anyone ever do the Sea2Summit tri that ends on top of Mt Washington?
trying to decide if I should switch bikes at the last turn with 12 miles to go on the bike course? Rules allow for it.
the last ten miles of the course has climbs that vary between 2% & 6% (and some dh sections) up to to 7.5% in one small section, total climbing in 10 miles is 1400’
my buddy is telling me they are planning to switch bikes to a road bike for this last part of the course, I think it’s a bit extreme.
Having done the race it is definitely not worth the switch if you are running a 2x drivetrain. There is enough rolling hills in the first part that i assume you are running an extreme front rings - for perspective i road with a 53/39 set up and had no issue in the small ring on the climb
1x drive train might be a different story
I switched bikes for the final climb and saw many others do it as well. You can certainly do it on a TT bike but a roadie will likely be lighter and more comfortable for the climbing. I also found that the change in position helped me feel fresher for the run/hike portion. If you have a good sherpa and the roadie is ready to go, it will cost you almost no time to make the swap.
You will be faster on the tri bike, unless you choose to believe you won’t be faster on the tri bike.
Some good points by the posters above. I’d add that it also depends on how competitively you’re racing. I won the race in 2020 and came in second in 2022 and didn’t switch bikes. If you’re at the front, losing even 30 seconds can change the outcome. Both times I rode it with a 52/36 chainring and 11/28 cassette and that gave me plenty of gearing for the climb. Whatever you choose, good luck and enjoy! The finish at the top of Mt. Washington is my favorite finish of any race I’ve done.
This post really is for a friend who thinks a “climbing” bike will be faster. I’ve done the event. Placed 4/12 in the over 50 crowd and was treating the day as a big training day. I wouldn’t do this on anything but a tri bike. IMLP has tougher hills than this. think I had a 52/34 and 11-28, wasn’t even an issue. They also think they will do their bike swap in 15" - Pogacar did it in the TDF in 11, but somehow I don’t think her or her support crew are TDF caliber…
Haha - I was second behind you in 2020 
.
Third overall in 2019. My brother/porter made this video of the day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4WDOLBCbfA
I was on an aero road bike with the flip-down Profile Bars; best of both worlds!! I was extremely fortunate to: (1) have an extra wheelset in the trunk of the car, (2) Flat just before my car leap-frogged me for the last time on the way to Wildcat.
After this I purchased a tri-bike and got rid of those noisy annoying flip-down pads. I’d do the whole thing on a tri-bike if I did it again. -AW