Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.
Currently, I ride a Specialize Allez Elite road bike. I do not own a tri bike, so I use my road bike for all of my races. Is there an easy way to transform a road bike into a tri bike? When I am racing, can I use a shorter stem, push the seat forward, and add aero bars to create a tri bike feel? The idea being that I would want to easily convert the bike back to being a traditional road bike for my long weekend rides. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.
merlinextraligh
02-06-06, 01:59 PM
What you've described is basically it. Adding aero wheels helps too. You could also consider a seatpost with reverse set back to get your position more forward. you may or may not need a shorter stem depending on your bike fit. Also some clip on bars, like Oval slam bars are designed to set up farther back on the handlebars so you you don't need to shorten you're existing stem.
If you find you want the reverse set back seat post to get the position you want, you might consider buying a traithlon seat to go with it. That way you can easily swap out the seat post and seat together.besides the tri seats with padding up front are nice for the aero position.
The_Mickstar
02-07-06, 07:03 AM
It's actually pretty easy to make a road bike more tri-friendly. You don't even have to screw up your dialed-in road position to do it. I haven't finished converting mine, but here's my plan...
1) Added Profile Designs Jammer GT clip-on aero bars. This part is done, and I'm glad I went this route. These are "shortie" bars, as mentioned above, meaning that they are a bit shorter than "real" aerobars and the elbow rests sit a bit farther back. There are a few companies that make similar items, but the Profiles are far & away the most adjustable. And, they're very comfortable.
2) Switch to Profile Designs Tri-Stryke saddle. My next purchase, but I have tried it. This is a tri-specific design with extra nose padding, a generous cutout located correctly on the saddle (ie. forward), "handles" to ease transitions/racking and a very affordable price. Obviously, there are other saddles with similar features, as well. But, the price is right on this one, and I had no complaints on my demo. I didn't spend alot of time in an upright position during my demo. But, the rear part of the saddle is pretty flat and very similar to a standard road saddle, so I don't anticipate any problems.
I think you'll find yourself leaving the Jammers on for your long weekend rides. They're actually very comfortable for extended periods. And, although the pads don't flip up, they don't interfere with using the hoods or the drops. Depending on your position, you can get some thingh rub when out of the saddle. But, that'll just be something you'll have to play around with.
Steve