ROAD OR TRI BIKE??????

[ShowDem]

I only have enough money to buy one bike but not sure what route to go.

 

I will be doing ironman next year and a few triathlons leading up to it.

 

Would it be better to buy a good road bike and then just do the conversion for ironman or should I rather go for a tri bike and convert to road for the limited events I do every year?

 

What is the process for conversion and what does it cost (roughly)?

[Stoffies1]

Roaddie add bars later!!

[Madlight]

I'd say an aero roadbike like the specialized venge, Scott foil or giant propel with short tri bars bolted on when needed.

[Bodhi]

I posted the same Q some time back. Bought a road bike. SO glad I did. The guys here mostly recommended road, and you can't fault these legends.

[ShowDem]

If you just bolt bars on then I assume the cost is fairly low????

[shawnvan]

I dissagree with the previous comments.

 

If your focus for next year is IM and doing other long distance triathlons leading up to it, rather get a Tri bike.

While a clip on bars are an easy solution, you still wont get all the fit and aero benefits that a tri bike is designed for... remember the steeper seat tube of a tri bike is specifically designed to open up your pelvis in order to benefit the run after. I for one would not want to ride 180 km on a road bike and then run a marathon... a TT bike makes a huge difference here.

 

You can get away with a road bike and clip ons for olympic distance races and even 70.3 (very hilly bike) but for anything else I say get a TT bike.

 

Also, if you want to do other road races, there are literally thousands of road bikes sitting in garages not being used - just ask around to borrow one - even on the hub you'll find guys willing to lend you a road bike for a race if you need.

[gummibear]

What's your budget and what bikes have you looked at?

 

http://beta.active.com/triathlon/articles/aero-on-a-budget-transform-your-current-ride-into-a-race-day-workhorse-881906

[bigjoe]

I think the 1st question that you should ask yourself is what is you intentions after IM. I agree with Svan that the tt bike will give you added benefits, but with a limited budget a road bike will give you more benefit in the long run, unless you are going to focus on triathlons.

 

Some points to consider

1. You can not use a TT bike for road races.

2. If you cycle with a group, a TT bike is a no go in most instances.

 

I love cycling, and do loads of cycle races. I train with a group of friends. But, I have also done Full IM and a few 70.3's. I didnt have cash to upgrade my road bike and buy a TT. So, my solution was to buy a decent road bike (Scott Foil) which i can use for road cycling as well as Triathlons.

 

I change my seat and add tri-bars, and I am comfortable. Yes, i am not competing for podium so i dont need that extra benefit, but I still love the sport. Maybe in the future i will buy a TT bike, but i would rather 1st buy better wheels for my road bike.....

 

Hope that this helps!!!

[gummibear]

remember the steeper seat tube of a tri bike is specifically designed to open up your pelvis in order to benefit the run after. I for one would not want to ride 180 km on a road bike and then run a marathon... a TT bike makes a huge difference here.

 

 

What would the savings be for a avg Joe that rides at 30km/h avg and does a 5 hour run?

[shawnvan]

What's your budget?

 

If I had to buy a TT set up for say R20k, I would probably look to get an entry level tri bike for around R15 - 18k, then I could also pick up a cheap ass road bike for R3-5k for the odd group ride / road race. Pleanty of both for sale in the classifieds.

 

A R15k tri bike will be far more beneficial on IM race day than a R20k road bike with clip ons.

 

Or buy a good TT bike and if after IM you decide you no longer want to triathlons, just sell the TT bike and buy a road bike...

[gummibear]

A R15k tri bike will be far more beneficial on IM race day than a R20k road bike with clip ons.

Based on what?

Or buy a good TT bike and if after IM you decide you no longer want to triathlons, just sell the TT bike and buy a road bike...

The market for TT bikes is very small and you will sell it at a big loss.

[shawnvan]

What would the savings be for a avg Joe that rides at 30km/h avg and does a 5 hour run?

 

Very difficult to quanitfy. The bike itself wont save that much time - maybe 10+ minutes over 180km. But the difference to the run can be the difference between a 4 1/2 hour run and a 6+ hour walk. Obviously there are exeptions - if you are very flexible and don'e have lower back issues riding a road bike might not make much difference to your run.

 

I just think (from my own experience) that if you're going to do IM, go all in and try to make it as least difficult as it already is!

[shawnvan]

 

Frame geometry, areodynamics, different emaphisis of leg muscle use... And my own experince doing long distance traithlons on a road bike w/ clip ons vs a tri bike.

 

If you buy second hand to start your loss wont be too big.

[Mylolylo]

Simple...you can use your road bike for triathlons, but if you go buy a TT bike you cant do road races on it. As a matter of fact I think some triathlons you cant use a TT bike either but I stand to be corrected.

[rock]

dont take this the wrong way, but why do triathletes seem to think they need a 'special' bike, surely a conventional road bike is good enough or is it because of the no drafting rule that they want to get stretched out like a TT bike?

[shawnvan]

Simple...you can use your road bike for triathlons, but if you go buy a TT bike you cant do road races on it. As a matter of fact I think some triathlons you cant use a TT bike either but I stand to be corrected.

 

Not that simple - for Ironman distance - if you read the other posts...

Only sprint distance triathlons (drafting legal) don't allow tri bikes - eg. Energage series, which no longer exists anyway. Also for IM training you shouldn't be doing sprints other than as transition practice...