I’m trying to get my wife into triathlons - I got her an Argon E-112, but she doesn’t like the aero positioning. Do you think putting on dropbars instead of aerobars (and eventually put clip ons once she gets used to it) is worth it for comfort? Or should she stick to a standard road bike (I have an old CX bike that I can put normal wheels on).
does she want to get into triathlons?
does she want to ride?
is the Argon her first bike?
my recommendation is to just put the Argon under wraps for a while & get her her own road bike, ( not a hand me down from the husband. my wife would shoot me for being so patronising)
you can get a cheapie, carbon or alloy with Sora or 105 for not much and this will allow her to become comfortable riding and confidant in the road.
BTW, I started riding tris in '83 and have only just switched to a tri bike in '12. back from Kona this year and have parked the tri bike for a while and am a having a blast being back on the roadie… so for me, ride a roadie first before hitting the tri bike.
Haha I guess I should have provided some backgorund, o/w it seems like I’m forcing this on her. She’s very much into biking already, but she’s been riding an old Peugeot racer and is resistant to change. But I guess you’re right. Baby steps.
My wife didn’t like the aero position at first either.
Then later she was a state tt champion.
There is some value in being a little bit obstinate about doing things properly…to a point anyway.
Nothing wrong with drop bars and clip ons to start if it makes her more comfortable though. There is no sense in worrying about marginal gains with a beginner (so drop bars are fine) but there is some sense in getting used to the proper way of doing things (aero position, clip ons)
Then later you can take the drop bars off and burn them in a great ceremony.
Haha I guess I should have provided some backgorund, o/w it seems like I’m forcing this on her. She’s very much into biking already, but she’s been riding an old Peugeot racer and is resistant to change. But I guess you’re right. Baby steps.
If she is already into biking I’d go straight for TT bars, there’s only one way to get the hang of them and that is to use them.
No TT champs in the family, but I got my wife w Speed Concept after complaining about getting passed on the flats and downhills. She had done maybe 8 triathlons on a road bike.
Hated riding it around the parking lot. Went for our first “real” ride and she was really apprehensive. 100 yards going straight and she was totally fine.
I would encourage you guys to give it a fair shot on a familiar route.
Does she have those r bend bars I’m seeing in picts of that bike?
My GF hated the aero position until I got her some Vision bars (trimax team clip-on) with a simple upturn.
I also made her pads wide enough to be comfortable at first then narrowed them up a little.
jaretj
I’m trying to get my wife into triathlons - I got her an Argon E-112, but she doesn’t like the aero positioning. Do you think putting on dropbars instead of aerobars (and eventually put clip ons once she gets used to it) is worth it for comfort?
Sure, I think it is worth it. A lot of triathletes have the dilemma when they are first starting out, should they get a road bike with traditional geometry and road drop bars? Or, an aero tri bike with a steeper seat tube angle and full aerobars?
Each type of bike has significant advantages. The road bike has the brakes and shifters in easy reach, the drop bars on it have lots of hand position options, the bike will be welcome at group rides, it’s far faster (and also safer) for technical descending and cornering, it’s more versatile for utility riding like navigating traffic, trips to the store, commuting, etc. But a tri bike is often faster in TT efforts and the frame is usually far more aero (both pretty important qualities for a triathlon race bike), a tri bike allows you to get in a better position for generating power while maintaining a low and aero position, it is often more comfortable for riding on aerobars (if fit correctly), etc.
But then, as you mentioned in your post, there’s also a third option that can give you much of the best of both worlds (and might even save you some money and from buying extra bikes). That option is a tri bike but fitted with road drop bars and a set of well-designed (and correctly fitted) clip-on aerobars. In many ways, it is the true multisport bike because it makes for an aero tri bike that is equally fast on super fast descents as it is on pancake-flat time trial courses.
It also give your wife three options as she enter different events, progresses in skill and experience, and/or changes her tastes: (1) keep the drop bars and clip-ons on the bike and use it that way for her training and/or multisport racing. Or, (2) keep the drop bars on the bike, take off the clip-ons, and use it for road riding if her tri interest morphs more to a bike riding/racing passion (nearly all tri frames–if fitted right–can with a few small position tweaks function perfectly well as ‘road bike’ frames). Or, (3) switch out the drop bars and clip-ons for a set of full aerobars if she wants to fully maximize her aero advantage on flat courses.
For a bunch of reasons, a well-designed tri bike typically does a way better job as a road bike, than does a road bike set up as a tri bike. If it helps, for a visual, here are a few photos of tri bikes set up with drop bars (on one of our fb albums):
http://goo.gl/MhJS4o
It sounds like your wife might be a good candidate for the tri bike with drop bar solution. When set up right, it rides flawlessly, it’s super versatile, and it’s fast. It has worked great for us.
Greg @ dsw