Greetings to all Slowtwitchers from the UK. I’m currently deciding which new bike to buy after my Principia Rex was stolen last month. I’m planning to do Ironman UK next year, which is a tad hilly, and with the training miles for that in mind am leaning towards a nice, comfy road bike such as the Specialized Roubaix. However, I can’t rid my mind of the need for tri bars and am concerned that I might be sacrificing a bit too much for the guarantee of getting out for those long rides.
Any of you fit fetishists out there got any opinions on whether tri bars are useful/useless on such a bike, which is “written off” as a Sportive bike in some quarters. I’d be very grateful for any feedback. (I’m 46, 6ft 4ins, around 15 stone and not particularly flexible, if that has any bearing).
Many thanks
Mitch
If you cant decide, mini clip-on aero bars may be a good option to consider.
I put T2’s on my madone last year and spun the setpost around backwards. It works quite well and then for a road just flipped it again and took off the bars.
Sin of all sins - I put Vision TT Minis on my Pinarello Dogma last year… Not particularly aero, but it lets me get into the right position, and I can totally out-climb and descend faster the tri-bikes (on a curvy course), which is actually nice around here (Colorado), but of course, they get me on the flat. Never be as good over a long flat tri (i.e. IM FL) but works for shorter and hilly stuff.
Mitch,
I’ll quickly lay down a few strong opinions*.
- when a triathlon bike course is “kinda hilly” a tri bike is still appropriate. When a triathlon bike course is very hilly a tri bike is still appropriate. A triathlon bike course has to be off the charts, ludicrously hilly to warrant a road bike and, frankly there aren’t that many courses like that in the world. If an Ironman bike course is kinda hilly (I’m thinkin’ IM Canada for example) that means there are a few sustained climbs surrounded by miles and miles and miles of flatish or slightly rolling roads where the TT position is an enormous benefit.
- A triathlon bike should not equate discomfort. But I do agree that a road bike is, generally more comfortable than a TT bike
- One option is that you get a road bike that has the potential to be converted into a tri bike and that doesn’t mean just slapping on a set of aerobars. The Cervelo Soloist probably does it best with the reversible seat clamp but there are others that can be made steeper with a bent post like a Thompson Elite Setback that is reversed. If you’re going to do an IM then step up and do it right with a shorter stem (than what the road position would use) and really get into a comfortable, efficient position that will take potentially 20 minutes or more off your bike split and perhaps 10 minutes off your run. If you’re gonna do this make the conversion at least 6 weeks out and let that new position become an extension of your body.
Ian
*all of this is predicated on being fit properly.
I think what you were looking for was stubbies
Slap some stubbies on a road frame…
Thanks Ian (and others) - IMUK is pretty hilly but my bigger concern is the 10 months beforehand getting the miles in. I did Roth a few years ago when I was pretty new to the sport and though I had bars on a road bike I spent a fair chunk of the bike leg on the hoods because of backache, so cancelled out any hint of aero beneift.
I’m sure I can get down on the bars for a few hours at race time but doing long rides on public roads in the south of England, where the drivers don’t give you an inch, on the bars is tough and so i’d spent a lot of time on the regular bars.
I’m also tempted by the soloist and like the idea of the thomson-style seat post - that would seem to set me up nicely for both options.
I hear ya on getting fitted properly - but having read a lot of threads here and elsewhere on the mysteries of fitting and all the various systems claiming to be “the one” - I’ll save that for a few weeks down the line. chrs all.