I’m just debating between spending on some aero wheels for a non aero road frame or going out and getting a triathlon frame with regular spokes wheels. Would like to hear from you money trashers.
I would go with the wheelset first then off season find a nice frame to put the new wheel set. Anyway the training wheels are always uneven on my 3 year olds bike and they do not make ceramic bearings for them. A little awkward. Though I thiink the bike will stand up alone with out a kickstand.
Hey I’ll bite. I’m a tri coach from Nashville with about 50 athletes…
The bike dilemma is based on getting your body as aero as possible…while preserving the most possible comfort/power. It may be possible to achieve this on a road bike with clip on aero bars. This is most likely to be the case on a road/clip situation if you are using the “shorty” bars or if your road bike has conducive geometry for aerobars. If you don’t want to get particularly aero, or physically can’t get into an aero position because of physical limitations, then the debate is moot…add lighter/more aero wheels to whatever you have and good to go.
But if you can hold a “tri” position, meaning you are willing to commit to riding in the aerobars most of the race (90+%) then the tri bike is definitely the way to go. Bar-end shifting alone makes this the upgrade for you. You will be able to get into a more aero position, preserve more power/comfort, stay in the aero bars longer, and probably have better handling characteristics with the tri frame.
In either case I would steer you towards working with a fitter with triathlon expertise. The road-race bike shop is going to steer you towards the first option but that is because they often don’t understand the philosophy of tri-fitting.
If you are leaning towards the tri bike, the icing on the cake is an aero-helmet. The available evidence (not just anecdotal, we’re talking wind tunnels here) is that an aero helmet worn properly will give as much or more benefit than aero wheels, at about 1/10th the cost.
Hope this helps. Happy shopping.
In terms of aerodynamics the wheels and the frame both have similiar improvements. I’m of the school of thought that if you only have one bike then make it a road bike because of the greater versatility. You can group ride, climb hills better and ride down to the corner store easier on a road bike as well as do tris. Plus for training you also build core strength on road bike but not on a tri bike because of being more skeletal supported. If you get serious about tri then pick up a tri bike as your second bike.
This is exactly the issue I’m having. I’m 5’11’'/ 37 inseam/60inch torso and I just can’t get comfortable on my actual size 58’s sloppy frame. I’m trying to find ideas on tri-frame that can accomodate a physiology freak like me, xtra long legs with xtra short torso.
2 years doing tri’s now, 3 HIM, a couple of olympic distance and many sprint tri’s and duathlons.
60 inch torso? thats 5 feet
60cm, I should write correctly but You should guess that better!
Do you race road or tri only?
If you race road and tri, go with the wheels.
If you only race tri, go with the frame.
80% or more of drag comes from the rider’s body. A tri bike that fits will get most people’s bodies more aero than a road bike can.
Aero wheels will save you more time than an aero frame, and good wheels will follow you from bike to bike. Get something like a 60mm deep rim or H3 upfront and a disc for the back. The one caveat is that if you can’t get your body in a good position on your current bike, then go for the frame.
Another plus, the wheels are much less in most cases (and you don’t have to pay a shop to move your components over).
In terms of aero impact, here is a rough hierarchy:
- Body position (aerobars, good fitting frame)
- Front wheel
- Tie: Aero helmet, Rear disc, Frame/Fork
- Wing section base bar
- Aero bottles, or rear carrier
- Carbonfiber aero crankset
There have been lots of tunnel test on this, with the base frame usually being a round tube steel frame and the base wheels being 36 spokes with box rims. Today a lot of the road componentry is semi-aero (oval downtubes, 28MM deep rims), so the actual benefit depends on what you are starting with.
first off, i know nothing. that said, i did go to dan’s FISTapalooza last weekend and watched john cobb, jordan, & dan fit people for about 10 hours total. the frame you’re on is only important IF it allows you to COMFORTABLY maintain a powerful, aero position. pay the money for a legitimate fit and then see if you can translate those fit coordinates to your road bike. if you can, get wheels, if not get a frame that will let you ride in your optimal aero position (dan & john are both fans of the LEADER brand as they say the geometry is spot on and they’re cheap).
one thing i saw time and time again last week was the raising of the saddle and the dropping of the aerobars. as long as the relative hip angle stays constant, it’s not a problem. a comfortable, powerful, aero position on a round tubed bike trumps someone on a carbon tri-bike with race wheels who is sitting straight up.