Touring on a Triathlon Bike

[Chainsaw73]

I am planning a ride from Madison Wisconsin to New Hampshire in late spring. I have also begun training for my first triathlon. I am looking to spend around $2000. Could I purchase a good triathlon bike and manage to carry gear with a trailer or some other rig? Would there be any issues with traveling long distances on consecutive days on a triathlon bike? Thanks for your input.

[Halthane]

I would say probably not... but you could try.

Only option for mounting gear to most tri bikes would be a BOB trailer, which wouldn't be that big a deal.

Real issue would be tires. 3000 miles on 23mm tires back to back to back like that would get pretty tough, especially with tri bikes being as stiff as they are. Most folks tend to tour on something like 32mm or so and you won't have that kind of clearance on a tri bike.

So again i'd say not likely.

In my opinion if you have a decent road bike already, get a set of aero bars, use it in your first couple of tris and if you like them then start looking at a new tri bike. If you are more serious about touring, look at something a little more touring minded. The surly long haul trucker comes to mind, can be had complete for about 1300.

[fzrdave]

It doesn't sound like a good idea to me. The whole point of a triathlon bike is for you to get into the aero position and then be able to sustain higher speeds for longer periods of time all the while saving energy for the run. With a bunch of gear and definitely with a trailer, you're going to go much slower than you think which will totally negate the triathlon bike. You're also going to encounter some serious climbs in that journey and trying to do them on a loaded up triathlon bike is going to be no fun whatsoever. Touring can be fun, but it requires beefy bikes and it's done at slower speeds.

[BMonei]

Bad call.

Everything about TT bikes contradicts a Touring bike. This would be a miserable experience I assume.

The best alternative would be a road bike possibly with rack eyelets. I've helped someone set up a Cannondale Synapse so she could ride triathlons while commuting as well. Ask around your local bike shop.