Hey everyone, I am new to this forum and looking to for your help. I am having a quandary in regards to the use of a triathlon bike verses a road bike over the IRONMAN distance (112 miles).
I am an experience Triathlete and cyclist over the last 14 years. I have completed several 1/2 ironman distance races and Ironman Wisconsin and race as a category 3 racer on a local team.
I have two new bikes a Felt 32 and a Scott CR1. After completing a century ride this summer on the Scott CR1. I averaged a speed of around 23, with small group. After this effort I was tired but felt great. We had several hard efforts with some upgrades, living in Indiana I am reserve on calling them climbs. But out of the saddle never the less
This makes me wonder if a TT bike for a race as long as Ironman is actually going to make that much of a difference from a speed/comfort/performance standpoint. My experience in Ironman, riding a titanium rig, getting my back was on fire, with fatigue.
Question:
So, assuming rider position on both bikes were correct!
I ask how much of a difference would one experience using a road bike with disc wheel and clip on aero bars that would allow for several different hand positions, a comfortable ride, more stable water and food transfers. Verses a decked out triathlon bike with all the bells and whistles.
How much difference can there be?
Please show me the angles. I am gearing up for IM again and am debating what equipment I really want?
"A triathlon bike is specifically designed to be ridden comfortably and efficiently in the aerodynamic position using elbow-rest style aero handlebars. Triathlon geometry bikes facilitate the transition from cycling to running better than road geometry bikes.
Using aero handlebars on a triathlon geometry bike provides two benefits:
Improved aerodynamics with better comfort/efficiency.
Easier transitions from bike to run."
This is probably more what you were looking for, which is also in the article:
"These technical differences between triathlon bike frames and road bike frames make the triathlon bike more comfortable and efficient while using aero bars. An additional benefit is improved running performance off the bike as compared to riding a standard road bike and getting off to run. Lower back muscles are less cramped and fresher for the bike/run transition. Your transition from bike to run will be easier, especially in the first 1-2 miles of the run.
The difference in performance for you between a triathlon frame and a road frame in a triathlon setting can be substantial. Entry level cyclists will benefit the greatest from a triathlon geometry bike. It is not unusual for a customer who is riding 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) in 1:10:00 on a standard road frame equipped with aero bars to switch to a triathlon frame and be able to do 40 kilometers in 1:06:00. The more experienced the cyclist, the less advantage will be appreciated. Novice triathletes and cyclists will notice big gains in performance and comfort.
The secondary advantage to a triathlon bike is easier transitions from bike to run and faster running. Ian Garside and Dominic Doran published an interesting study in June of 2000 in the Journal of Sports Sciences. The study is known as “The Garside Study” and is used in triathlon bike fitting schools such as Dan Empfield’s Fit Institute of Slowtwitch (F.I.S.T.). The Garside study tested athletes in a biomechanical setting, in other words, aerodynamics on the bike were not a factor in the results: Aerodynamic benefits would be in addition to the biomechanical benefits from a triathlon bike. Test subjects performed a 40 kilometer (24.8 mile) time trial on a road geometry bike in a stationary trainer followed immediately by a 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) run on a treadmill. Later the same test subjects repeated the test protocol but used a triathlon geometry bike on the stationary trainer then transitioned immediately to the treadmill for the 10 kilometer run. Time savings for athletes running off the triathlon bike were enormous: They averaged a full 5 minutes time savings on the 10 kilometer run when they transitioned off a tri bike as opposed to transitioning off a road bike. Simply put, you’ll run faster and more comfortably off a triathlon bike than a road bike."
if your previous experience in a tt/tri position was that long rides resulted in your back being on fire and fatigue, i would say that you weren’t properly fitted to your bike.
try to find a reputable fitter in your area. they should be able to set you up on your felt 32 in a position that is both comfortable, relatively aerodynamic and powerful. you could ride for a month or two in that position and see how it felt. if it felt good, you could transfer those fit coordinates to a new, high-end bike that you could buy.
i would imagine that you would save at least 1-1.5 minutes per 30km in a proper time trial position instead of being on shorty aerobars on your road bike.
Check the “Bike Fit” tab on the home page of Slowtwitch. There is so much info regarding this topic that you’ll feel like you have a Masters Degree after reading it all. It should answer your question well.
My personal experiences are the same as the other posts. A proper TRI fit on a TRI bike is so much more conducive to a faster run. TT setups (ie-road bike racing) and road bike set ups are different and even though you can hammer out fast rides, the run seems to suffer greatly. That has been my personal experience as well as the experiences of several of my training buddies. A couple of my training buddies are CAT 2 racers and have really done well on the bike, but struggled with the run until they gave in and went with more of a true TRI set up. Once they came to the dark side, their bike times were only a little slower, but their run times were waaaay faster.