could make it mimmic your tri position. A better idea is Tom's, make your tri bike a little less radical. I do a lot of riding in the mountains around Woodstock and Hunter NY and on the hilly North Shore of Long Island. I set my tri bike up in a road-like position; seat 4 cm behind the BB and elbow pads 9cm below the seat. Set up like this it climbs seated like a mountain goat and descends with gusto! In LP you'll descend as fast as you are willing to go no matter what you ride and you'll do it twice. Your problem will be gettng back to Lake Placid, you'll have to do that twice also. As for running of the bike, you can't buy a magic bicycle that will make you run better. Running well off the bike, comes form hard training and experience. Good Luck in Lake Placid

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

I will not defend Tom's position, only to say that bike positioning as it relates to performace in triathlon is VERY individual. What works for one, will be a complete non-starter for another.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Sorry, I don't understand something. Why would I want to take my bike to 76 rather than 79? For climbing or descending?

As an aside, the first American finisher last year was riding at 73 degrees, but he always rides at 73 degrees.

I road LP with a bike split under 6 hrs using a road bike and have used a road bike there many times... http://www.angelfire.com/.../355_rider/page1.htm

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I was, now I will tri again!
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Any time is a good time.
God Bless you my friend.

In other words, Chris Lieto rode his tri bike. As have all the top finishers in that race, including the age groupers.

In my experience, I've heard two forms of argument from people saying they'll ride a road bike at LP:

- They had a bad ride and blame it on the tri bike, or

- They always want to ride a road bike on courses with climbs.

Yes, you are right, but I think you misunderstood my post.

I'm not saying "steep is better" or anything silly like that. I'm just saying that there is zero reason to go to Lake Placid and race a bike that is different from what you've done all your other triathlons on (other than a bigger cassette or smaller rings). I think this is true for FOP to BOP athletes.

Stick with your tri bike -- whether it's set up steep or shallow.

Agree absolutly. I guess I thought that was implied.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

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Our findings are that a low, narrow aerodynamic position is unsuitable at Lake Placid (duy...).

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You can't get much lower nor aerodynamic than Joe Bonness. He has 4 (out of 4) age group wins at Lake Placid, 40+ Masters record, a fastest amateur bike split and a 12th overall at a IMUSA. Maybe it's not so unsuitable.



Support Crew

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Support Crew
This information contained herein has been assembled for your assistance and convenience. It is believed to be reliable, however, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. All opinions shown are subject to change without notice.

I didn't think the guy that asked the question about riding a road bike at LP was planning on winning the event or his division. But if he is by all means get aero. If he's just wanting to finish or get a "good time" for that matter a road bike would be fine. Heck I achieved a bike split in the top 25% of my AG in the configuration shown here, didn't even need aerobars!....

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**********************
I was, now I will tri again!
...
Any time is a good time.
God Bless you my friend.

"Should I use my Road Bike at Lake Placid? "

Yes the tricycle would be redicules.

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