Quick question. My tri bikes have always felt twitchy (and a little scary, at times.) I’m looking at possibly getting a new, higher-end tri bike and am wondering if there is one or more that are known for being better handling and less twitchy. I realize first and foremost I need a bike that fits me. I also understand that the geometry of tri bikes makes them more twitchy than road bikes. I’m just speaking generally here. Thanks.
what size stem are you running?
I’ve only ridden one “tri” bike, a cervelo dual. To me it feels quite stable. I often ride short distances with just one arm in the aero bars without a problem. It doesn’t feel the same as my road bike because of the aero bars and the saddle being pushed forward but it is not twitchy.
I ride with the seatpost turned to the back and the saddle pushed almost all the way forward. I also use the stock 90mm stem that came on my 51cm frame.
NO ! ABSOLUTELY NOT ! There is no reason that a tribike properly designed and set up within its parameters is twitch. I ride have ridden a P3SL, Guru Trilite and a Cervelo Soloist this year all configured up at 79 degrees. Clearly, the Soloist, being ridden at the upper end of its envelope (it is mainly designed as a roadbike), was the twitchiest, as one might expect. The P3Sl and the trilite were rock solid on descents, turns, swtichbacks and in tight quarters on group rides going wheel to wheel and shoulder to shoulder. I am sure that the Soloist at <76 would be the same.
If you have a quality tribike with the right frame size and it is twitchy, it is either you or your setup, but not the bike. Get it properly fitted.
TRIBIKES ARE NOT TWITCHY
Relatively, yes. If the front end is the same on a tri bike and a road bike, the tri bike will be less stable.
Ultimately, no. By lengthening the tri bike’s front end it can be made stable. It also becomes a question of how much stability one needs. On a tri bike exact handling is not usually as highly saught after as it is on a roadie.
It’s the tri POSITION that’s twitchy, because you put more weight over the front wheel. Look for a bike with a long “front-center” spec to minimize this problem. A shallow head tube angle helps; this is not the same as front-center length but is related.
Nope, my custom Elite Razor is rock solid. This past weekend at Timberman, I passed 45mph on a decent and felt like I could have ridden no-handed it felt so stable. This bike seems to find the lines for me, truly awesome.
My Cannondale, on the other hand, was twitchy as hell when I had clip-ons and the seat post flipped. It got scary above 35mph.
My C’Dale IM 6000 is rock solid
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Proper fit is key dude!
Call Ves Mandaric at Yaqui cycles and have him build one custom for you. You will never have a better fitting bike.
No, mine is solid as a rock.
NO They are not all twitchy;
just the ones that do not fit well, if you have 4cm spacers,17 degree stem and riser blocks on your aero bars to get it to fit then it is the wrong bike a most likely handles poorly.
Get a fitting on a size cycle or equivalent and then make your bike choice based on the geometries found during your fitting.
Or you can buy a p3 and make it work with the above mentioned setup.
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I wouldn’t call my P2K twitchy but relative to my road bike (set up as a road bike and not a tri bike) it does not handle as well. However if I tried to set up my road bike as a tri bike with a forward seat post, etc, it would feel far more twitchy than my P2K. It’s the rider position with more weight over the front that makes a bike feel twitchier. Some of the better designed tri bikes have minimized this.
Mine isn’t. I rode it just yesterday. I will ride it again tomorrow and let you know just to be sure. 
I’m not sure what your version of “twitchy” is, but when I bought my first tri bike back in '98 - Fuji Aloha - it was, shall we say, very responsive… It had 650 wheels and steered with the slightest movement. I would not ride it unless one hand was on the bars at all times - so if that’s what you mean by twitchy - yes, some of them can be. On the opposite end of the spectrum, my new Litespeed Blade is not twitchy at all. It has 700c wheels - maybe the 650’s are more squirlly than the 700’s - just a thought - I don’t have enough experience with different bikes to know.
My 2002 C’Dale MS2000 was very twitchy, but my 2003 QR Kilo is not.
I hit 51.2.
I almost crapped my pants though!!
Nah, they aren’t all twitchy. Road bikes turned into tri bikes usually are though (in my experience). I ride a BP Stealth BP-2 and it’s rock stable at 50-55mph, actually a bit “overstable” and not easy to get it to turn sharp corners. This is fine with me…if I have a mental fart in the middle of a race I don’t want to fly off the road, nor do I want to spend half my time concentrating on keeping a line like on my brother’s soloist.
Until this year I had a Kestrel KM40 that seemed quite twitchy to me–this year it’s a Guru AeroTi and it just goes where you point it, like a nice road bike. Very different and much faster because it feels so much safer. Fit was by the same guy so that’s not it…
" I wouldn’t call my P2K twitchy but relative to my road bike (set up as a road bike and not a tri bike) it does not handle as well. However if I tried to set up my road bike as a tri bike with a forward seat post, etc, it would feel far more twitchy than my P2K. It’s the rider position with more weight over the front that makes a bike feel twitchier. Some of the better designed tri bikes have minimized this. "
I agree wholeheartedly. It seems some people are quick to get on the defensive- No! Never! If your tri bike is twitchy it’s fitted incorrectly! You’re on the wrong bike!
A tri bike will not handle like a road bike. We all have our own definitions of “stable”, “twitchy”, and “handles well”. In group rides, I find my road bike (Trek Madone) to be more enjoyable and easier to ride than my tri bike (P3). I think the P3 handles well, given its job, but a ‘road geometry’ bike is more comfortable on the whole.
Like many of you, I have read Mr. Empfield’s articles, as well as other online literature regarding tri bike geometry. I understand and agree with a lot of the things he writes. I am currently making the switch from my P3 to a custom ti bike. Compared to the P3, I went with a slacker head tube angle, more fork rake, a slightly lower bottom bracket, and slightly longer chainstays. The goal was to have a stable, but not “slow” front end, and confidence in the corners. I lengthened the chainstays with the intention of improving shifting and reducing chain noise. Despite the changes made from the P3 to the new frame, I still don’t expect it to behave as a road bike would. I do, however, expect it to perform well in it’s given duties as a tri/TT bike.