sunpacceo

New here so I need some help... Is it possible to adjust a Time Trial bike to ride as comfortable as a road bike. I have a client who competes and has said that he would sell me his older Felt if I can have it fitted properly. I took the bike today to a my LBS and they told me that the bike is only good for TT or Triathlon riding. I did mention the amount my client agreed to sell me the bike for and although the shop felt that deal was more than fair the bike was just not right for road cycle application.

Any input would be appreciated.

Jsiegs

It probably would not be. In the image below, look at the comparison on the contact points. It would be very hard to get one of those bikes to match the other without very major adjustments, at which point you've messed up the weight balance and probably compromised the ride quality and safety a bit. Even if you take a tri bike and put road handlebars on it, you'll probably find that you're too far forward, which puts too much weight on your hands and arms and will be really uncomfortable.

gazelle5333

Oh come on...not this argument again...

If fitted properly, it can be just as comfortable as a road bike. IF they were uncomfortable, do you think the pros would be riding them 100+ miles in Ironman races? I think not.

HOWEVER, the easy ride around town would not be as easy as TT/tri bikes are meant to be ridden hard and fast...no if's/but's about it. Hard or not at all

Jsiegs

I think you're misunderstanding the OP's question. He's NOT going to be riding the tri bike as a tri bike in the aero position (in that case I agree that if the stack/reach matches his body type it is very possible to set it up comfortably). However, I believe he wants to set a tri bike geometry frame to ride as a road bike in a road biking position. That I still maintain wont work well.

gazelle5333

The effort, not to mention $, required to get that to happen is not worth the investment. He'd have to change out stem, put in a setback seat tube, have some serious spacers under the stem, among other things. Once again I go back to my original point, if ridden as it was meant to be ridden, OK, but when you start changing things to ways they aren't intended to be changed, you're in for a world of hurt.

Jsiegs

I think that's exactly what I said initially, except that your original point wasn't the OP's question. Additionally, even with all the changes, it won't ride like a road bike should.

RobbieTunes 

I tried a Kestrel Talon Tri frame in road setup, and it didn't work too well.
No matter what I tried, it was too small. The tri fit didn't carry over well to the road fit.
It may have well been too small for the tri fit, but that's what the shop fit me to.
Since I couldn't get used to the tri positioning, and the road setup was too small, I sold it.

Currently, I've adapted a road bike in my size, 56cm, to a tri setup. It works, though I don't like aero positioning.
Still, I'm going to give it a chance. It's a new trick, and I'm an old dog, but it's worth a shot.

hueyhoolihan

from real world experience...

i have toured on a tri bike solo around the perimeter of the CONUS. about 12,000 miles. no problem. i still have the bike and i have the pedal to seat, seat to stem and drop setup the same as my other four bikes. two mtb from 87 and 97 and two trek road bikes from 79 (710) and 86 (merida built 310 elance). they can easily be setup the same. yes they ride different and as i have mentioned in other forums my favorites. mostly, i think, that has to do with differences in the headtube angle, tire width and wheel diameter.

Jsiegs

The primary differences are the seat tube angle, top tube and head tube height. you can run any width tire you choose on either bike and any more recent tri bike will run 700 wheels just like a road bike (except for the very small frame sizes, which will drop to 650 in some cases like road bikes). There was a trend for tri bikes to run 650 wheels in all sizes, but that has been over for awhile.

You can probably get the contact points the same with a very set back seat post, tons of spacers, a very high long stem and swapping the cockpit out, but at that point, you're just better off on a road bike to save youself the trouble.