Q: I currently have one bike (my Cervelo P2C TT). I love it…its fantastic. But I’m planning on doing IM Florida next year (plus a number of 70.3s) and I’ve been reading about the benefits of having a good road bike to augment training rides. Is it worth the cost to get a second bike? Does it hurt my TT to constantly be riding it? or is getting a road bike just a “want” versus “need” item? Thoughts?
its a benefit if you ride in situations where a road bike is more comfortable or safer.
if you always train on lonely roads, alone, with no traffic, and its perfectly comfy for you, don’t get a road bike
if you want to do group rides and ride with traffic or on twisty roads, get a road bike.
Thanks! Good to know. I’ve primarily been riding by myself , with one other person or on my trainer for the last couple of years. I’ve been thinking about riding the group rides offered by the DC tri club and some of the other bike stores in my area. Sounds like having a road bike may be beneficial, especially with all the DC traffic. Again, thank you.
yeah its nice to have a normal bike for car dodging and doing group rides. you don’t have to spend anything either if you don’t want. grab some old steel bike and fix it up a little.
I think that doing group rides with fast(er) riders can help you keep the intensity up on your rides, improving your overall riding. Esp. if you ride with guys who like to attack on hills, sprint to city limit signs, etc. More fun trying to beat them than doing boring intervals coached by your HRM. Those explosive efforts will help oyu bridge gaps or discourage passes. Also, riding in close proximity with other riders going fast also hones bike handling skills.
Definitely need to log miles on the TT bike as well, but a road bike can nicely augment the training.
Road bikes are better for group rides (esp. w/non-triathletes). They are more maneuverable and climb/descend better. There are also races like Alcatraz where there is virtually no flat and a road bike is a better choice (those these are few and far between…I just did the Tiburon Tri on my tri bike with a disc and a Jet90, big mistake, the course was so narrow, twisty and windy I’d been better off on my road bike).
If you do get a road bike, still train on the tri bike a bit; don’t just save it for race day.
You know you want it. Just go out and buy it. Just do it. Go get that puppy now!
Well of course I WANT it…I wanted to know if I NEEDED it:-) Thanks for all your advice!!!
Don’t need it…it’s a luxury to have it. I ride mine during the winter on my trainer mostly. I ride my tri bike 90% of the time outside.
You don’t necessarily need a “good” road bike (by “good” read “expensive”). I bought a road bike for group rides. For the moment I’m not planning to race it so as long as it fits me well, what what do I care if it’s a little old and heavy. Heavy just means that I get to I train harder to keep up. If I decide to race on a road bike I can upgrade but for the moment I’m very happy on my 2005 Trek that I bought off a friend for $500. And all the more fun when I attempt to drop friends on their new $7,000 bikes 
“benefit” of getting a road bike? To get faster. Period. Find the local roadie group rides, then eventually seek out the ‘A’ group rides (if they’ll let ya’) 
A whole 'nother world of cycling awaits if you delve in - crits, cyclocross, etc. Be warned though: the pain cave is deep and dark at times - much different than riding a “tri” bike (and even time trialing).
Great post, I just bought a cheap rode bike for most the reasons mentioned above. I dropped less on it than I did on my disc. The reason I got it was so I could spend more time riding with a local road club doing group rides. I like to ride with some friends early morning before work and aerobars aren’t realistic on busy rodes in town. I bought a inexpensive Felt frame and plan switch it to Ultegra over the winter but for now I’m enjoying just riding the shit out of it. It’s not my Red equipped TTX but it serves it’s purpose. I’d suggest looking over Craiglist there’s always nice low end Trek/Specialized/Fuji/etc for under $700 around here.
just made this leap post IMCDA after 6 years of nothing but riding my tri bike as there was a good deal on a Felt f3 locally and I wanted something with better handling for group rides/trips to the mountains. It has been an absolute blast, riding with an A group of roadies is very fun and an entirely different level of going hard than I have ever been able to acheive solo or with a few tri buddies and the handling on mountain descents makes it fun as opposed to constant white knuckling. I have to think it will lead to increased bike fitness that will translate to faster splits in a tri but time will tell, either way it is very fun and since this is a hobby…
This past winter I rode my road bike more than in previous winters, and found that it helped my running. Especially on the hills, the road bike helps strengthen the ham-strings, which translated (for me) into being stronger on the run.
I also think that riding a road bike (some) during the season is also good thing. It helps keep things interesting and can help with muscle imbalance from riding in the tri position too much.
Just my thoughts…
Mark
Remember the formula, and you will never have to ask this question again.
What is the Perfect Number of Bikes to Own?
P = N + 1
Where P is the Perfect number of bikes, and
N is the current number of bikes you own right now.
So it is quite obvious that you need to get a good road bike. Please do so immediately.
No need to thank me.
I like your math, ML.
It’s like an iron law of the universe or something. I don’t know why they don’t teach it in school.
Thanks ML. I like your math as well Seems like getting a road bike is a good idea. I’ll hit up craigslist for some 51.8 inch frames. If anyone knows of any good deals, let me know. I’d rather not spend a ridiculous amount.
Something that works for me: Drop bars on the tri frame
If you’re a tinkerer/do your own work type, it takes me 10 minutes to swap between cockpits and to drink the required man beer for working with tools. Solder the ends of the cables (rather than crimp caps) and keep dedicated cables attached to each cockpit and reuse the cable housing. I use an adjustable stem to perfect the fit, and if you want to go all for it keep another seat and seat post lying around in a road position. I just slam the seat forward on my 76* seat tube for tri and slam it back for road. (On a Javelin Varese)
Gets some funny looks, but not many people notice. I’ll keep drop bars on the frame for the off season and put the tri cockpit on for the week or so before the race. I’ll bolt clip-ons onto the road bar if I feel lazy and want to ride in the tri position.
Works out perfect for me
video of 10 minute cockpit swap!