I have two bikes, a road and tri bike. Last weekend at the Rock-n-rollman I tried to stay aero on the tri bike the whole 56 miles. Ended up with sore back and shoulders by the 45 mile mark. On my road bike, I’ve done century rides and have stayed fairly comfortable, but I think it’s because I stayed upright for the most part, even though I’ve got aerobars attatched and dropped down only occasionally. With IMCDA in less than two weeks I have to decide what bike to take. Part of me wants to take the tri bike because that’s what it’s made for and maybe I’ll just not try to stay aero as much.
My better judgement suggests I take the road bike since I know I can handle the distance and still be comfortable.
Both bikes are the same size (though the tri bike is 650 and the road 700) and I’ve been tinkering with the tri set-up to try to make it more comfortable. Should I transfer the road measurements to the tri bike? (saddle to bar, saddle height, etc.) Any suggestions?
Do most riders stay aero the entire 112? Or am I expecting to be aero too much? And is it possible to ride aero for a long time without feeling some soreness?
I was thinking about this just this morning while riding my tri bike. It is a great bike, but every Ironman I have attempted I have used my road bike with clip-ons. I’m older, (49 soon) and have never gone into an IM with a “fast” time goal, so please know that is a caveat. 112 in strictly the aero position is something that is certainly doable…it’s that 26 miles afterward!
Ride the bike you did your long rides on. If you had trouble for a 1/2, I would suspect you did your long stuff on your road bike and should probably use that!
I’ve had the tri bike (a Saber) for over a year now. I’m 43 and not as limber as I used to be so I don’t now if that has anything to do with it. My road bike is a Vortex so it’s not like I’d be downgrading. It’s just that I really like the Saber for triathlons even though I’ve never been as comfortable on it as I have my road bike. That’s why I’m wondering if I just don’t have it set up right. But maybe now is not the time to tinker huh?
There’s a substantial difference between a century and a metric…about 40 miles! Go with the road bike and work on your tri bike positioning while you’re recovering from the race!
With CDA in less than two weeks, you don’t have time to get your back used to riding your tri bike and holding your aero position if you’re not comfortable already. It takes hours and hours and miles and miles to get your lower back used to riding aero for that long. No point in trying to cram now.
Ride your road bike in CDA. It seems that’s what your comfortable on. And over a long course event like IM, comfort trumps aero, IMO.
I’m just taking a wild-ass’d guess, but there seems to be a disconnect in your set-up.
With road, I’m assuming you’re riding a 73 degreeish set-up and properly stretched out.
With the tri, I’m really confused. Are you riding it steep and low?
Without diving into a lot of details, it appear (in your case) the easy answer is to measure your hip angle on your road bike to make sure its the same on the tri bike. I’m guessing your hip angle (on the tri) is what is causing a problem. There also may be an issue with your front end set-up (too stretched out? proper elbow width?)
2 weeks to go? Wow…I’d use whatever set-up you used 3 weeks ago during your 6.5 hour ride…
If you didn’t get that 6.5 ride in…and I really hate to say this, but I won’t be playing a violin for you. ;o)
I got the long ride in, but it was on the road bike. Actually I’ve been raising the bars on the tri bike so it’s not steep or low. They’re practically level with the seat now.
I took pictures of me on both bikes but I have a Mac and still can’t post here
I think that using the road bike is going to be in my best interests at this point.
If not the violin, how about the harmonica? You know, one of those soulful ditties cowboys played around the campfire.
LOL…since you got the ride in, I won’t need to play anything (I am a musician, btw).
Since you’re using a MAC, you can still post the pix to www.tinypic.com and then simply provide the link here. (Then, I’m sure…someone will then post here).
How about the seat angle on the tri bike? I think providing pix might clear up the issue…
You can ride all day in the aero position if your bike fit is dialed in properly. Raising the bars to approximate your road position will not necesarily make your tri bike more comfortable. I think you should take your tri bike back to your dealer and have them evaluate your position versus FIST standards. If you bought it over the Internet, consider paying someone to dial in your position— It makes a big difference.
The most important factor for a successful IM bike is to train as many miles as possible on the exact same bike and in the exact same position. So if all your training miles are on the road bike, you need to ride that in your IM. It’s a serious mistake to ride something in an IM for which you have extremely limited training time.
I completely agree with you. However, I’ve had the Saber for almost two seasons now so I’m used to riding it, just not as comfortable on it. I would do my centuries on the road bike because of comfort and better climbing ability and use my tri bike for 40-60 mile rides on mostly flats…so it isn’t really limited training time.
I might have been better off with just one bike and get used to riding only that bike…I dunno.
Nice bikes. I’m sure you’ll get some great insight on your position here. But, take those recommendations and work on them after your IM. For the IM stick with your road bike and don’t change anything. With only 2 weeks to go, now is not the time to make any changes. Just make sure you have a good taper.
You know, one of those soulful ditties cowboys played around the campfire.