Looking through the new *Triathlete *magazine and seeing Michellie’s ride made me wonder…I’m looking at getting a new TT bike in the next few months and I love the way the compact frames look. However, being a hair under 5’9" with shorter legs (31-ish inch inseam) and longer arms, I’d be better off with a steep angle versus shallow/big slam. Am I right with this thought?
You should really first ask yourself what do you want this bike for. Will it be as a dedicated tri bike or will it be also for group/road riding and also doing a few tris. If it’s #1 then consider the steep tri bike. If #2 then look at road bikes. There are a number of compact frame bikes out there. The Giant TCR and the Cervelo Soloist are two good places to start.
I will consider a Giant TCR with a small frame, fitting Syntace C2 Streamliner Tri-bars or similar. This will allow you to generate as much power as when riding on a road bike as well as riding in a low aero position. I doubt that a steep angled bike will provide you with any advantages over this setup. Michael Hutchison, for example, rides this steup for Giant-MDT team. He cycles 25 miles in less than 47 minutes. Faster than anyone who has ever posted on this forum despite their steeper angles. See example of Michael:
That’s what I was wondering because Luke Bell, Michellie, among others ride a shallow compact frame in a low aero position, and do it very fast.
This would be a TT bike for me, I have a road bike, I just want something comfortable and fast for OD, 1/2 IM and possibly some IMs.
Whilst doing the Half Ironman UK last year, I have met triathletes from Tri-UK. All of them use a Giant TCR. And they are very fast. Richard Allen who came second cycled on a Giant TCR and his bike split was 2:24:42. According to Empfield (and others on this site) he should find the running difficult. Well, Richard completed the half marathon in 01:06:54.
I am sure that a Giant TCR with some aero modifications will not be your limiter. Personally, I have bought a few road bikes over the last 5 years. Among them I have the most basic Giant OCR (medium), which I use for commuting, and a small Giant TCR Aero. My TCR is slightly faster than my Tri bike on the flat and a lot faster in tight corners and up hills. On the TCR I ride very low, but I can still feel the advantages of a “slam” as my wattage is higher.
Compact looks are… interesting. Is it “cooler” than a straight road bike? That’s a matter of opinion. The fact about the Giant compact frame is that they were designed as a convenient way to have one frame fit many different size people by eliminating standover height as a factor in frame fit. If you can shoehorn your way on to a TCR Composite, good for you, because it is an excellent frame for a road bike and can be set up in a multisport position. Jones and Bell ride these bikes because they are paid to, not necessarily because they are great tri bikes.
If you are looking for a dedicated tri bike, you would be well served by purchasing this bike based on fit rather than looks. It will be worth it - guaranteed. With all the brands that are out there, it would be hard to find a bike that wouldn’t fit you and look good.
I began with a Giant bike and raced it for a few years. Its OK, but thats all. My dedicated Tri bike is much faster. I found myself compromising alot and never was really able to get dialed in like I am now. If you are are just going to do a race or 2 and then group ride, you will love it. Buy the right tool for the job. You don’t cut a tree down with a nail file.
Not necessarily. You may be better off riding slack or steep, which is best depends on your physioology as much as your dimensions.
A steep angle will tend to emphasise your quads relatively more than your glutes / hamstrings. If you have a big ol’ powerful butt, you may prefer a slacker angle.
If you put in a lot of miles on your road bike, you may want a slack to moderate seat angle to ease the transition between the 2 bikes.
“That’s what I was wondering because Luke Bell, Michellie, among others ride a shallow compact frame in a low aero position, and do it very fast.”
Also don’t forget that Luc VanLierde won Kona in 1999 on a TCR in one of the fastest bikes splits, not to mention the great TT success of Team ONCE.
You might want to consider the QR Picanti. It has a steep seat angel, rides great with the ti frame and is a climber due to the compact frame being easier to move around when climbing and it’s being pretty light. It can be found pretty cheap since it has been discontinued. I have an older one with 700c wheels & a 76 degree seat angel. The reason I purchased the compact is that I’m 5’9" with a 30" inseam and long upper body. I need a longish top tube compared to the seat tube and with the compact I can disregard the seat tube and concentrate on the upper body fit. I ended up with a medium frame and stiil have a short seat tube. The fit is perfect and with th ti frame & 700c wheels it’s very comfortable for IM distance.