I only lurk there once in awhile but today I noticed a number of posts from newbie triathletes who have just bought their first bikes, all tri bikes and not road bikes and are making comments about being afraid to ride them. There's comments about being afraid to steer with aero bars, winds blowing them around too much on aero bars, and one person even bought a P2K and had "her coach" take the aero bars off the bike so she would just ride on bullhorns with STI installed.
This is one of the problems with triathlon and why tri-geeks are regarded by roadies as bozos on bikes, and just a potential accident waiting to happen.
These people, with little cycling experience shouldn't be purchasing tri bikes as first bikes. They should be buying road bikes first and then developing basic cycling skills preferably by learning how to ride with a roadie group. They can race their early triathlons on a road bike with clip-ons and after they get some cycling skills, then move to a tri bike.
I'm seeing more of this since I run mostly sprint tris. Newbies are showing up on tri bikes and causing crashes. Saw three of them in one sprint tri last year. Almost was involved in an accident twice in another race because of very poor bike handling skills of other competitors. I slowed down in the transition area at a corner with pylons and some dope didn't and wiped out taking the pylon with him and almost me as well. On the other occassion I was coming up fast behind some guy to pass him just as he reached behind for a water bottle. As he did this he swerved across the road in front of me. No excuse for this. Any half decent cyclist should be able to keep his bike in a strait line while reaching for the water bottle.
I also blame bike shops. They're acting irresponsibly by being all too willing to sell someone with no cycling experience a tri bike rather than first at least attempting to discuss the merits of a road vs tri bike for the beginner. You can argue the customer is always right, but who is convincing these newbies that they absolutely should have a tri bike first.
Triathletes are not regarded as skilled cyclists (unless they actually came in from a cycling background) and that's a reputation they've earned. I can ride wheel to wheel in close pack formation with roadies and not be concerned in the least. But in a sprint tri these days it's scarey.
That's my rant for the day.
This is one of the problems with triathlon and why tri-geeks are regarded by roadies as bozos on bikes, and just a potential accident waiting to happen.
These people, with little cycling experience shouldn't be purchasing tri bikes as first bikes. They should be buying road bikes first and then developing basic cycling skills preferably by learning how to ride with a roadie group. They can race their early triathlons on a road bike with clip-ons and after they get some cycling skills, then move to a tri bike.
I'm seeing more of this since I run mostly sprint tris. Newbies are showing up on tri bikes and causing crashes. Saw three of them in one sprint tri last year. Almost was involved in an accident twice in another race because of very poor bike handling skills of other competitors. I slowed down in the transition area at a corner with pylons and some dope didn't and wiped out taking the pylon with him and almost me as well. On the other occassion I was coming up fast behind some guy to pass him just as he reached behind for a water bottle. As he did this he swerved across the road in front of me. No excuse for this. Any half decent cyclist should be able to keep his bike in a strait line while reaching for the water bottle.
I also blame bike shops. They're acting irresponsibly by being all too willing to sell someone with no cycling experience a tri bike rather than first at least attempting to discuss the merits of a road vs tri bike for the beginner. You can argue the customer is always right, but who is convincing these newbies that they absolutely should have a tri bike first.
Triathletes are not regarded as skilled cyclists (unless they actually came in from a cycling background) and that's a reputation they've earned. I can ride wheel to wheel in close pack formation with roadies and not be concerned in the least. But in a sprint tri these days it's scarey.
That's my rant for the day.