Triathlon - converting to tris
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pointlessone
11-10-04, 05:20 AM
i have a flat bar racer, a ridgeback genesis day 02 (british bike). Its a fast bike, but has no real aerodynamic position, due to the flat mtb style bars. Without getting drop bars, as i find them awkward, what can i do to get this bike ready for tris? I am totally new to triathlon so any advice, however obvious, would be great!
Not much you can do. There are plenty of people that use MTB in sprints and olympics and even a few at the 1/2 IM level. The best thing you can do is put on slicks with high pressure.
pointlessone
11-10-04, 10:15 AM
how about aerobars?
cooljazz
11-10-04, 10:28 AM
Aerobars would enable you to streamline but you'd probably need to move your seat forward some so you're not stretched forward too much. I also found that adjusting the front of the seat about 5-10 degrees to one side eased that tender spot enormously; laying flatter tends to put more pressure on THAT spot .
I have actually seen 1 or 2 people do this. You could give it a try.
If you put on aerobars, you may also want to consider a forward seatpost. It will put your butt more directly over the bottom bracket so you're less stretched out and your legs are in more of a running position.
pointlessone
11-11-04, 03:50 AM
wha sort of position would i be looking for in regards to leg angle etc. I understand that the forward seat position is needed to use aeros efficiently, will that mean i will need to be in a sort of a 'forward recumbant' type of position?
cooljazz
11-11-04, 10:00 AM
I put aerobars on my road bike and then just experimented with seat position. I'd move the seat forward a bit, go for a ride, move it forward a bit more the next time, go for a ride, etc. After a few rides, I found the seat position at which I was comfortable in the aero position. I also noticed that I was using more hamstring muscle in that position which apparently makes it easier on your legs when it comes time to do the run. On the downside, it also made the steering more twitchy. I think that the aerobars I got are really too long for this bike and I probably should have got shorty aerobars.
Just like cooljazz said, the forward position changes the leg muscle mix so that you're more ready to run.