since i’ve been seeing steady results in my bike performance (cervelo p3c) i bought a new road bike (s3) to possibly race. here’s the problem…
when i ride the p3c with my group (they’re also all on tt bikes) i can hang with the best of em…however, when i ride the road bike (while they’re also on their road bikes), i don’t feel the same power and endurance that i do with my p3c, and easily get dropped. it’s very discouraging and humbling since i, theoretically, should be up front with the fast riders, right?
does it take time to adjust from the tt bike over to a road bike? if so, how long, and why?
Ah, WAY to many variables to answer. Is this your first road bike? Are there “surges” like town sign sprints, king of the hill stuff, etc.? You burn a lot of matches road riding that is MUCH different than riding tempo pace on a TT bike. We can assume your fit is good if buying an S3 somewhere?
since i’ve been seeing steady results in my bike performance (cervelo p3c) i bought a new road bike (s3) to possibly race. here’s the problem…
when i ride the p3c with my group (they’re also all on tt bikes) i can hang with the best of em…however, when i ride the road bike (while they’re also on their road bikes), i don’t feel the same power and endurance that i do with my p3c, and easily get dropped. it’s very discouraging and humbling since i, theoretically, should be up front with the fast riders, right?
does it take time to adjust from the tt bike over to a road bike? if so, how long, and why?
thanks for your advice.
How good are your pack riding skills? If you are not a good drafter - and they are - you will be at a significant disadvantage and get dropped. Also, where are you getting dropped? On hills? During accelerations? Because road biking places a premium on out-of-saddle climbs and accelerations that are not as common on tri bikes, it may be that you are a good steady (tri) rider but are not as good at climbing and accelerating.
Or it could be psychological. Are you as comfortable on the road bike as you are on the tri bike?
i’ve had road bikes before, but haven’t had one for years. this one is a couple weeks old. the gearing is 172.5 50/34; 11-26. on my tri bike i have 11-23. does this make a big diff in training? yes, the fit is good on both bikes.
my group rides all over. hills…flats…breakaways…i can often pull them all on the tri bike, but feel like a total wuss with the road bike???
like i said…i don’t feel the power or endurance…maybe with time?
Could be the compact crank you are running (I doubt your P3 has a compact on it) and some likely adaption time.
right, no compact on the p3c. strange that bike speed doesn’t transfer over from tri to road bike. i guess i don’t really understand and i don’t like being humbled like this.
i worked my ass off on the tri bike to be competitive and now i gotta start all over on the road bike? seems like it.
What you are experiencing is not all that unusual. A TRI bike typically about 2 mph faster than a road bike. No matter how fit you are, the TRI bike IS faster.
Sounds like a little practice with the group and pacelines will get you right back in the game after a couple of group rides.
Try riding in the drops as much as you can. Get low like you are on your TT bike. I’m betting all your power comes from your ass … like mine does. (It’s also where most people think my knowledge comes from.) If I sit upright, I lose it. But if I get down and low, I can feel the glutes engage and the power comes on. So I’ve learned to set my road bike up and ride it low, too.
the tri bike emphasizes the use of different muscles. You probably built up your quads and hamstrings from riding your tri bike and now with the slacker seat tube angle, don’t have as much strength in your quads, since the road bike will tend to rely more on the quads and not as much on the hamstrings, as the other guys do.
the tri bike emphasizes the use of different muscles. You probably built up your quads and hamstrings from riding your tri bike and now with the slacker seat tube angle, don’t have as much strength in your quads, since the road bike will tend to rely more on the quads and not as much on the hamstrings, as the other guys do.
BINGO.
You’re a triathlete riding a road bike. Different fit = different muscles.
Over the course of the past 10 months, I went from riding 250 miles a week on a roadie to riding 250 miles a week on a tri bike. I would say I’m more fit now, but it’s harder to hang with the same people uphill.
Don’t know if I can offer much in terms of why your exact scenario is happening, but I am on the other end of the spectrum.
Have left the sport of triathlon and am a roadie now. Have been spending some time on my bud’s TT ride(old KM 40) to try and get this old bad back into tolerating TT positions so I can ride some ITT’s next season, but I have much less power.
On my Madone I fell as though I’m sitting on my couch and it’s just natural feeling. On the TT rig it’s the same thing you are feeling, I have no power…yet. Will just take some time.
the tri bike emphasizes the use of different muscles. You probably built up your quads and hamstrings from riding your tri bike and now with the slacker seat tube angle, don’t have as much strength in your quads, since the road bike will tend to rely more on the quads and not as much on the hamstrings, as the other guys do.
Bingo. Forget all the replies about gearing, inconsequential - you will find a gear combination that feels right for you regardless of chainring size.
It is a combination of bike fit and adjustment to the different muscle loads between the two.
How often do you get gapped on either bike? Ultimately, the gap that drops you starts out as just a tiny gap. If/when you get gapped on the tri bike, do you ever use the tri/TT position to get back on? While these gaps aren’t a big deal if on a tri-bike, b/c you can close them easily, gaps are a huge deal if you can’t close them.
the tri bike emphasizes the use of different muscles. You probably built up your quads and hamstrings from riding your tri bike and now with the slacker seat tube angle, don’t have as much strength in your quads, since the road bike will tend to rely more on the quads and not as much on the hamstrings, as the other guys do.
isn’t the point of riding a tri geometry to conserve your hamstrings for the run?
but seriously, how do you top cyclists/triathletes excel at both triathlon (cycling leg) and road cycling??? do you spend 50% on the tri bike and 50% on the road bike?
Hard to “excel” in both, mostly because the more running I do, the worse my road cycling (lose that pop/sprint that is needed). As for training I am about 75% road bike (includes cyclocross bike), 5% MTN bike, 20% TT bike.
