Road Cycling - Roadie bike --> TT bike conversion

So, my old roadie bike is just sitting in the bike room, whimpering when I get the new one out for a ride. The wife seems to have forgotten that it's there, but I'm sure she still wants me to sell it. Let's just say that I want to convert her (the old bike, not the wife) into a TT bike. So, some questions:

Would one normally go with a longer or shorter stem for TT duty?

I'd like to use the stock STI shifters, so, if I don't use the regular road bar, what does one look for in bullhorn bars in the realm of taking STI levers?

What have folks' experiences been with different aero bars?

The thing to keep in mind is that I don't wanna drop a lot of cash on this project. That's a sure way to get kicked in the nads by my wife. So, the bullhorn bar is probably a ways off, but I'll take advice anyway. I'm also pretty sure that a new seatpost is out for a while, but I'll just ram a saddle as far forward as I can for now.

Well it all depends on what you want to do and how "serious" you want to get in terms of TT'ing. Typically with an aero setup like you are talking about you will be more stretched out, so bringing your body closer to the bars may be a bit more comfortable. But a shorter stem is going to make an already twitchy position (being on aero bars takes some practice) a little more fun. Maybe a forward seat-port would be a better option, plus there is some good data coming out now that a steep seat angle = a faster TT (http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/seatangle.html)

And why keep the STI shifting? You can probably unload the brifters and cover the costs of some 188's and bar ends and most of the bullhorn bars. As to aero bars, the Syntace C2's garner a lot of love, especially in a bullhorn setup.

Next step would be some wheels, you can pick up a Hed H3 for around $300 if you look hard enough, then pick up a CH Aero wheel cover (around $60 or so) and you'll have arguably the best aero wheel setup around (may be a little heavy, but it will be very aero).

Or you can pick up a set of Profile Jammer GT's, slap them on and go enter a TT :)

Andrew

you'd be surprised at the number of top-ranking professional triathletes who just ride road bikes with clip-ons. just take a look thru a triathlon mag sometime

I have a Specicalized Allez Elite that I have setup for Triathlons. I have Syntace 15 degree drop bullhorns that sweep back and the Syntace C2 Aerobars. These aerobars have a nice hourglass shape that allows 2 or 3 different hand positions in the aero position. It's nice not to have to totally break from your aero position when you need a comfort change along your ride. The bullhorns sweep back which I find is nice for climbing. This is my third setup and by far the most comfortable, and best looking I might add. I too kept my STI shifters and actually prefer them to bar ends. Also too, for normal riding I find sitting up on the bullhorns to be exactly like riding up on the hoods of regular drop road bars.

... a couple things I forgot...

The real reason the geometry is different on a tri bike is because it's better suited to running afterwards. You're in more upright power position which allows you to use your hamstrings more. I've had the reversible seat posts, moved my seat every which way, and have gone through 3 or 4 stems of varying rise and length. Oddly enough, I've found the best position to be somwhere in the middle between traditonal road and tri, probably leaning slightly to the road geometry. I've found this to give me the best overall, best comprimise for regular riding and trathlons.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've ridden on aero bars in the past, and it should come back to me pretty quickly. The stem I had on the bike was pretty long to begin with, so going to a shorter one is going to be easy. The wheelset that's on the bike now is DA/CXP-33, so I think I have as much aero as I deserve at this point. I'm not totally comitting to this just yet, but it's a form of racing that I'm built for more than road racing.