I have an OK triathlon bike and a really nice carbon road bike. Rather than ride the the tri bike next year in long races, I’m thinking of adding aero bars and race wheels. When I say aero bars, I mean removing the drop bars and adding real aero bars, not just clip-ons. The idea is that races are becoming different from what they used to be. They have more hills and turns and (IMO) this isn’t what the tri bike is really good at. I’ve asked the local bike shop what they thought about the idea and they think the idea is sound. Of course, they are also in the business of selling so I want to know what you think. Is this a stupid idea or is this the direction others are going as well? Another thing to keep in mind is that I ride bikes and I don’t really get into the geometry, I just look down at the speedometer and see if I’m going faster.
I have a Look KG 486 road bike that I put PD Carbon X bars on, slide the seat forward on the rails and rode as a tri bike. It worked, but I since have gone back to a steep geometry tri bike as it just works better for getting lower and therefore more aero which means faster speeds.
I did this with my Cannondale when I first got it. I think its a bad idea. If your road bike fits - then the top tube should be too long to ride with aero bars (unless you can slide your seat forward a lot - and then handling would likely be very bad.) A road bike with aero bars and seat slid forward should handle worse than a tri-bike. If you keep the seat back - then it shouldn’t fit (you’ll be way stretched out).
If you want a bike that rides hills and turns better - then you want a road bike with the seat closer to a traditional position and drop bars/clip-ons. A big part of a road bike being nice on hills/turns is STI shifters vs. bar-end shifters.
I think its a very rare course though that a road bike is faster than a tri bike.
Dave
I’m with Dave on this. I have a tri bike and great road bike (Soloist Carbon). I’ve used the Soloist as a tri bike (with the seat post flips to effectively shorten the cockpit) with clip-ons for just what you are describing (at the hilly TripleT), but I was in the drops for descending fast and cornering. Taking those off to put on pursuit bars makes no sense at all. On most courses for most people (we are all so diff), a dedicated tri bike would be fastest. If you are going to run your road bike as a trial (seat down a bit, slammed forward or forward post), just put some clip-ons on and your stem all the way down on the headtube (if it is not).
Good luck!
The notion of “converting” a road bike to a tri bike is not sound.
A road bike has a different enough set of dimensions that trying to adapt some workable triathlon posture will compormise the rider’s weight distribution over the bike so severly that handling will be affected. Additionally, trying to get the reach short enough and getting the angle between the torso and the femur optimal is going to be very difficult.
The thing that is troubling to me is your observation that, “…They have more hills and turns and (IMO) this isn’t what the tri bike is really good at.”
If your tri bike fits you correctly and has good weight distribution then it should corner and handle very well on descents.
The misnomer that a triathlon bike somehow handles poorly or differently than a road bike is a product of the culture of cyclists who haven’t experienced a well fitted triathlon bike. If you take the time to dial in the weight distribution and the rider’s posture the comfort will be great and the handling will be superb.
In general when you try to convert a road bike to a triathlon posture what you do is get a fairly bad triathlon bike and ruin a perfectly good road bike.
That said, what you may want is an ITU style tri bike that has a slightly steeper seat angle, longish front-center, shorty aerobars and drops with STi levers for controls. Depending on your current road frame dimensions you may already have a steepish seat tube angle, anything greater than 74 degrees is pretty steep on a road frame. If you shorten your stem and put on shorties then do the 2 bathroom scale test for weight distribution you may be OK.
Let me know if you’ve never heard of the 2 bathroom scale test for weight distribution and I’ll describe it here in this thread.
All of your responses are helpful. I want to add a couple of comments and then another question. Based on what I’ve read from your responses, trying to get the seat position in combination with aero bars sounds like a bad idea.
So perhaps the problem is the fit with the tri bike. I feel like as long as the course is relatively straight and flat, I’m fine but my road bike seems to handle ascending, descending and turns much better.
As I mentioned previously, I just ride the bikes and look at the speedo. I voice my opinion at the bike shop and expect to get helpful advice but then double check like I did with my post to make sure I’m not going to do something stupid.
I’ve not heard of the two bathroom scale test but I can guess as to how it works. I’m assuming weight should be distributed equally or is there a percentage one way or the other?
Are there any objections to putting aero wheels on the road bike?
Nope - aero wheels on a road bike are just fine! I’ve done lots of road races around here where some pretty good Cat 1 riders have Zipp 404s on (for off the front, break aways, etc.). I’ve run my 404’s at road races as well, but mostly just stick with my Ksyriums SLs as I’m usually in the peloton drafting as best I can 
I was off the front on a flat course once with one other guy for 22 miles, but that is pretty rare (we were caught in the end too) 
Before you just write off bad “fit” and tri bikes handle like pigs (a lot do) - you might also want to read up on “trail” and fork rake, etc as that has a lot to do with your perception of front end handling. I’m currently having a problem with slow speed handling with my Gary Fisher MTN bike (Genesis 1 geometry) because of this (but much harder to rectify with front shock/forks for MTN bikes).
Good luck!
I’ve ridden a Yaqui that was built for me - and now a P3 that is set up a bit steeper and lower. Both handle well and I felt fine on some steep descents/corners - ski mountain type roads. But the slacker geometry, higher front end, and hoods or drops with standard road brakes on my road bike is a definite step above on fast corners and quick stops - its just a matter of my weight being a lot more forward and lower. A well designed tri bike can compensate but I can’t see how you can be as stable at 78 degrees plus (and low) vs. 73ish. Climbing - I have no preference for tri or road but shifting is easier with road bars vs. bar end shifters when you are sitting up climbing or standing…
Now you never said that a tri bike should handle as well as a road bike but your post does read that way to me…I do agree that a well designed and fit tri bike should handle hills/turns just fine. I have yet to see a triathlon course that I felt that I would benefit from a road bike (people talk about riding road bikes at Alcatraz, Donner, Silverman, Ralphs…). Maybe Catalina or Nice are technical enough…or some of the super crowded races for safety.
Dave
Ok, so I think part of this is my expectation of how a tri bike should ride and part is on the fit of the bike. I’m going to take the tri bike to a different shop and have them look at me on the bike.
Thanks for your help!
Hey Tom,
I sent you a PM… don’t know if you got it…
Tom & Others:
What is your opinion on using/converting a dedicated time trial bike (TT) frame for triathlon? In general, what are the differences in geometry? Can one overcome these differences with things like Fastfoward seat posts and the like?
THnx
I did this conversion with clip ons. I didn’t run a full ‘real’ aerobar set up up front, but I did adjust the seat position and handlebar drop to get into the same position you would achieve with real aerobars. Had it this way for one week. I was stretched out and is unloaded the rear bad enough that I encountered severe oscillations above 20 mph. Almost went down at 45 mph on a hill when the front end started dancing around.
I say if you do anything, buy a set of shorties like the ITU guys ride. It will get you about as aero as you can on road set up.
What is the two scale test?