TT bike or Not.

[Rocket-Boy]

Im stuck in this debate in my head at the moment too.

I could put exensions on my roadbike but I think a TT bike will be better for me.

I dont race road anymore, more into MTB.

[Garfield2010]

All depends on your goals?

 

TT bikes look great but will only benefit your time if you can avg 35-40km/h.

 

You can't use them at mass start events either.

 

Are you serious?

 

The TT-Bike will save you plenty of time even if you average 25km/h.

 

There are 2 reasons. 

 

1.  You are more aerodynamic as you are not allowed to draft

2.  A tri bike is more comfortable and if set up correctly the biggest improvement here will be your run

 

Good luck in PE when the eaterly blows as per usual on a road bike.......

[davem]

What Garf said.

 

Don't worry about it for IM70.3 Durban, there will so much drafting you won't need to worry about aerodynamics.

 

You don't need a massive budget to get a tribike.

 

Are you serious?

 

The TT-Bike will save you plenty of time even if you average 25km/h.

 

There are 2 reasons. 

 

1.  You are more aerodynamic as you are not allowed to draft

2.  A tri bike is more comfortable and if set up correctly the biggest improvement here will be your run

 

Good luck in PE when the eaterly blows as per usual on a road bike.......

[Grantc]

Are you serious?

 

The TT-Bike will save you plenty of time even if you average 25km/h.

 

There are 2 reasons. 

 

1.  You are more aerodynamic as you are not allowed to draft

2.  A tri bike is more comfortable and if set up correctly the biggest improvement here will be your run

 

Good luck in PE when the eaterly blows as per usual on a road bike.......

^ what he said

[shaper]

Some articles worth reading and in line with what Garfield says

 

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/bikes/difference.shtml

http://gearwestbike.com/articles/tri-bike-or-road-bike-pg54.htm

[SwissVan]

Depends on your longer term goals as others have pointed out.

 

I did IM on my normal road bike... no aero bars ....but I did struggle in the run , whether this is a factor of the bike or lack of training I don't know but I believe more a factor of training than the bike.

 

if your ultimate goal is IM , then go TT bike I reckon. If ultimate goal is to cycle other events and general fitness then keep your road bike and "make do" with it at Iron man... Must say the Iron Man course itself (PE) is not all that TT bike friendly in my humble opinion.

 

Over an IM distance, unless you a potential age group winner the differences really become negligible .... whether I finished 10 minutes quicker or not is really irrelevant... so long as you finish

 

IMO the Tri bike aero benefits are more marketing talk then truth, especially if you a normal athlete who wont be riding at 40+ kmh averages. Tri bikes imo with all the extra aero surfaces just weigh to much, I wish someone would build a standard tubing frame with tri geometry, I'd rather have a bike that weighs 1- 2 kg's less than one that is aero.

EDIT: You can still achieve good aero efficiency with a set of TT bars, TT helmet, skin suit and deep section wheels.

 

I've done swiss 70.3 twice, once on my spez Roubaix road with clip on TT bars and standard road wheels and once on my argon E116 TT bike with zipp 404's. Both times the conditions / route were the same and my level of fitness was probably a bit better when I used the argon. The time difference for the cycle leg was 5 minutes quicker with the argon.

 

However.... I do find that the tri bike geometry to be more comfortable as it opens up the hip and in my case experienced less lower back pain and my legs (quads) feel better off the bike onto run

[T.XTERRA]

I don't really ride that much faster on a TT bike. BUT my run is 10 times better off the TT than a road bike. (It must be due to the geometry:)) 

On a full IM that makes all the difference:).

I find IMHO that too often we only looking at the one part of the race and not how the product influences the rest. We use all this tech to make sure we get through it as efficiently as possible. So therefore I say get a TT bike (make sure its set up properly) and enjoy the sport you love 

[Garfield2010]

I don't really ride that much faster on a TT bike. BUT my run is 10 times better off the TT than a road bike. (It must be due to the geometry:)) 

On a full IM that makes all the difference:).

I find IMHO that too often we only looking at the one part of the race and not how the product influences the rest. We use all this tech to make sure we get through it as efficiently as possible. So therefore I say get a TT bike (make sure its set up properly) and enjoy the sport you love 

 

For me the run part is due to 2 reasons:-

 

1.)  I am more comfy on the bike.  From my road bike (with clip on bars) my lower back took strain hence my hamstrings

 

2.)  You are more aerodynamic so you can pedal within yourself and keep the average speed up without burning your legs

[Wez-O]

Hi All

 

I need some advice from all of the tri guru's out there.

 

My road map is as follows:

1. 70.3 August 2015
2. 70.3 Jan 2016
3. IMSA 2016

I am currently training on a decent road bike that I have equipped with aero bars and bought a decent set of deep section carbon wheels. 

 

The add link is here: https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/139528-giant-tcr-advanced-sl-isp/

 

Given what I am looking to achieve over the next 8 months, would you suggest buying a TT bike? I dont have budget to keep both so would have to forgo the road bike.

 

I know there are some Olympic distance events that allow drafting which the TT bike would not be allowed, but not to fussed around not competing in those given the training I will be doing.

 

Suggestions / options / experience related answers appreciated

 

Thanks

This weekend I went training with a friend on his TT bike... Lets just say that I was shocked but how hard it was to even sit on his wheel on undulating roads. 

 

Unless you are climbing mountains, racing a road bike in a TT race is like taking a knife to a gunfight!