I’m signed up to do the Tour de Palm Springs with a buddy in february as a fun break (but not really a break) from my CdA build. I only own my Lucero… Is it acceptable to ride it? I won’t be in the front or looking to race anyone, and I have no problem just hanging out on the horns for most of the day. Just curious if I’ll be getting the stink eye from the roadies. I didn’t see any kind of rules on the website either.
As long as its not a race, you should be fine. But be warned that people will want to avoid you as the handling on aerobars can be quite squirrely and the peloton knows this.
But I would check with the organizers personally.
nope…it wont work.
nope…it wont work.Pfft, I just read that you can pull kids in a trailer if you want to.
No problem, as long as you don’t mind being on the bullhorns. The area has a lot of triathletes on local group rides, and the routes are not technical.
nope…it wont work.Pfft, I just read that you can pull kids in a trailer if you want to.
I’d lay money you’ll see people pulling their dogs on the shorter courses, maybe even the 100 miler.
Piss on the bike snobs!!!
I’m signed up to do the Tour de Palm Springs with a buddy in february as a fun break (but not really a break) from my CdA build. I only own my Lucero… Is it acceptable to ride it? I won’t be in the front or looking to race anyone, and I have no problem just hanging out on the horns for most of the day. Just curious if I’ll be getting the stink eye from the roadies. I didn’t see any kind of rules on the website either.
Ride what you have but be very careful because parts of that course are not well paved and with the recent rains, I can only imagine there are many more potholes. I have done the century and witnessed a lot of blow outs especially a few miles from the start and right after the second sag stop. That ride can get crazy.
Thanks folks. I’ll keep a close eye out on road conditions, and I’ll be well prepared flat/tools wise.
NO. Road bike only. Bad etiquette to ride a tri bike in a group ride. Almost as bad as pack riding in a draft illegal tri.
my goodness, yes. i’ve done this ride many times…on my only bike, which is a tri bike. i’ve never had so much as an odd glance, much less hearing a comment about it being a different or unacceptable bike. this is a huge event with all sorts of riders. don’t give it another thought.
peggy
Not a problem. Just do not go aero in the pack. You are only allowed to go aero if you are pulling the pack or are off the back of the lead group. Same as in group rides, no aero in a pack.
I used to ride a tri bike at centuries all the time. My buddy still does it. Group rides as well. Some group rides may prefer you didn’t, but they are on public roads. I will say I did take my clip-ons off my road bike for a ride I did today, but a buddy told me that he had never seen aero bars on the ride and this was my first time at a very large ride. So I just took them off. It is a roadie ride. I kind of follow the group etiquette.
That being said, I will be the first in line to ban recumbents on group rides.
a tri bike will immediately explode if you encounter any of the following conditions:
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a curve in the road
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a hill in the road
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any other cyclists in close proximity
Use you common sense and don’t suck wheel on somebody while in you bars. Give yourself some room and don’t worry about it.
It’s bullsh-t. In the local group rides around hear. There used to be a few roadies who would bitch about it. but not anymore , since the fast group can sometimes be more than half triathletes. They don’t have to ride with us if they don’t want to. Roadies no longer make all the rules.
So don’t ride in the group…
I agree with pmcdc. I rode the tour de palm springs several years when i lived in Joshua Tree and always rode my tri bike. No one seemed to mind when I was pulling on flats or the downhills. Generally no one at the ride cares and I know that docfuel has used the ride for a giant brick in preps for IMAZ when it was in April.
I see roadies and tri-bike guys peacefully co-exist on centuries all the time. The tri guys stay off their aerobars when in a pack or paceline unless they’re on the very front. If they want to be on their aerobars, they ride off to the side of the group or hang off the back (or off the front if nobody cares to grab their wheel).
With your hands so far from your brakes, you have no business riding in the pack/paceline where subtle adjustments of speed are critical to keep people from touching wheels, crashing and someone getting seriously hurt.
Always remember the first rule of cycling. It’s NEVER the guy who causes the crash who ends up seriously hurt. It’s always some poor unsuspecting schmuck who ends up being the victim of someone else’s bad riding. You don’t want to be the cause of someone else’s lost season … or worse.
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It’s only ok if you wear a pointy helmet.
Yes, a tri bike is OK as long as the event organizers have not said no tri bikes in the rules. In fact, you’ll probably see all kinds of bikes out there–recumbents, tandems, bikes with trailers, etc. If it’s a rolling start, you may want to let the ride thin out a bit before you start, and wait until riders stretch out before going aero. OK to pull a group, but you may have to wave off riders who invite you to draft off them.