For most rides I ride the bike I feel like riding. Sure, I love my Rocket TT, but sometimes I just want to ride one of the Litespeeds. More often than not it is because the only shorts that I have that are clean will have Litespeed logos on them and I dont want to ride the Softride with Litespeed shorts. Other times I know that there will be allot of people riding and I want to be the cool guy on the Softride with the Zipp 909's and Carbon X bars...(I know I am SUCH a fashon snob).

I know that some people are all Nazi like about "Ride what you race". I train by time and heart rate. I am certain that my cardiovascular system has no idea if I am on my tri bikes or on my road bikes. As long as you are comfortable going bike to bike I dont think that it even matters a bit. I do however know some people who are not all that comfortable in the aero position for a long time and should probably spend more time in it and thus should train more on the Tri bike.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

If you've really got a tri-bike setup, it shouldn't be hard to transition at all, because you are just rotating your position around your bottom bracket, i.e., your hip to torso angles should be very similar. Your arm support tends to be more skeletal than muscular, but, I guess some people's shoulders need some adaptation. My biggest adaptation has to do with my neck getting sore on the tri-bike if I'm riding on the open road, watching for traffic, etc. Then again, during a race, I just don't look up the road as often...perhaps not good advice, but, I take the chance in the name of aerodynamics and speed. Anyway, I don't ride my tri-bike setup that often in order to have an easier time watching the road. If you're on a trainer this time of year, though...why not ride the tri-bike setup every week?

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

My take is that the best training possible for any triathlete is riding regularly with a good roadie group. They will push you and your cycling skills will also become much better than if only train by yourself. Typically I go on roadie group rides three times weekly on Tuesday/Thursday night as well as a weekend long ride and then ride the tri bike a couple of times a week on either Mon, Wed or Friday.

I agree 100% with cerveloguy, find a group of roadies that hopefully have a few strong guys. This will take care of your problem of which bike to ride as you dare not show up for a group ride with a TT bike that has aero bars, plus it will help you in the ways pointed out above. Ride your TT bike enough to get comfortable and confident as least . . .

Last year I rode somewhere in between 18,200 and 20,800 miles, and less than 10% of that was on my tri bike. This included the buildup for IM Wisconsin, as well as two half IM's and all of my race milage. Once you are properly set up on the tri bike, you really don't need to adapt to the position, because as others have said, it is reproducing the position on your rode bike, just rotated about the bottom bracket. Save the race bike for that, racing. Maybe a few key workout as well as pre race spins also, but other than that, just racing on the race bike.

tommy

I hardly ever ride my TT bike. It stays on the computrainer and gets to go out for races. I log all my miles on the road bike and don't have trouble switching back and forth even if I haven't ridden the crotch rocket (TT bike) in several months. In the winter I do actually ride the TT bike for 2-3 times/week until about march then it's all outdoor riding and only on the road bike. You should be fine if the TT bike is set up well and if concerned do a ride or two on it per week

For those of you that like me own ONE bike, have a family, a mortgage and two car payments or maybe just own ONE bike; RIDE YOUR BIKE. That is the bottom line.
SHOW UP for any and all rides that you can make!!!!! It doesn't matter who is there , as long as some of those rides have people that will push you to the next level. I would ride my TRI bike with US Poastal. Why ? Because I have enough self esteem to show up and work at improving my skills and so should you. At the end of the day when all is said and done, you have only you to answer to.
"Polls" have been the latest thing here, so here is a new one.
How many caoches wouldn't take a client because they didn't own two bikes?
Speaking of coaches, you really want to improve? Invest your money there.

Brian

PS. the "poastal" thing, I didn't say how long I would actually have them in sight. But bet your ass I would show!!

When you start riding with CAT I/II guys, in my experience you simply don't ride with aerobars. Period. If you have bar end shifters this obviously presents a problem. But I agree that if you have only one bike then ride it whenever possible.

Maybe the faster roadies are more accepting in other areas than I have lived, but I know I don't want to be pace-lining at 30mph with someone on bars in front of me either.

"Maybe the faster roadies are more accepting in other areas than I have lived, but I know I don't want to be pace-lining at 30mph with someone on bars in front of me either.'

Darn right about that. A tri-geek on aero bars riding in the middle of the pack of a group of roadies is an accident waiting to happen. Our roadie group comprises a number of tri-geeks mixed in among the roadies. Although a number of us also have tri bikes these are left at home during group rides in favor of the road bikes. Some of us have areo bars on our road bikes but we have a rule that nobody may ride on aero bars unless (1) they are at the very front of the pace line or (2) they have been dropped from the main group and are trying to catch up.

I agree. Ride whatever bike you have and that you're comfortable with. Most people that I know don't have multiple bikes to train on. I have an old bike (also set up with tri-bars) that I use on my trainer (It has a nice rusty toptube now but I don't care much since it is very old) and my training/racing bike that I do every outdoor ride on. If I ride with a group in a pack I don't use the aerobars. If there are roadies who refuse to ride with me because of my handlebar setup then I won't ride with them. Most of my rides are with the triathlon crowd anyway and I find that this group can make me ride hard enough that I don't have to worry about finding dedicated road cyclists to train with.

its not so much as minding the aerobars in front of you, its the pair right behind you in case of a pileup. OUCH, that could be painful. We also have some aerobar riders in our group and they only use them when pulling or catching up as well. Kind of an unspoken law

There's nothing wrong with aerobars. There's nothing wrong with bringing your tri-bike on a group ride. The problem is when some goon brings his tri-bike out to the ride and decides he's gonna hammer everyone in his aerobars. If you bring your tri bike to the group ride, follow the roadie rules and keep you ahnds on the bullhorns or brake hoods. Riding in the aerobars is not only not safe, it screams cat7.

tommy

"There's nothing wrong with bringing your tri-bike on a group ride."

Well.. the steeper angle bikes do have less forgiving handling characteristics and the shifting on the aerobars isn't as convenient as STI if you're staying off the aero bars. This would be noticeable because we live in a hilly area. Suppose it could be done with a skillful rider, but I'll still leave the tri bike at home when group riding.

Even though I am a Tri Geek - I was a Cat I - to this day I cant stand ANY tri gear, aerobars, disk wheels or any upright angles in a pack - ESPECIALLY a pace line. It just is not safe.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

 The point I am trying to make is:

Most people in this sport and reading this board are not and probably will never be a cat I/II rider. Kudos if you are, but don't be so arrogant to say " don't show up at a club ride without a road bike". The people actually running clubs, building bikes and promoting our sport are trying to ENCOURAGE participation.

As for riding aero in a paceline, even if you wanted to, once you got down there I think common sense for your own safety would kick in. Having a very strong rider in a tri set up will put that much more pressure on the front during pulls, not unlike throwing the tandem out there to rev things up.

I think group rides are very much like surfing crowded surf breaks. SHOW UP, be respectful and be smart. Your turn will come, use it wisely and you will get acceptance. It may only be from a few, but that acceptance will grow over time.

The best stories are about the person that acheives the most with the least or the severest disadvantage. What makes them great is their will to SHOW UP and persist.

Brian



ps SHOW UP, RIDE YOUR BIKE