I have a couple questions about the Specialized Transition Comp and the Trek TTX bikes, most sepcifically, how do they climb and what is their weight like in comparison with a bike like a Trek OCLV.
Here’s why… I have almost always ridden a Trek road bike with aeor bars and a Thomson “set-back” seatpost turned around to get farther forward. Now, the new Madones (most of them, anyway) won’t allow a “forward” seatpost, and I know I won’t be able to get comfortable on them. I am either looking at going to a pure tri bike like the ones I mentioned above, or trying a Specialized Tarmac, Allez, or Roubaix with the clip-on aerobars and the seatpost adaptation.
I like a forward position, but I live and race primarily in the hills of west-central Pennsylvania. Trek and Specialized are my brands of choice because I really want to remain loyal to my local bike shop.
Don’t want to hijack the thread already, but can you really use a roubaix(or do you mean tarmac?) with aerobars and be aero? The relaxed geometry doesn’t screw this up?
Hi Ray. With the Madone, you can get a 10 mm set forward seatmast for it. Combined with a longer saddle (i.e. Profile Tri Stryke), you can get decently forward. My wife did this for a season until she decided to get a tri bike and use the Madone solely as a road rig.
I ride a TTX 9.5 and have found that the TTX climbs and decends very well (western Virginia - Blue Ridge Parkway). The stability of that bike always impresses me. In terms of weight, it depends on the level of the TTX frame - I believe the 9.0 (OCLV white carbon) is a little heavier than the 9.5 and 9.9 frames (OCLV black carbon), and the 9.9 SSL (OCLV red carbon) is lighter than all of them. Given, you’ll save more weight depending on the component set, wheels, aerobars, etc.
Climbing and descending with a road bike is always going to be better/easier than a tri bike, but I’ve had really nice experiences with my TTX. A friend of mine just got a Transition, but hasn’t had a chance to take it up on the Parkway yet. I really don’t know how it compares, but it is definitely an awesome looking machine.
Contrary to what the e-mail must look like, I don’t work for Trek! In fact, my road bike is a Cannondale.
Thanks for the insight. I’ll be interested in how your friend feels about the Specialized Transition. Despite my affinity for Trek, I love the looks of the Transition.
Many readers may cringe at this, but I often end up with puncture-resistant tires (Gatorskins or Armadillos) on my bike so I can take it across some rough sections of road, even short stretches of dirt roads, if necessary.
Hi, I may be able to add some insight as I was recently in your same shoes. I rode a Trek 2100 road bike for two years of tris (no aero bars though). I just took my TTX 9.5 for it’s maiden outdoor voyage today and intentionally took it on some tougher hills to compare. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how well the TTX climbed especially after hearing how much better road bikes climb than tri bikes. There was some drop off between the two, but not much. I have to say I will definitely have to be careful when I am climbing really hard that I don’t hit my knees on the arm rests. I hope this helps!!