Taylor

Hello- I am curious, what are the main diferences between a pure road bike and a triathalon spcific bike? If you were to ride a triathalon bike as your everyday road specific bike, waht might be the advantages or disadvantages? I don't mena to sound uneducated, I have jsut been reading about these things and was hoping to get a bit better of a grip on the whole thing. Thanks, any response would be appreciated.

jimbud

Multi-Sport bikes generally have a seat tube angle of 75 to 79 degrees compared to most road bikes at 73 degrees. We could spend hours discussing the other small differences. You can certainly ride a multi-sport bike everyday as your main bike as some members do but it's best to really dig in to what you will mostly be using the bike for before making a purchase.

MichaelW

Tri bikes dont have to be UCI compliant.
The rider position is rotated forward about the bottom bracket to achieve a flat back with less hip flex. Hardcore cyclists tend to spend their teenage years growing into the time trial position. Tri bikes enable non-cyclists to achieve similar aerodynamics with a runner or swimmer physique.
Tri position puts more weight onto the aerobars so the steering may be tweaked to reduce front end wobble and the length of the bike may be altered to favour aerobars but this varies from model to model.
Generally, tri bikes are good for long clear time-trial runs but not for cut and thrust racing or dodging traffic and potholes, where you need agility.