I know that tri bikes have a reputation for not climbing as well as a road bike. Assuming that gearing is the same and weight is relatively similar, is there any real reason for a difference in climbing feel and/or speed.
They climb just fine.
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There’s probably an argument to made for the position. On a road bike you’re much more upright and it allows you to drive the peddle differently that is probably more efficiently on a climb.
Heavy seems to be the biggest issue. My tri bike is heavy, and there is not reasonable way to make it lighter.
The “feel” going uphill is totally fine, position and everything else is never an issue for me.
My personal, and totally amateur, opinion is the biggest thing is simply gearing. A lot of road bikes are just better geared for climbing. Sure, there are differences in the geometry, but I don’t really know it’s that significant.
I did the long course in Santa Barbara the last three years. The first two years, I took a road bike and I still ended up walking part way up the last climb. This year, I took my Shiv and rode the whole thing. But the difference is I set the Shiv up specifically so I could climb. It has the biggest rear cog (30 tooth) I can fit on that RD, giving me a 36-30 low gear. If I could fit a 32 or 34, I would. And at that point, it would be as good as just about any off-the-shelf road bike for climbing.
So, at least so far as I can see, the biggest obstacle to climbing in a tri bike is simply setting it up for such.
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