Is a TT bike preferable to road bike for triathlon

[PhilCroz]

I am thinking of trading in my road bike in for a Triathlon/TT bike. How much will my average speed increase?

Is it worth the hassle?

[Agteros1]

Only in non-drafting events (the minority) are you allowed to use a tri bike. The organisers are strict with this! This means that the BSG sprint series cannot be done with a tri bike.

 

I found that by fitting clip-on bars to my road bike I can easily shift one gear up for the same effort.

[DawieO]

The important thing to know is that the setup on a Tri bike is very different to a TT setup. For Tri the trick is to get as comfortable as possible in the bars to get as much of the aero advantag as possible over AS LONG A PERIOD as possible. The setup will allow you to take the strain off your back and still stay nice and low. For IM you are looking at 180km, so anything around 5-6 or so hours.

 

For pure TT the setup is focussed on getting maximum power output for the 50 or so kilometers of a typical road TT, so comfort isn't necessarily a primary consideration.

 

Many guys use roadbikes for TT, but I found great benefit in the switch. Again, understand that a TT bike is virtually useless for anything else other than non-drafting triathlons and road TT's.

[Pronutro]

"Is a TT bike preferable to road bike for triathlon?"

 

Yes

[Thug]

If it's not a BSG race, then yes!

[bclark]

Funny enough, I saw someone with a TT in the Argus.

 

Interested to know how he slipped that in starting pens.

[DawieO]

Yeah also saw him. Saw some Spinergy RevX's that also crept past the scrutineers.

[The_Break]

The main difference is that a TT bike allows for a very open hip angle in a very aero position making sustained efforts in this position much more achievable. One can get to a similar setup on a road bike by moving the saddle forward and up and then sitting on the front of the saddle though.

 

Other big difference is that a TT bike is more aero and faster than a road bike that has been set up with the necessary tri kit for obvious aero reasons.

 

If you can afford a TT bike as a 2nd bike then this is the best way to go for triathlons that are non-draft legal. You cannot use this in a draft legal race. You also must be careful with the setup of the bars if you want to use it for UCI TT races as UCi rules have specific measurements your bars and other setup measurements must conform to.

[PhilCroz]

Why? are you not allowed to do the argus on tt bikes?

[Tankman]

Why? are you not allowed to do the argus on tt bikes?

 

Way too dangerous with all those rib piercing tt bars stinking out, 40 000 other nervous noob riders on the road, gust winds blowing you from side to side.

 

Have you ever seen a TT rider hold a line? Nope they all over the show!