Road vs. tri bike

Triathlon Forum
1

i’m making a first bike purchase. My primary intent is to train for and participate in triathlons, up to iron man distance (12-18 months away). I’ve been reading here, checking bikes on ebay, and shopping around in general. I made a first pass at my local bike shop today. I should clarify by saying that my local bike shop is in Hong Kong, as am I. They sell Cannondale, Kestrel, and Guru. I asked to be fitted - seemed to be an imprecise method (inseam x .66 or something close to that). Anyway, he sized me around 60cm, but said I should get one size smaller, without really explaining (language was a barrier). But anyway, I was thinking I needed a 58 or 59 before I talked to the guy. I’m 6’1" with a 35" crotch to floor measurement. Are there any good sizing resources on the web - calculators?

When I quizzed him on tri bikes (they carry several in-store), he said the trend lately is that people are buying road bikes and fitting them with aero bars. The main reason he gave was that the road bikes, even with aero bars are 1-2 pounds lighter than the tri counterpart. I do realize that tri bike frames are somewhat heavier than their road couterparts, but this was a new idea to me.

BUT, he got me thinking. Particularly about Hong Kong topography. There are a lot of hills here. Very few stretches of flat road. Will a tri bike be a burden, more than a help on a hilly course? I’ll probably ride a few flatter tris outside of hong kong, but all of my training for the foreseeable future will be on hilly courses (not a lot of aero going on on the climbs).

So what do you think - road .or. tri bike??

Thanks!

2

Well Im a newbie, but can tell you I’ve seen this asked enough to give you a part answer. Everyone needs a road bike. For training, group rides ect. If you only plan on doing solo long rides you could get along with a TT/Tri bike.

Ok so much for the stock answer.

3

I’ve had great success with the Cervelo Soloist for triathlons (1/2 and full Ironman distance) after orginally purchasing it for a daily rider. I’m the same dimensions you mentioned here and ride a 58cm. Definitely would suggest checking it out.

4

I agree with Kent5280 - a road bike that can serve a dual purpose might be best. It sounds like you do not want two bikes. The saddle mount on the seatpost on the Soloist can be pivoted to change the effective geometry of the bike. You can add a set of clip on aero bars and use for tri. If you get some nice light carbon bars you can just leave them on unless you are road racing. I also like Cervelo - so I am a bit biased. Check out Cervelo’s website at
http://cervelo.com/bikes/2005/SL-Centaur.html
and Bike Sport Michigan’s description the bike
http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/bikes/store05bikes/05-cervelo-soloist-team.htm

That said - the Kestrel Talon might also be a good choice. It looks like the difference in road and tri geometry for the bike is also changed with a different seat post/saddle configuration but I am not sure if you have to change out the whole seat post and whether or not that is even possible. The Cervelo is set up to be flexible.