I have a Madone and I was wondering if I could use a Profile Design Fast Forward and Aerobar Setup.
I can afford a full blown Tri Rig and I was hoping this would be the next best thing…
I just finished my first duathlon…and now hooked.
Please help…
Without knowing all the details, I would say it is possible, but it is nowhere near ideal. You could probably get it to work somewhat, but it will never be as good as a properly fitted tri bike. If you didn’t have the money, and only wanted one bike, it could definitely work. But if you have the money to buy a true triathlon bike, then that would be the better option (Assuming you can get into the proper aero position. Some people can’t, for whatever reason, get into a proper position, and a road bike is the better option in that case.).
It is, the challenge is getting your torso low and keeping the hip angle open, since the madone doesn’t have the steep seat tube geometry.
it might be morte worth your while though, to just work on the position with the handlebars you have. You should be able to get as low as a triathlete in the drops, just with slightly wider hands/elbows.
find pictures of greg lemond going hard on a road bike for a good example:
Thanks…I thought the FastForward move the angle from 73 degrees to 78 degrees…but I will see what I can do. I know I can use shorties and go ITU style.
Thanks…
the seatpost trick is a good compromise, it gets your position on the bike good, but the bike may handle funny since the wheelbase isn’t designed around it. worth a try.
Thanks…I thought the FastForward move the angle from 73 degrees to 78 degrees…but I will see what I can do. I know I can use shorties and go ITU style.
I have a Madone and before I bought a tri bike, I simply reversed the Bontrager seatpost on the Madone and got a steeper seatpost angle, effectively anyway. It worked great, I reversed and raised the seat and put on some clip on aerobars and had a great race. I think you can, too, until you maybe try out several time trial bikes and get a feel for what things matter to you. I have learned that I really can’t sleep comfortably without a replaceable derailleur hanger and definitely prefer a seatpost collar. not the kind that Cervelo has with tapped threads into the structural carbon.
i got a fast forward seatpost for my felt F4 recently. my aero position is pretty good, but i’ll second that the handling is definitely different. more “twitchy” is how i’d describe it. i’ll also second the issue with opening your hip angle…even with the seat tube angle change of the FF, i’m still pretty scrunched at the top of my pedal stroke.
I was concerned about the wheelbase too, but it seems possible based on the othere posts…THANKS…
Thanks…which madone did you have? I have a 2007 Madone 5.2. Which clip-ons did you use? Did you think you did better than going with just the drops?
Not sure if you picked up a tri bike since, but was the handling more like a tri bike would be or just completely different meaning nothing like a road and nothing like a tri bike.
Is there anything you can do about the scrunching at the top of the pedal stroke?
to a degree, shortening your crank length can help with scrunching supposedly, and maybe allow you to raise your seat some (i’m not an expert on this by any means, just trying to accurately recount stuff i’ve read/experienced). i haven’t picked up a tri bike since, but i’ve ridden a friend’s and it felt pretty similar to my road bike handling pre-fast forward. so if i had to guess, i’d say different than both. but definitely different from a road bike.
Vince, I have the 2006 Madone and I put on the Vision ski bend clip ons on. I definitely think it was more aero than using the drops, less tiring on the tricepts and easier to stay aero for longer periods.