Triathlon - age old question - road vs. tri?

Well, I finished my first sprint triathlon in Fort Collins, CO this past Sunday, and I'm hooked. Awful transition 1 of 3:46 - I might as well have showered and read the Sunday paper! Mostly because I forgot to untie my bike shoe laces and had to undo a knot. I can't wait for the next one (hopefully in august).

I biked using my converted 10 yr old Trek 8000 mtn bike with slicks. Of course, I need to work on my bike time (40:31)- and I now have the inevitable question - should I purchase a road or a tri bike? I've read a lot of articles on the differences in geometry. The advantages I see to tri bikes (from what I've read) is the comfortable position (back) and the use of the same muscles as the run (less pain on the transition to the run). Is this really true? I don't plan on riding in a pack or drafting off anyone - what are some of the other adavntages to road over tri? Price sure seems to be the main one.

Thanks much, and I'm excited to join the community.

I'm a newbie as well, but I do have a couple friends that ride tri bikes. The biggest advantage from what I understand is the geometry, and aerodynamics, as tri bikes place you in a more aggressive position, which makes it easier to maintain high speeds. The negative is they are less comfortable as compared to most road bikes for longer rides.

I'm sure the an experienced rider will post a more technical (and probably more accurate answer soon).

first, what is your cycling background? are you a mtn. biker of years? or just getting back into the fitness world?

Here's a link to a really good article: http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/bikes/difference.shtml

My two cents:

For the same money you can get a road bike with better components. It's also much more versatile since you can ride a road bike in a tri, in a crit, to the coffee shop, and to work. Tri bike are really only useful for triathlons and time trials.

What I did was buy the best road bike I could afford and then put aerobars and a forward seatpost on it for competing in and training for triathlons. I think that's your best bet.

Interesting link on tri bikes ... it certainly clears up some misconceptions I had!

Yes, I actually read that article (which is very pro tri-bike) before posting here. Thanks for the link.

and ....
newbie biker altogether - done some mtn in past but more of swimmer and runner.

I'm a newbie as well, but I do have a couple friends that ride tri bikes. The biggest advantage from what I understand is the geometry, and aerodynamics, as tri bikes place you in a more aggressive position, which makes it easier to maintain high speeds. The negative is they are less comfortable as compared to most road bikes for longer rides.

I'm sure the an experienced rider will post a more technical (and probably more accurate answer soon).

People seem to get too caught up in tri vs. road bikes. If you're a newbie, I would focus on comfort first. Also, consider the training that you will need to be more successful at triathlons. Comfort on long rides will be key, as these longer rides will develop your aerobic system, thereby improving performance in the long run. So for comfort pick an agile and responsive road bike. I would stay away from a super aero tri bike though. Hope this helps! :)

. I would stay away from a super aero tri bike though. Hope this helps! :)

Unless of course you actually want to podium in triathlons and TT's! :D

Unless of course you actually want to podium in triathlons and TT's! :D

Of course, but he's a newbie, so I don't think he has to worry about podium finishes just yet.
:)

Unless of course you actually want to podium in triathlons and TT's! :D

Let us not forget Barb Lindquist standing on an awfull lot of podiums after kicking the sh*t out of the field on her road geometry steel bike with no aerobars.

Test ride a number of each type and figure out what will work for you. Renting is often a possibility, and that would give you more saddle time on which to base your decision.
Don't let somebody else (myself included) tell you what you should ride, a bike can be a very personalized thing.

Good luck choosing what is right for you.

Let us not forget Barb Lindquist standing on an awfull lot of podiums after kicking the sh*t out of the field on her road geometry steel bike with no aerobars.

Test ride a number of each type and figure out what will work for you. Renting is often a possibility, and that would give you more saddle time on which to base your decision.
Don't let somebody else (myself included) tell you what you should ride, a bike can be a very personalized thing.

Good luck choosing what is right for you.

Women's competition is a different animal. Tell me about a man kicking the $hit out of anyone on a road geometry bike. Although, I must admit a guy riding a road bike with aerobars came within a minute of my 5K TT time a few weeks ago! :) I also wish they were passing out dollar bills for every bike you pass that started before you - all riding road bikes.

Anyway, if you can only afford one bike, the only choice is a road bike with aerobars. If you are a serious competitor, the old saying about "its the engine," works only to a certain extent. Without the equipment, you just flat a$$ will not be competitive unless you have the genetics of LA or you are competing against mediocre competition. It's like night and day time trialing with a road bike versus a TT/tri bike. I know - I have raced both, over the same distance, with rather drastic difference in results. I went from being a silver medalist (which means I lost) to breaking the state record when I raced my TT bike with proper equipment.

Women's competition is a different animal. Tell me about a man kicking the $hit out of anyone on a road geometry bike. Although, I must admit a guy riding a road bike with aerobars came within a minute of my 5K TT time a few weeks ago! :) I also wish they were passing out dollar bills for every bike you pass that started before you - all riding road bikes.

Anyway, if you can only afford one bike, the only choice is a road bike with aerobars. If you are a serious competitor, the old saying about "its the engine," works only to a certain extent. Without the equipment, you just flat a$$ will not be competitive unless you have the genetics of LA or you are competing against mediocre competition. It's like night and day time trialing with a road bike versus a TT/tri bike. I know - I have raced both, over the same distance, with rather drastic difference in results. I went from being a silver medalist (which means I lost) to breaking the state record when I raced my TT bike with proper equipment.

I know plenty of guys who would kick the $hit out of anyone else on a road geometry bike. I saw it happen at a world championship event - I was in the race and saw it first hand (of course it wasn't me doing it, but I certainly saw it happen :) ) Also, this isn't just about TT's. The poster is a newbie triathlete. If he were competing in ONLY TT's, I'd say sure, go with a full aero, tricked-out TT bike. But for what he's doing, he should consider both types of bikes. I would just suggest a road geometry for a newbie. I know the differences in TT times for racing with TT vs. road setups, but for all intents and purposes, and to help out the poster, he really needs to consider comfort and what's going to help him in the long haul...he can always upgrade to a tricked-out TT bike, but for starting out, I would bet my last dollar that he wouldn't be comfortable or see any different results starting out if he were on a full aero TT bike.

I know plenty of guys who would kick the $hit out of anyone else on a road geometry bike. I saw it happen at a world championship event - I was in the race and saw it first hand (of course it wasn't me doing it, but I certainly saw it happen :) ) Also, this isn't just about TT's. The poster is a newbie triathlete. If he were competing in ONLY TT's, I'd say sure, go with a full aero, tricked-out TT bike. But for what he's doing, he should consider both types of bikes. I would just suggest a road geometry for a newbie. I know the differences in TT times for racing with TT vs. road setups, but for all intents and purposes, and to help out the poster, he really needs to consider comfort and what's going to help him in the long haul...he can always upgrade to a tricked-out TT bike, but for starting out, I would bet my last dollar that he wouldn't be comfortable or see any different results starting out if he were on a full aero TT bike.

I am in total agreement. For a newbie, the only choice is a road bike. It makes a better trainer, and can easily be adapted to tris with the addition of aerobars (and other things).

one thing that makes me curious on this subject is that if you go to www.triathlon.org and look at the pics of the best guys in the world on the "world championships" none of them are using the super aero tri-bikes... they are all using road type bikes and some of them dont even have aero bars.... are they all that good? are the courses too involved for tri bikes? maybe they all the have the tri geometry but i can tell from the pics...

one thing that makes me curious on this subject is that if you go to www.triathlon.org and look at the pics of the best guys in the world on the "world championships" none of them are using the super aero tri-bikes... they are all using road type bikes and some of them dont even have aero bars.... are they all that good? are the courses too involved for tri bikes? maybe they all the have the tri geometry but i can tell from the pics...

I ride with members of the biggest triathlete club in the word - the Maddogs, and I have yet to see a member/competitor sans aero bars. Anyone that runs a tri without aero bars is giving up lots of time. Having said that, in the ITU events where drafting is allowed, many run road bikes, but that is a bit different than being into the wind by yourself.

Yeah. Those pix on the ITU website look like draft-legal races. All the races I've been in have been under standard USTF rules and I think it's 2-meters unless preparing to pass.

Yeah. Those pix on the ITU website look like draft-legal races. All the races I've been in have been under standard USTF rules and I think it's 2-meters unless preparing to pass.

Yes, ITU is draft legal, USTF is not. Even the TT's I compete in allow no more than 85 feet to the rear of another competitor unless it is an obvious pass, which must either be completed in a timely manner, or you better get your butt back 85 feet to the rear or get penalized. BTW, non draft races separate the men form the boys. I can be very difficult to drop a racer considerably less talented who is wheel sucking. Nothing like "The Race Of Truth" - a time trial!

Here's a good link to an article sponsored by a bike shop that sells both.

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

Here's a good link to an article sponsored by a bike shop that sells both.

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

Nice article, thanks.

FWIW, I went from a mountain bike to a tri specific frame bike. It was probably harder for me to get used to than a road bike would have been, but I didn't know the difference anyway. I really just ride for tri training purposes.

I love to ride aero, all scrunched down as low as I can get. It seems to be the only advantange on the bike portion that I have, since I'm not particularly fast or powerful. If I ride in the regular bars, I lose about 2 mph on the average as to riding aero.

I would not suggest a tri frame bike if you're not into riding in the aero bars. If you're a power house tri-rider, a tri frame bike might help you even more than a roadie would for speed. My husband has a road bike that's equiped like a tri bike, but now he wants a tri specific frame. I'd have to say that tri frames are probably best for the very strong on the bike or the very weak (myself) where you have to take every advantage that you can. If you want to do long weekend rides with your pals, get a roadie. Good luck on your decision!

Its simple. If you get a road bike, just dont get it so goddamn big that you are miserable in the aerobars. Simply fit aerobars to the bike when you buy it instead of later. It seems that every triathlete I know who buys a bike from a bike shop comes out with a frame that is simply too big. Bring someone who genuinely knows what they are talking about with you (and I mean for triathlons, or time trialing, not for regular road cycling because the geometry is different). For me I can only afford one bike, so if I ever want to do cycling races I can take off the aerobars and have a UCI legal bike.

Its simply not true that top level pros never race on road geometry. And I've seen a lot of high level racers who use road bikes with aerobars. It IS a matter of position and if you are positioned properly for time trial you will ride faster. For me, it knocked a good 3 minutes off my 40K bike leg in a tri and has lead to a remarkable improvement in my run splits. I assure you that a road bike will not trash your chances of a podium finish.

As for the comment about the women's races, if we're talking about Barb Linquist I think its safe to say she beats the pants off nearly every man in the field. I'll agree that the women's field drops off much faster than the men's but did anyone watch Ralphs 1/2IM? The lead woman was in the top 20 (including pro men) if not the top 10 overall.

Best of luck and have a blast with it.

I was all set to buy a tri-bike after researching online info, talking to area triathletes and bike shops, but now after reading tri vs road comments here, I am not so certain. I did read the article on bikesportmichigan as well. I am training for my 1st sprint tri. The tri-bike I'm looking at is no more expensive than road bikes I have priced, and I know I want to do tri's, so why would I want a road bike I had to adapt with aero bars, etc?

I was all set to buy a tri-bike after researching online info, talking to area triathletes and bike shops, but now after reading tri vs road comments here, I am not so certain. I did read the article on bikesportmichigan as well. I am training for my 1st sprint tri. The tri-bike I'm looking at is no more expensive than road bikes I have priced, and I know I want to do tri's, so why would I want a road bike I had to adapt with aero bars, etc?

Do you intend to do any group rides? Are you sure you'll be able to ride in the full-aero position full-time? I agree with the idea of a road bike set up with aero bars first. Much more versatile, and if you really get serious with triathlons, you can either upgrade to a tri bike, or better yet, buy one as your second bike!!!

Thanks for the input. Right now, I train on my own or with one or two friends most of the time, but that may change. Sounds like I need to take a tri-bike for a long ride and see just how comfortable, or not, I am. Whether I buy road or tri, it will be the last bike in my budget for a while since I just bought a trek 6700 mtn bike I use for adventure races.

Sorry for the late answer to your question, but I just decided to register and see how this thing goes. The question as to whether to buy a road bike or a so-called tri-bike is an old question that gets people really stirred up, becuz several have very solid opinions upon which one is used. However, which one is used is entirely up to the rider and the conditions of the race. For a professional, it is up to the individual sponsor and rarely up to the rider. It is impossible to say which bike will be faster under any given condition, becuz the ultimate speed or time of the competitor depends on so many things on any given day...weather, strength of the rider, length of the race, etc. Weather and fitness of the rider are probably the two most important factors, and both are much overlooked when it comes time to choose a bike.

It is also important to remember that the so-called tri bike is just that, it is a marketing gimmick to sell more bikes. Triathlons used to be thought of as time trials for swimming, biking and running--the biking part is what we are talking about, and since drafting used to be forbidden, the old think was to build as aerodynamic a bike as possible. However, aero is a many headed creature, esp. when the cyclist's body is 2/3 of the equation and the bike is only 1/3 of it. Once again, weather, strength or overall fitness and the length of the ride are the real considerations. A tri frame is really nothing but a time trial frame but with 650 series wheels, although the better ones now use 700 series due to lower rolling resistance.

How do I know all this? Becuz I built the bikes for a certain Woman's World Traithlon Champion--it was a road bike with an acid etched titanium frame, road bars and aero clipons. Wheels were ADA with sewups that I helped design and then balanced, I also designed the bearings. This person is still winning races and I noticed that she just won another Ironman Qualifier in the recent past. I have also designed the bikes for several world competitors, among them a World Cycling Champion, US national Champion and worked with two different winners of the RAAM, plus several state champions both pursuit and road.

Selecting a bike is a personal decision. It should be based on how much it weighs (very important), fit (also very important), the usage and finally and least important, it's cost--remember you get what you pay for.

One contributor to this forum hit the nail right on the head. She stated that fit is important. This is a true statement. A properly fitting road bike is more aero than an improperly fitting time trial bike. Also, time trial bikes are tradionally uncomfortable or can be. Long distance races, such as Ironman Qualifiers are 112 miles long, this is a tuff one for a time trial bike but winners frequently ride time trial bikes, it doesn't mean that you should.

I don't want to make this too long, but do you get the idea? You should buy a bike that you will be comfortable on and fits. Buy the best one your budget will allow and pay particular attention to the bearings. Good bearings don't need to be broken in, not ever.... Also, consider that either type of bike is a compromise. If you buy a road bike, it might not be faster than a full out time trial bike under ideal conditions, but get into adverse conditions and the time trial bike rider is toast. That works the other way around, too. Smart riders adapt the bike to the conditions, even swapping wheels from event to event. The idea for this is that a full disc wheel is great on a calm day, but you don't want to use one on a windy day.

Hope this helps.

Ive been SO STUCK the past few weeks--on just the topic of this thread...Can you help???

I've done my homework, budeted $$ and had narrowed my new bike purchase down to 2 ...Litespeed Bella-medium (titanium/ultegra) or Kestrel Talon-52cm(carbon/ultegra).

No shop in Portland, OR has the talon built up as a 52cm road bike to try. I've ridden both bikes--but its been hard to tell what the talon would truly 'feel' like b/c its been the tri build...in contrast, the bella, w/ its short reach shifters and special handlebars (shorter distance to the drops) felt pretty darn good (but not like a glove like the custom). (Also, this is being compared to my previous bike of 7 years that was 56cm...wayyyy too big and REALLY uncomfortable..felt like I was stretched sooo far forward, and leaning on my hands w/ too much weight...didnt realize this wasnt normal till this past year..always thought it was b/c i dont have great core strength..which Im working on)

While at the last LBS, I tried the Bella and the Litespeed out again. The shop owner said if I was serious, he'd have the Kestrel changed to a road set up so I could test ride-to just give him a few days notice. Just before I left, he asked if I'd like to try a 'high end steel' bike (w/ Ultegra--pretty much same components as the other two), just for kicks.

I did, and as I began to pedal--i literally shook my head--it felt SOOOOOO good fit wise. wow. I couldnt keep it in...yelled (to my self..hehe) 'this is what Im talking about!!!!'. Usually I feel like Im too stretched out, and that i have too much weight on my hands....this bike felt like a glove...now im wondering if it was because I was more upright in the 'road' position-or just fit me better b/c the others hadnt been adjusted?? The manager told me he built it himself--a custom...it had been on the floor for awhile, and he'd give it to me for the price of the Talon (about $2500) even though its price was (apparently) somewhere around $3100. he said he watched me ride off on the test ride...and it looked like it had been made for me.

Ok, I know its all about fit. By far--this custom 'high end steel' was the that one felt the best fit wise (but, having not ridden the talon as a road bike....its hard to count that one out). I asked if he'd be able to make the Kestrel Talon fit to feel like this custom bike-he said no, b/c the geometry was different. this, too, made me think the custom was more of a 'road bike' position--after reading this entire thread...makes me more convinced thats the case.

Which would you recommend that I go with??? Ugh. I cant believe its taking SO long to make a decision.

Im 34yo, female, 5'61/2"...have done a handful of spint tris last season, my training program includes building consistant aerobic base over the next 9+ months through group rides and group spinning (a winter class where people bring a bike and trainer and spin together) ...my goals are for olympic tris next season (including Wildflower Olympic dist.), cycle Oregon next year, and 1/2 ironman the following...and then....I'll wait till next year to set the next goal.

My plan had been to buy a Bella or Talon built up as a road bike, and next year get another fit for tri position and add clip on aeros and forward seat post....

With this steel custom, if its geometry is more of a 'road' bike, doesnt seem like that would be an option? (is that true??)

I loved the smooth rides of both the Ti and carbon fiber....i was so psyched about the fit I dont remember the ride from the steel...dont think it was too much different??

I need some advice-as you can see.

last thing, in all honesty--ive been trying sooooo hard to not pick a bike on what it looks like. But, if I did go by looks--the Talon DOES it for me. the bellas next in line. then this custom....its light purple. WHAT!!!! im considering a PURPLE bike??? At first, no. I was humering the man to try a 'steel' bike. Now, after dreaming of the comfortable fit for a few days....hmmmm....Im not looking at me while im riding.

im so wanting to get the right one--Ill consider it. whew.

(geometry of Bella/Talon)
top tube(52.5/53.3)/ head tube angle (72.5deg/73deg)/seat tube angle (74deg/74.5deg)/chainstay (41.1dm/41.0cm)/bbdrop(7.0cm/7.1cm)/wheelbase (96.9cm/97.4)/front center (56.9cm/57.5cm)/fork rake (4.5cm/4.3)/standover height (74.9cm/76.5cm)/head tube length (12.0/10.2cm)/weight (2.88#/2.9#)

Sorry for the long one...appreciate your thoughts/opinions....

Im 34yo, female, 5'61/2"...

(geometry of Bella/Talon)
top tube(52.5/53.3)/ head tube angle (72.5deg/73deg)/seat tube angle (74deg/74.5deg)/chainstay (41.1dm/41.0cm)/bbdrop(7.0cm/7.1cm)/wheelbase (96.9cm/97.4)/front center (56.9cm/57.5cm)/fork rake (4.5cm/4.3)/standover height (74.9cm/76.5cm)/head tube length (12.0/10.2cm)/weight (2.88#/2.9#)


I'm a male, the same height as you, have a 79 inseam, and ride a 52.5 top tube. If you have longer legs and a shorter torso, then you might want to look at bikes with a shorter top tube than the 52.5/53.3 of the Bella/Talon. For example, the small Bella has a 51.5 top tube.

Bring a tape measure and check the dimensions of the steel custom (see this form http://www.litespeed.com/LitespeedCustomForm.pdf).

Top tupe (center to center)
Stem length
Cockpit (rear of seat to center of handlebars)
Saddle to bar difference (from the top of the seat to the top of the bars)

Good luck