Has anyone put a road bar on a Tri Bike - I am doing just short Triathlons and the rest of the time I like the comfort of road bars.
Thanks
Update - Road bar with clip ons
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Your bike–do whatever works for you. Draft legal triathletes race that way and even some long course athletes have chosen that set-up for some races (Joanna Zeiger and Spencer Smith to name two).
You can do it, but all you really get is the worst of both worlds. If you put the bars at a height that you can achieve a good tri position then the drops of the road bar will be nearly useless. If you set up the drop bar height so that it is a comfortable pseudo-road position then your aerobars will have you catching wind like a sail. Once solution might be to use a stem with some offset so you could flip it to acheive a low aerobar position for racing and then flip it back for more of a road bike fit.
If you work that out then you have to decide where you will be riding the most because you will either need bar-end shifters or STI levers. Again, bar-end will be better for racing in the aero position and STI better for a road-type application.
Chad
Why dont you get the best of both worlds, with a few drawbacks, depending on the course and your skill level?
This is the setup I am contemplating for IMMoo. My bike handling skills are on the lesser end and after having tested the course, it is obvious that most of my shifting will be done sitting up, either going up hill or on the innumerable down hill turns.
With roadbars and clip-ons, I will still replicate my regular aero position, with the main difference that I can now shift much more effectively while in the hoods. I have no interest in the drops, might just cut them off below the shifters/brakes. (I have been warned that the shifters might slide down if loose, which would be a bit of a pain, so still under consideration)
Main drawback would be slightly lesser aerodynamics but considering that I am 6’3"" with 48" chest, I doubt if that is going to make much of a difference. I would also much rather move my hands to shift while in aero, rather than the other way around, especially since I will do the majority of shifting sitting up.
I concede that this is in large part a function of my bike competency and would make less sense for someone better than me. I do seem recall that a female pro won IM Australia within the last few years used this set up.
If I have missed something, let me know (sorry, forgot where I am for a moment)
i’m riding a tri bike with road bars right now as i am waiting for new aerobars to arrive and am actually very comfortable on it. i have a slightly less steep stem on there right now but its very comfortable and i have had no handling issues.
If you read Dan E’s articles closely, you will find that he advocates the use of a road set-up for the percentage of the population that are not going to spend the entire day glued to their aerobars.
However, if you are not going to use the drops at all then I would recommend you just switch your STI over to the base bars and raise up your front end to duplicate the position of road bars. I rode with a friend who did this and he seemed to like it.
On a rolling course you still gain time staying in the aero position. I tend to stay on the aerobars, hands on the shift levers, throughout as much of the hill as I can ride before I run out of gear. If it is steep enough that hit my 25 cog in back then I’m not going fast enough for the aero position to matter. If the course is gently rolling I will shift through the entire range of gear over the course of a minute or so and having to move my hands each time would be very inefficient.
I race the Auburn World’s Toughest Half Du and American Zofingen last year with 5,000 and 9,400 feet of climbing and the tri bike was still a better choice, for me.
Chad
Great feedback, thanks.
For one, I did not realize that STI shifters could be mounted on the base bar, thought they would only fit on road bars.
That is the way to go, you have been a great help.
Forgot to ask if you could suggest a basebar best suited for STI shifters,
thanks
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Any basebar with upturned ends should do, though the longer you could find, the better it would work. I would just try it on your current basebar and see how it works. The new generation of bars with ends that project straight out are the ones to avoid.
Chad
Thanks
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you bet. and with great racing success. here is a pic of a p2k “tri” frame:
Actually - that is not quite true. I tried that basebar setup with SRAM, and there is no way to do the cable routing. It would have pinched the shifting cable and brake cable. My LBS said Campy would probably have the same problems. Shimano is no problem becasue of the angles the cables pass through the shifters - so you have to watch your gear selection.
Just an FYI.
Keep in mind that if you spend most of your time on the hoods or basebars, you may want a shallower seat tube angle.