I am new to the Tri world and I am going to participate in my first sprint event Oct 4th (500yd/21m/5m) in St. Peters, MO. I have been riding a Trek 1.2 with the only upgrades being a 105 rear derailleur and clip on aero bars. I train in SE Missouri where it is rather hilly and have been averaging 17.5 to 18mph. I decided to bite the bullet and buy a Tri specific bike last week. I got a great deal on a leftover Cervelo P2SL Dura Ace. The LBS where I purchased it did a basic fit and I brought her home. Today I did my usual 22 mile route and only averaged 17.4mph. I know I am still getting used to the aero position and the bar end shifters but the bike handled great. I was just really expecting some sort of speed gain, not a loss. The only benefit I realized was that my 5 mile run after the bike did slightly improve to 34.5 minutes from 37.5 minutes but I never had leg cramps or energy issues resulting from riding the Trek. I did realize that I have a slow cadence of 60-70 as I bought the Cateye cadence with the Cervelo. I know it may be too late to make up speed before my first event in two weeks but I am just really wondering if I wasted a bunch of cash on a Tri bike when I was faster on my roadie. Any advice would be appreciated. BTW, my Trek 1.2 is a 52cm and my Cervelo is a 54cm. The 51cm Cervelo felt more cramped than my 52cm Trek. I am male, 5’9 with an inseam of 31".
OMG! Too much going on here. Firstly just because a bike is advertised as fast does not mean it is. You still have to drive it. You’ve not had a proper bike fit and that might explain why you are slightly slower. But then it could be the conditions, the weather, etc, etc. Maybe you did get a faster run because of the different position, that is possible too.
Simply put your expectations of going faster on a bike just because it is a sold as a ‘faster bike’ are a little of the park. Once you get a good bike fit and settled you may well find that to be the case. In the meantime, ride, enjoy it and get used to it before your event. Afterwards, go get set up on it properly then see how you go.
That improvement on your run is huge, and is one of the things that riding steeper supports. As to the bike speed itself, the muscles are used differently in your new position, and it will take some riding till it gets more natural and efficient. I'd bet that you will see a real difference after just a handful of rides before raceday though. Congrats on the new ride and commitment to tri.
BTW, my Trek 1.2 is a 52cm and my Cervelo is a 54cm. The 51cm Cervelo felt more cramped than my 52cm Trek. I am male, 5’9 with an inseam of 31".
You went UP in sizes from a road bike to a tri-bike.
Something sounds a bit fishy there.
Hopefully you knew that nearly all tests that compare roadbike+aerobars to true TT bikes show only 1-2 minutes of improvement over an hour race when riding at roughly 23-25mph?
Add the fact that your body is not used to the TT bike position, you’ll likely be slower on your first few rides on the TT bike.
But even in the best case scenario, it’s unlikely to see even 3+ minute speed increases over an hour solely due to TT bike geometry when compared to a roadbike+aeros.
Speed gains from equipment are on the negligible side. Training faster makes you faster. You’ll need to get used to riding in the aero position for a while. Next up on your gizmo list should be a powertap.
it took me about 200 miles before i started to get faster when going from road bike to tri bike, slightly different muscles are being used, you will get faster
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BTW, my Trek 1.2 is a 52cm and my Cervelo is a 54cm. The 51cm Cervelo felt more cramped than my 52cm Trek. I am male, 5’9 with an inseam of 31".
You went UP in sizes from a road bike to a tri-bike.
Something sounds a bit fishy there.
5’9" with a 31" inseam - a 54 Cervelo sounds about right, and a 51 would almost certainly be cramped. I’m 5’10" with about the same inseam, and my Cervelo size would be a 56.
If you see a silver Cervelo Dual with pink bar tape and a disc cover at Rec Plex, come say hi.
Steve
First off all, thanks to everyone for the honest advice and not raking me over the coals since I am a newbie. I guess I was expecting more out of a bike than what is realistic. I train hard and often as I do not like to be unprepared for any goal I set. That is also the reason I bought the new bike as I felt it would give me an advantage over the road bike. I too was hesitant about up sizing from a road to the tri bike but the 51cm was just too small. I would have been in full TT position just so I could breathe and I am certain my back would not have liked that much. Keep the advice coming. STEVE, I will say hey if I see you there but don’t get upset if I puke as I will probably be a little nervous, especially walking around in my race day wear! Again, my first tri and even my wife giggles when I wear the suit for training. Personally, I think I look GOOOOD!
youve got a LOT of low hanging fruit just from the run more and bike more techniques. Like really just get out there and not even work hard and youll get faster and faster at this point.
the bike, you will get faster, it will come.
Rec Plex is a great course for a tri bike. There are only a couple of hills of any significance on the entire course, and neither is steep or super-long. They are in bad spots, though. One is ~0.5 miles out of transition (so your HR will already be high from the swim), and the other is ~1.5 miles from the end (take it easy going up so you don’t go into the run redlined). The rest is flat. No worries.
And, don’t worry. You won’t be the only newb there by a long shot. Plenty of mountain bikes & cruiser bikes in transition.
If you have any specific questions about the race or course, let me know. I’ve done it 7 times and train on it quite a bit.
Steve
Thanks for the heads up on the course Steve! I am now planning on driving it Saturday evening (I live 80 miles away). I already checked out the Rec Plex swimming hole. That is one nice place. How is the “scenic park run” as they describe it? Hilly/flat/both/dogs? I am kinda used to dogs chasing me now and almost rely on them for my overall pace!
Thanks for the heads up on the course Steve! I am now planning on driving it Saturday evening (I live 80 miles away). I already checked out the Rec Plex swimming hole. That is one nice place. How is the “scenic park run” as they describe it? Hilly/flat/both/dogs? I am kinda used to dogs chasing me now and almost rely on them for my overall pace!
The run is an out/back with a loop on the end. Mostly flat on a paved (asphalt) walking trail. About 50/50 sun/shade. The loop (~0.5 miles) is on a neighborhood street. Usually an aid station approx. every mile. You may see people walking their (leashed) dogs on the trail.
Steve