I’m new to the forum and pretty amateur in the sport. My experience in endurance sports includes two 70.3’s and a 40 mile ultra.
My first 70.3 I rode a borrowed Trek carbon bike, and my second event I bought a used Specialized Roubaix SL4 comp road bike. The bike has been great, but I’m curious whether I should have bought a tri bike rather than a road bike. I don’t really have any interest in cycling specific events, although I’m not saying I won’t do one in the future. I don’t really have the budget for both bikes, so does anyone think I should sell my road bike and get a tri bike?
I’m doing a full Ironman in May and am hoping to make the decision soon whether to get aero bars and alter my geometry for the tri on my road bike or just sell it and get a tri bike.
In my humble, AG-er opinion, unless you’re looking for every advantage you can get…for a PR, a Kona slot, or a podium spot, a good road bike with aerobars is about 90% as efficient as a tri bike…maybe better if it’s a good fit for you and you’ve got a level of comfort built up with the combination. You’ll see plenty of both at a full IM. If you’ve got the disposble cash sitting around, indulge yourself, but it’s not going to make a significant difference on your bottom line.
If you’re not gonna do any cycling specific events, I’d definitely sell it and get a tt bike. option though is to sell it and get a “long and low” road bike like an allez sprint that you can set up with tt bars. Your roubaix will be terrible with that setup though
I tried the road bike route for my first 3-4 70.3 races… then got tired of looking at all the beautiful TT bikes in the corral. Found a used Fuji D6 tri bike and picked up some Flo wheels. May not make all the time difference in the world, but it made me feel like one of the cool kids :).
I have a Roubaix SL4 with aero bars and a Red Shift seat post. I also have a Trek SC. I did an 11-mile loop back to back one afternoon to test the speed difference. The average power was identical on both rides. I rode at a ride all day pace. The time saving difference when riding the SC would be as follows.
Sprint 2 mins
Oly 4 mins
70.3 10 mins
140.6 20 mins
I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t a little faster on the SC, but I sure do like the looks of the bike.
I owned a Roubaix SL4 road bike, and even won a small sprint tri on it… but it was an AWEFUL bike to get set up for triathlons, and try to go fast on. Not only did it have big fat round tubes, but the geometry was very upright, and I had to slam a negative angle stem, to get the handlebars low enough for a kind-of-sort-of aero position. After that one tri on it, I sold it for a tri bike, and have never looked back.
Tri bike for almost any race. The only tri I did with my road bike was a bit by accident as my RED shifters broke on the tri bike the week of a race I was doing. It was a very hilly course (Quassy Rev3 in 2018, which has become CT 70.3), and I managed to have the fastest OA bike time, but only because of the nature of the course. I would have been quite a bit quicker on my tri bike.
I despise training on a tt bike, it’s uncomfortable and handles like crap. I’d just keep what you have and get the fit dialed in, learn how to repair it and keep it clean and keep getting faster with what you already own. Those stubby aero bars can be a nice add for the windy sections, but they take some practice in training
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I don’t see the rush to go out straight away and get a Tri bike, what you have is fine if triathlon is just a part time hobby for you. If I were you I’d get some aero bars and stick with the current bike until I got to a point where I felt the bike is holding me back and I knew exactly what I wanted from my next bike.
This year’s World 70.3 champ used a road bike…
(Yes, I know, the course lended itself to that choice)
A venge with aerobars integrated into its cockpit and set up as a tt-style fit is much closer to a tri bike than a road bike. I wish people would quit using this example. You’re unlikely going to be able to get low enough on the roubaix
I think I’ll put my bike up for sale in my area and see what I can get out of it. If I get the right price I’ll pull the trigger and get a tri bike.
That said, does anyone have anything good/bad to say about the Felt B14?
Thanks again for all the input!
The B14 is a perfectly good tri bike. One of the best value for money options in my opinion.
I personally wouldn’t sell the road bike and buy a tri bike. I have both but if I could only have one, it would have to be the road bike. Most riders (not all, especially on this forum) will agree that a road bike is just much more fun to ride. My Felt IA is a lovely bike. I really enjoy riding it, and I’m certainly faster on it. However, it’s a tool for a specific job - solo racing against the clock on non technical routes. A tri bike is not good for riding with others, it’s not great for riding in traffic, it’s not that enjoyable for very hilly routes (though it may still be faster), and a tri bike is just not great for enjoying a nice day out on the bike when you fancy sitting up, relaxing, and having a look around from time to time. Sure, if it’s just about quality solo workouts, a tri bike will do fine. But I also like riding and like a bit of variety. Road bikes are more flexible tools that are simply more enjoyable as a way to get around on a bike. tri bikes are faster, but I spend a lot more time training than racing. I want to enjoy my training.
I think I’m going to go to my lbs this weekend and see if I can get fitted. I’ll also keep an eye on the classifieds to see if anything worthwhile pops up. If the right deal comes up I might just buy a TT bike and make the determination whether I want to keep one or both bikes later. I personally follow the adage of practice how I play so I don’t see myself keeping both but who knows.
Do you only train to get faster for races, or does the pleasure you get from the sport also matter to you? Serious question!
I train and race because I enjoy it. Some of what I enjoy is the satisfaction of getting faster both through fitness gains from training and technical improvements from pacing, position, strategy, hardware, etc. But, most of what I enjoy is the actual activity of riding. A tri bike will help with speed, but a road bike will help with the simple joy of riding, IMO. I have the best of both worlds. I train indoors on the tri bike, and the hge majority of my outdoor rides are on the road bike. Then I race on the tri bike for maximum performance. It’s not essential to do all your training on the tri bike. That level of specificity doesn’t seem to be very important. This discussion has come up repeatedly here, and some will disagree, but the vast majority seem to be in consensus that while you need to do some of your riding in race position, especially in the lead in to a race (and especially you need to be comfortable on the extensions for the duration of the race), there’s no performance lost in spending a good proportion, even a big majority of your training, on a road bike.
I don’t believe there’s anything significant gained by doing all your training on the tri bike. Indeed, I think from a health point of view, it’s wise to mix it up, especially if you have any shoulder or neck discomfort on either bike (I think neck pain is most likely on the tri bike even if well fit).