Tri bike vs. road bike with aero bars speed difference

Triathlon Forum
1

This is my first post on the st forums so be patient with me.

Everyone ive read said that going from a road bike to a tri bike results in about a 1 to 2 mph difference. My question is how much faster is a properly fitted tri bike then a road bike with aero bars fitted for the tri position.

the two bikes im looking at are the cervelo p1 or the cannondale caad9 5 with aero bars

thanks for all the help,
austin

2

I would go with the Caad9 with aerobars. Until you are fast enough, 23mph+ for 40k, you dont need a “tri” or time trial bike. Chances are you could get just as aero on the cannondale plus it will give you a more versitle ride so you can do group rides and become an overall better bike handler. IMO wait until you can get a nicer tt bike, p1 is ok, but really not what you want in a year or so if you start getting really fast. Hope this helps!

3

but my goal is to start doing im’s and him’s in a year do you not think the p1 would be a good bike to start out with because ive read great reviews for it. and also theres a local sprint length tri that id like to win in about 6 months so i dont want any disadvantage from being on a road bike if that makes sense

4

depends how much more aero you can make your position on the tri bike.

it might allow you to get lower and more powerful, then the time difference might be “a lot”

it might only provide you with a more aerodynamic frame, in which case you would be only “a little” faster.

if you put in the effort to get a really good, aero, powerful position, I think you can get “a lot” faster

=)

This is my first post on the st forums so be patient with me.

Everyone ive read said that going from a road bike to a tri bike results in about a 1 to 2 mph difference. My question is how much faster is a properly fitted tri bike then a road bike with aero bars fitted for the tri position.

the two bikes im looking at are the cervelo p1 or the cannondale caad9 5 with aero bars

thanks for all the help,
austin

5

In all nicety and sincerity: do a search on this.

We’ve debated this several times.

Also, do a search on Specialized aero test and Trek’s White Paper, as they thoughtfully published the data for you.

To get you started, 2-3 watts = ~ 10 sec over 40k.

6

The tri bike will put you in a better position for riding i the aero bars, but it comes at the cost some handling and comfort. Clip on aero bars and sliding the seat forward isn’t a bad way to go to get started.

7

thanks for all the help guys i really appreciate it
.

8

Try them both in the setup you would the the majority of your riding, if you’re going to be doing 1/2 IM and IM it’s a long ride and you really want a comfortable, powerful, yet aerodynamic position. Depending upon your body type and flexibility you might achieve this on the P1, or you might find it on the Cannondale. One of the fastest guys I knew (on the bike) used to ride a Trek 5500 (or something like that) and be very comfortable, I tried aerobars on my road bike but was never really all that comfortable and ended up on a really steep seattube.

9

wut

but it comes at the cost some handling and comfort…
.

10

This article should help: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/how-aero-is-aero-19273
.

11
  1. Buy a road bike.
  2. Win your local tri in 6 months.
  3. Boost FOREVER that you won a triathlon with a road bike after only 6 months training. =)
12

haha sorry that wasnt meant to sound cocky its just im 17 and theres a 19 and under division and its local and i already do cross country

sorry about thatt =]
.

13

wut

but it comes at the cost some handling and comfort…

 maybe I need to use more words, riding a road bike in a regular road position is more comfortable and handles far better than riding a tri bike in any position, while a road bike with clip on bars is perhaps the worst of all worlds.
14

ok that makes more sense

but i wouldn’t say road position is far better than aero position for all people.

a mild aero position on a tri bike is pretty damn comfy =)

wut

but it comes at the cost some handling and comfort…

 maybe I need to use more words, riding a road bike in a regular road position is more comfortable and handles far better than riding a tri bike in any position, while a road bike with clip on bars is perhaps the worst of all worlds.
15

Also on a completely different subject…

do you think shimano tr51 shoes with ultegra pedals is a good combo or do you guys have any better suggestions

thanks again

16

totally doesn’t matter

if its comfy for you and you can clip in, do it.

Also on a completely different subject…

do you think shimano tr51 shoes with ultegra pedals is a good combo or do you guys have any better suggestions

thanks again

17

“i dont want any disadvantage from being on a road bike”

Both Chrissie Wellington and Simon Lessing won IM on Cervelo Soloists and Macca won plenty on a Kestrel Talon.

18

Hey Austin,

I just posted this on another thread but we did this study last year with a Tarmac SL2 and a Transition – road versus TT setups for 10 mile time trials.

Check out the complete study white paper here:
http://freepdfhosting.com/44e17ddb5f.pdf

Then we followed up this test with a “break down” test to see how much the frame, aerobar position, and helmet made a difference. Bike Radar and Testrider.com did great pieces on these tests. I can’t find the Bike Radar one right now.
http://www.testrider.com/fly.aspx?layout=player&video=4

In our test, the frame/fork was worth a fair amount (~19 Watts improvement from a 280W base = 7% power savings) and moving from riding in the drops to riding in aerobars (fairly aggressive position) was worth 29 Watts out of 280W base = 10% power savings. These #'s are what I remember, so if someone quotes my paper, sorry if I’m off a bit.

So position is still king but the bike definitely matters.

Hope this helps. Good luck,

Mark