I have been racing on a road bike (no aero bars) and am interested in doing more long course tris. The problem is that riding more than 3 hours on my road bike really beats me up–sore butt, sore arms, sore trapezius–you know the drill. I will never be fast. I just want to get comfortable so I could go a long time without pain.
Someone advised me that if comfort is what I want, get a Softride. I have been leaning that way.
Recently, though, I am getting some contradictory advice from one of the better LBS around here that a) softrides are over-engineered so you will need to be a good mechanic to ride one and you will have a heck of a time should you want to ship your bike ina bike box and have some LBS put it back together and b) unless you are a really good pedaller, you will waste a lot of energy bobbing.
They advise a better option if strictly comfort is the goal would be to get a tri bike with good aero bars (for the comfort rather than the aero advantage), preferably a steel bike, and get a round tube bike with a carbon fork.
I have found the ST crowd to be expert at all things bike related. What should I do? I only ride about 15-19 mph depending on the race length so I am not needing more aero stuff. I just want to be comfortable.
find a shop with a highly reputable fitter. they will steer you in the right direction. if you indicate which area you live, i’m sure someone on the board can give you recommendations within the area.
the nicest softride or cervelo won’t make a difference if it is a poor match for your physiology. probably not the answer you are looking for, but brand or frame material aren’t the primary determinants if comfort is what you are looking for. fit will be much more important.
I found the bike shop you are describing and they fit me well on my road bike. They are the ones adivising going with the basic tri bike and against a beam bike.
From personal experience if you are going for comfort on long course. I would go with a Softride. I had a Softride TT Rocketwing and it was much more comfortable than my diamond frame bike for long distance triathlons (& even short also). The Rocketwing (now replaced by the FasTT) are much lighter & aero than the old Softrides. I actually had my PR for Ironman & 1/2 Ironman on my Softride Rocketwing. I traveled out of the country with my Softride and didn’t have any problems at all with it. I only had to take off the wheels & bars, so didn’t even have to mess with the beam and it was easy to get back together. You actually learn to pedal more efficiently when riding one. I have a regular diamond frame road bike for group riding, but just ordered a Softride FasTT for my tri bike. I went to a regular frame tri bike, but I just really missed the comfort of my Softride (& I was actually faster for tri’s on it & felt better for the run, too!). The beam also offers you a lot of options for fit also. If there is a dealer nearby I’d definitely go for a test ride (& you need to make sure & get fitted properly anyway). Adam from Softride posts here regularly, so he might be able to refer you to a dealer. I’ve also heard some good things about Titanflex which also uses a beam technology, so I’m sure those that have experience with them will post their comments, too.
I have been racing on a road bike (no aero bars) and am interested in doing more long course tris. The problem is that riding more than 3 hours on my road bike really beats me up–sore butt, sore arms, sore trapezius–you know the drill. I will never be fast. I just want to get comfortable so I could go a long time without pain.
Someone advised me that if comfort is what I want, get a Softride. I have been leaning that way.
Mine was the most comfortable ride I ever had. It felt awesome.
Recently, though, I am getting some contradictory advice from one of the better LBS around here that a) softrides are over-engineered so you will need to be a good mechanic to ride one and you will have a heck of a time should you want to ship your bike ina bike box and have some LBS put it back together
You will need to put in some time buggering around with everything to learn how to take care of it yourself if there isn’t a mechanic around where you live. It is difficult but not impossible.
and b) unless you are a really good pedaller, you will waste a lot of energy bobbing.
Baloney. You are either a good pedal stroker or you aren’t. You will either bounce or you won’t. You will adapt to the bike and become a better “stroker” but that is from the feedback you will receive from the bike.
They advise a better option if strictly comfort is the goal would be to get a tri bike with good aero bars (for the comfort rather than the aero advantage), preferably a steel bike, and get a round tube bike with a carbon fork.
Get a bike which will fit you and your body will get accustom to it. BUt the proper fit is key. I have gone back to my P2K and have fiddled with the fit on my own and have gotten really comfy on it. Don’t underestimate a good pair of tri shorts as well.
softrides are over-engineered so you will need to be a good mechanic to ride one and you will have a heck of a time should you want to ship your bike ina bike box and have some LBS put it back together and b) unless you are a really good pedaller, you will waste a lot of energy bobbing.
No where near an expert but if these were there only negative comments about a softride (beam bike) then look at a titan flex. Appears to be a simpler design, and a stiffer beam that does not bounce as much. May not be as comfortable but never heard any complaints about bouncing on a Titanflex.
Would be interested in hearing there thoughts on this bike.
My understanding is if you get a good fit, a beam bike will still be more comfortable in the long haul. But most of my knowledge comes from this forums and doing internent searches on softride and titanflex. Never riden either but would love to try a titanflex some time. May have the opportunity for a softride sometime as a co-workers husband has one.
“The problem is that riding more than 3 hours on my road bike really beats me up–sore butt, sore arms, sore trapezius–you know the drill.”
I have to say, this is a drill I am not familiar with. Sounds like you need a better fitting.
WRT a long course bike, you can’t really go wrong with a good fitting bike - no matter what the material is. Personally I ride Scandium, but Carbon, ti or aluminum will get you through 5-8 hour rides with no problem assuming it fits.
Personally, I don’t change anything on my road bike when I put aero bars on. I just make sure I use bars that are very low - like the Profile’s (I think the new T-2 would be ideal for most road bikes). That being said, my initial fit was done with aerobars in mind, so that may make a difference.
Like others, I have heard some good things about Softrides in the comfort department. However, I highly value mechanical simplicity, so Softrides don’t fit the bill for me. I’d rather have a conventional frame. There are many things that affect ride quality- wheels, fork, frame geometry, tires, tire pressure, saddle, and frame material. It seems that frame material has been talked down a lot recently about how it affects ride quality. In my experience, it does have a big effect on ride quality. IN GENERAL, steel rides the softest, followed by carbon or titanium, and finally aluminum. There are many things that can change the comfort of each material, such as tubing thickness/diameter, carbon lay-up, and frame geometry. A custom steel bike might work well for you- assuming a good builder and somebody who can design a proper triathlon geometry for your body and riding style. If you’ve got the cash, titanium is awesome- rides well, doesn’t rust, hard to damage, looks great (depending on who you ask). For carbon, you have a lot of new options with the QR’s, the P3 Carbon, and others. If it’s all about price, aluminum will be cheapest. An aluminum bike can ride reasonably well, provided good geometry, fork, and the other things I mentioned.
It sounds like your comfort issues are more related to frame geometry than anything; perhaps you’re just not used to riding in the aero position in the drops for extended periods of time. Aerobars are nice in that they afford you a good aero position, while letting your weight rest on your arms, elbows, and skeleton, rather than your triceps. Give us a price range for the new bike and that will help us give some direction.
Maybe $2k or so. More like the low end so titanium or other exotics are probably out.
Much of my pain seems to be from pressing too much weight down on the hoods with my arms stiff and this hurting my neck and shoulders. Probably any aero bar would help me for that part, yes?
Aerobars can help with that. However, if you go with aerobars on your road-geometry bike, they need to be the “shorty” style bars; a full length aerobar will leave you too stretched out on your road bike. A tri bike will have a steeper seat tube angle and longer front/center measurement. You will be put more forward relative to the bottom bracket, so a longer aerobar is more appropriate. For your price range, I recommend the Guru Cron’alu, Felt S25, Trek Equinox 7 or 9, Cannondale Ironman 800, or Cervelo Dual. These bikes are known to have a pretty solid ‘tri’ geometry. They’re all aluminum and most have similar components. I doubt if one will ride a whole heck of a lot different than any of the others. Your comfort should increase quite a bit, given a good bike and a good fit. If I were you, I’d rather spend a bit less on the bike and use the extra money on a good fitting session.
I think a road bike in the “Slam” position would be a good option. Short aerobars (eg. Profile Jammers) are a good choice. For a comfortable ride the bike I have found to be the smoothest is the Specialized Roubaix Elite. Not a bad deal either. Take one for a spin… you will be amazed. As always a good fitting is a must.
…110 psi in training ? You should use 80-90 psi and go for the comfort and extra work. Then race day, put in 140 psi (who needs comfort on race day) and fly like a rocket.
My P3SL is the most comfortable bike I have ridden ever in the tri position and the list of previous bikes over the past 15 years includes: Specialized Allez Epic Kestrel 200 SC Litespeed Tachyon QR Kilo Softride Powercurve (road front centre and head tube angles) Guru Trilite Cervelo Soloist
Sorry, but Jammers suck. Hard. And not in a good way.
They force you to rest your arms on soft tissue and veins rather than bone. The T2 is essentially the Jammer, but with a more reasonable arm position. Because they are Profile’s, you can make them quite short.