tri_wannabe

i am a newcomer to triathlons. i am trying to decide on what type of bike to get. from reading countless threads on the subject, i have about decided on a road bike which i will retrofit to make it a tri bike. i decided on this due to the versatility. if anyone has another suggestion please let me know.

my question is, what all would i need to add to the bike to convert it into a tri bike? i am thinking of buying a cervelo soloist. any info would be of help.

thanks!!!

cslone

You could get a set of clip on aerobars. Also, alot of people with traditional i.e. not Tri bikes, will get a forward seatpost. This will correct the seat tube angle to make it steeper like a tri bike. Both items can be purchased from www.profiledesign.com for a reasonable price.

<<Edit>>
If I remember, the soloist seatpost can be flipped around to give it a forward style arrangement.

TriBob

I have a LeMond Zurich with clip-ons.

You can get the gory details on fit here https://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadin...r/bikefit.html

jukt

Sounds like a bad move to me. You will end up with a bike that is not road or tri.

Unless you can hammer the whole bike portion, a tri bike may not help you.

I rode my first duathlon on a MTB bike .https://www.cervelo.com/bikes/one.html

caloso

I have a Trek 5200. I put on some Syntace aerobars and a Profile forward seatpost for triathlons. Works for me.

FatBomber

The Soloist has the seatpost you can flip around to change the geometry. Get yourself a nice set of C2s and kick some butt.

jdecristo

I've been doing Tri's on a Lemond MJ with clip-on aerobars and the seat moved forward a little, which works just fine for my level of competition, which is pretty minimal. Here is the problem with just getting a tri bike: It is not as comfortable for longer rides, the relative quality of the frame and gruppo you get for the money you spend isn't as good as a road bike, and with the aero set up you will be less maneuverable which can be a problem on group rides or even just in areas with traffic or tight turns. Most of the people I know who do Tri's regularaly have both types of bikes, but if I could only have one, it would be a road bike.

Mashani

I'm using a Giant TCR with Profile design Jammer GTs, and the seat moved mostly forward. It works well for me, and I am perfectly comefortable and in good position on the bars (or the drops when riding with others, or in traffic).

But a caveat is that I have a long/lean upper body, and this probably wouldn't work well for a lot of folks.

ht001

I agree with jdecristo, if you can only get ONE bike that has to serve both for road rides and tris, a great road bike is a better way to go. Unless you have a wallet that will support both a tri specific and a road bike.

Re: the Soloist. I thought that would be a great bike for me, but when I finally test rode the thing I found it to be way too stiff for my comfort. It climbs great, but on a straight road I found it to be really chattery. It wouldn't have suited me for the long haul. I tried the Kestrel Talon right after the Soloist, and found that to be a phenomenal improvement. Just my $.02.

seabike

With a road bike such as the Soloist with clip on type aero bars, what is the best option for shifters? I haven't heard this aspect mentioned when discussing the conversion.
Most of my riding would be with the road configuration but it seems that brake lever shifters would be awkward with aero bars.
Any experiences with this? Are there articles (links) on this topic elsewhere?

Maxyboy

I'm going to go against the grain just a bit. Actually it depends on how dedicated you get to doing triathlons. I purchased a Cannondale Ironman 2000 tri-specific bike this past Spring. It took several weeks to adjust to the new positioning and to strengthen my neck muscles for the increased time on the aero bars. And the steering is a bit more "twitchy", especially on downhills at more than 45 mph. All that being said, I no longer ride my regular road bike, and have found the tri bike plenty comfortable on 100 mile rides, so now it's my regular ride and the road bike is for sale.

Still, before taking the big plunge, you might want to try a pair of clip-on aero bars. I had used them a few years ago and they will improve your time trialing.

Max

TriEngineer

I converted my Trek 2300 to run with a tri setup. I switched the quill stem to a short quill stem, I believe it's by Trek's baby company. Syntace Stratos bullhorns, Profile Design aero bars. I scored a set of bar end shifters, some new shift and brake cables, nipples for shift bosses. That was during the summer, I have had many exciting kilometers on it. The shorter stem was necessary because when you are in the aero position, your legs are more stretched out so to keep from pulling hamstring, you shorten up the length you have to stretch. It's certainly no Trek Team Time Trial, but I am no Lance Armstrong either.

Ciufalon

Here's my two cents. I am new to triathlons myself and am 44 years young. I would do exactly what tri wannabe asked about. There is a good article (I believe it is on Rivendell's web site) regarding weight differences of bikes. The regular joe is doing triathlon to compete with himself or for his or her own sense of accomplishment and unless you think that having a tri specific bike is going to make the difference between you being that and you coming in amongst the top three, is it really worth the big bucks for a bike so specific to one endeavor? Why not have a bike that can be used for manythings. BTW, I have read some rather humorous stories on the net of first timers doing triathlons on $20 yard sale mountain bikes and having a big grin on their face as they pass by people on their $2000 bikes. It's the person, not the bike. Also, notice how many used tri specific bikes are for sale. People try the sport and find it's not for them after having dumped a lot of money into it. Just do it with a reasonable bike, have fun and if you start moving into the professional level, then think about "investing" in the tri bike. Also, according slowtwitch.com some tri course records set on steel framed bikes still stand. Ok, ok, that was my nickels worth.