Tri-specific bike; indulgence or useful tool?

b.harte

Hi,
Work are eventually doing B2W scheme.(I sort of badgered them into doing
it)
I already have a road bike (Spec. Allez double) that I'm happy with and wheel upgrades I did at Christmas along with fitting a closer ratio cassette have transformed it. I did a few sprint distance events last year, I'm doing more this year along with Olympic and 1/2 Iron man and duathlons.
My current dilemma is whether or not to use the B2W scheme to upgrade.
Work have put a time restriction on it, orders must be in by 20/05 so tick-tock.
Budget is 1400-1600 depending.
I've read the threads re: PX, Focus, Ribble, Felt, and buying at LBS so have considered Ribble Sportive, PX pro carbon and either Felt Z/F 85/75 from LBS.
I hadn't even considered a tri-specific bike as I'm having trouble justifying a bike that will only see a few events and the training for them.
However when I factor in that I already have a bike I'm happy with why
upgrade to another road bike?
Other than the jump from Sora 16 to either Sram or 105 20 speed a road bike is a road bike for my level of cycling, I'm sure the bling will make me feel faster, not sure if it will make me faster, and really I'm not pushed, comfort and practicality weight more highly on my list, especially for longer distance events.
My question eventually is.

On the majority of courses is Ireland is a tri-specific bike of value?
I accept the performance gains from more aero, open hips and fresh legs, but in real terms is it worth the investment? Albeit a reduced one thanks to the offset from C2W.
Especially for someone of my abilities, average swimmer, average cyclist, slow (but getting faster) runner?
Do those of you that have tri-specific bikes think they completely transformed your game, or did it capitalise on pre-existing ability? Were you already a fast cyclist?
Will a tri bike make a difference to average Joe?
Bear in mind that I do use clip-ons for tri but to be honest on some of the courses last year I felt that I had more time on the hoods because of hills / traffic / twisty open roads and my fondness for steady cadence meaning lots of shifts. I know that bar end shifter on a TT bike will help with this.
Also to get a reasonably comfortable fit on the clip-ons last year I the seat fully forward on the rails and a longer stem (from 100 to 130) This made the bike twitchy and I wasn't entirely confident with the weight so far forward, made steering on the clip-ons a pain too. Was considering a single bar end shifter for the aero bars this year, already have a spare saddle and seat post set up so switching over is easier.
I will most likely never see the top 1/2 of a field so it's largely academic as to the absolute time gains.

Honestly the thought of buying a tri-specific bike is attractive to me but equally is the thought of a shiny new road bike and the using current one as a winter bike/general purpose bike.
Goes without saying that fit is the most important thing, so LBS is favourite there followed by PX in Athlone.
The tri bikes I'm considering are Felt S22 or maybe last years B16 / Last years giant trinity (yes, there's still some left) or PX stealth.
The felt bikes are the ones I'm most interested in as LBS are willing to negotiate and it's nearer.
Finally I don't mind being the "all the gear- no idea" type, I've passed expensive tri bikes on Sprints and Duathlons, and equally been passed by a lad in full GAA kit on a hybrid and had to fight off an MTB once last year, not bothered about the image thing that much.
To those of you that have tri-specific bikes and are mid pack how useful is it, with the exception of butter flat courses like Athy do you sometimes hanker for or use a road bike.

Again to refresh the question, Tri-specific bike; indulgence or useful
tool?
Incidentally my commute to work is just over 20km and flat for the most part, so yes a tri-bike will also double as a training commute, this keeps hte wife happy, hence the increase in spend, it's also rural good roads, so no traffic lights etc.

Thanks for reading

Bertie

MrCreosote

Interesting question- I'm in a very similar situation to you, ride a Specialized Allez with clip-ons which I'm very happy with. I'm saving for a Tri bike at the moment. Hopefully it should be good for a few minutes on the bike, maybe on the run too, but I'm not too pushed about the time. The main reason I'd be looking at it is for comfort in longer events, and to help the run leg on HIMs or longer. I'd probably be looking at one training ride/week and 5-6 events per year.

As it is I'm happy with the entry level road bike for the moment for year-round use and would keep using it as the commuting bike, and for any cycling events. Tris are my main event- I'm not really into competitive cycling..

The other thing is I just like the look of a blinged-out TT bike.

Anyway not sure that answers your question. I suppose a tri bike is an indulgence but so is a nice roadbike. Which would you get more use out of? Do you see yourself still doing tris in 2-3 years? As for the handling worries- a bit of practice should help that in no time I reckon.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Hey,

I recently purchased a tri bike a few months back as i am doing a few tri races HIM/Full IM and some sprints/OLY along the way. I do find the tri bike helps with avg speed, for me it is probably a 2kpmh gain against the road bike. More importantly you feel fresher coming off a tri bike as it takes less out of you....well for me it feels that way.

Its really dependant on how many times you will use it/race with it. If it is only going to see daylight a few times a year then you are probably best of buying some nice road bike bling. I use mine probably once/twice a week in training and will use it on all my races this year.

I opted for a Felt S22 in the end, they are a great bike, nice looking and good components. They are a little heavy and you would probably want to upgrade the wheels as the standard set on them are not great.

In terms of handling i was the same but its a confidence thing, once you spend a lot of time down in the drops you get used to it over time.

Gl with your purchase.

heffsarmy

Personally I would'nt bother with a tri bike unless I got my 40km TT down to under 58mins or so....I feel embarassed for some off the lads that turn up at tri events with all the bling and they can't cycle

EC1000

heffsarmy wrote: »

Personally I would'nt bother with a tri bike unless I got my 40km TT down to under 58mins or so....I feel embarassed for some off the lads that turn up at tri events with all the bling and they can't cycle

I'm assuming this post was written tongue in cheek?

A quick check of two National Series events last year (CK and DCT) show that in both races only 1 person went under the hour for 40km, and that was the same person in each. Are you seriously saying that only one person was worthy of using a TT bike in those races? Surely if you can do under 58 minutes you have less of a need for a tt bike than someone in the 70 minute zone?!

Personally, I am in my second full year of tri and opted to get a tt bike this year instead of upgrading my entry level Giant road bike. Whilst I have noticed it to be faster going by average pace, more importantly it is far more comfortable when using the bars on the tt as opposed to the clip-ons I had last year. My advice would be to borrow one and try it out if possible before forking out and then regretting it.

Anyway, I'm no expert by any means - just my 2c.

heffsarmy

EC1000 wrote: »

I'm assuming this post was written tongue in cheek?

No

EC1000 wrote: »

A quick check of two National Series events last year (CK and DCT) show that in both races only 1 person went under the hour for 40km, and that was the same person in each. Are you seriously saying that only one person was worthy of using a TT bike in those races? Surely if you can do under 58 minutes you have less of a need for a tt bike than someone in the 70 minute zone?!

I said personally I would'nt use a tri bike unless I got under 58minutes...nothing to do with National TT events, anyone can ride whatever they want. You can achieve a good aero postion for very little money using an aero helmet, clip on bars and setup up the road bike best as possible. I don't see the point in shelling out money when you have'nt exhausted the capabilities off the road bike and yourself. Here's link with the typical gains to be made from an aero helmet, tt bike etc.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/how-aero-is-aero-19273/

sconhome

To be fair, the main advantage that will be seen going from a road to tri specific bike or TT setup will not necessarily be a massive saving on time. I know quite a few triathletes who are averaging 40km per hour on tri bikes so it would be a serious cyclist who can average more than that, I think beyond most "normal" triathletes.

A tri specific bike is set up changes the geometry of the bike allowing more power to be generated and put into the drive of the bike rather than the rolling set up of most road bikes with a longer top bar.

A TT position set up on either will include lower shoulder position on the bike resulting in improved aerodynamics which will equate to a reduced need in power output to maintain the same speed as you would on a road bike.

This power conservation is what elite athletes train with rather than heart rate based. By being consistent with your power wattage, you will generally have more in the tank for the run.

A road bike with tri bars will be good enough for most people starting in triathlon. A TT or tri specific bike will benefit those who are flexible enough to get into the tucked position properly thus reducing their power requirement further and enabling a bigger spend on speed or saving for the run.

b.harte

Great stuff!
Thanks for the replies. That bikeradar article made interesting reading, how did I miss that with all the research I've conducted?
I'm still torn between the two, looking at the gps plots from some of the courses I've done, and some others have logged, a tri-bike may not suffer greatly on the hills which was my original concern.
The consensus seems to be that the freshness off the bike is a major benefit, which is good news, and one of the things that attracted me in the first place.
I'm not too concerned about the twitchy handling, it was more a reference to how my own bike felt with seat forward and long stem, I would expect a tri-bike to be (a bit) more refined.
heffsarmy, your point about exhausting the possibilities of the road bike is certainly valid, I would imagine that with ample training there would be an improvement, there's certainly room for it
With that in mind, if I were to invest in a TT bike would not the benefits appear there too for the same amount of training?
I'll be heading to LBS over the next few days and while I doubt I will be able to borrow a tri-bike from anywhere and I don't actually know anyone who has one, I would hope that even a trainer based spin shouldn't be out of the question.
As for all this talk about sub 60 40k? The closest I'll get to anything elite is the chocolate biscuit, and If i did somehow manage a sub 60 40k I'd be so happy I'd forget how to run.
At least I've a fun few days getting my grubbies on some bike pron.
As for how often it would be used? I would hope that it would be used in comp a min of 5/6 times a year, maybe more and trained/commuted a minimum of 3 days. However with a 2yr old and a newborn my freedom slips are getting rare, that's why my training is a bit all over the place at the minute, lately I manage 1 medium and 1 long spin, same with running. I've a formula for justifying expense, for a bike it's a minimum of 1km for every euro spent. (I get away with so much) If I can log that in a reasonable time then
thanks again,
Bertie

mloc123

Heffsarmy... you are coming from a cycling background yeah? Ever tried to run a 10k off a 58minute 40km?

Also, by your logic... I might aswell run in jeans, yeah I could save time if I wore shorts maybe... but I wouldn't want to show up to a race looking too serious.

tunney

heffsarmy:

Its a hobby.

Some people collect trains. Some stamps. Some fancy paper.

Some people do triathlon and like to buy the kit.
Does that matter to you? Do you feel inadequate if you see someone on a nicer bike than yours? Do you feel aggrieved that someone has nicer stuff that you?
If so I think that the problem is more yours than theirs.

I do think that people should loose as much bodyfat as possible before going lighter. I do think that people should get as aero and as fit as possible before going all out on a P4 with H3Deeps (albeit a tri spoke with the P4 standard forks just isn't as aero a a regular spoked wheel so they should probably consider a 1080 instead) but if someone has the cash and inclination to buy a flash bike all I have to say to that is "nice bike dude".

heffsarmy

tunney wrote: »

heffsarmy:

Its a hobby.

Some people collect trains. Some stamps. Some fancy paper.

Some people do triathlon and like to buy the kit.
Does that matter to you? Do you feel inadequate if you see someone on a nicer bike than yours? Do you feel aggrieved that someone has nicer stuff that you?
If so I think that the problem is more yours than theirs.

No. No, I like nice bikes. No, not a materialistic person.

mloc123 wrote: »

Ever tried to run a 10k off a 58minute 40km?

Never tried it, as I have never gone sub 58.

mloc123 wrote: »

Also, by your logic... I might aswell run in jeans, yeah I could save time if I wore shorts maybe... but I wouldn't want to show up to a race looking too serious.

No shorts are grand, tri suit would be better though.

b.harte

look to be fair all input/comments are valid, that's what I asked for.
however I also did specifically ask about average Joe.
By my reckoning and based on my limited experience I would think average Joe would do a 20km cycle leg over an undulating course with open or policed / marshalled junctions in around 40mins, maybe a little each way.
I don't think this is too wide of the mark, but it is well short of the magic 60/40 that is the holy grail, and therefore harder to examine the real effect of a tri-bike, therefore, as others have said, if the most noticeable effect of a tri-bike is fresher legs for the run then it may be worth it.
The notion about embarrassment either by or for someone is a personal thing and again is valid, we've all seen it, maybe even been guilty of it, you pass someone after hunting them down on a blinged out tri-bike and there's a part of you that feels so good you wonder if the other person feels a little bit bad.
What it does come down to is feeling, I started a cycle last week tired and pissed off, it took 10k of gentle climbing into the wind and drizzle for me to realise / admit that my legs weren't on right, so I did a U-turn to go home in a sulk.
The next 10 back down the road with the wind on my back and the sun beginning to come out changed my mind and I had a very enjoyable spin over the mountains the long way, total 60km in 2.5 hours with a long sustained climb to entertain myself on, the descent was slow because the road had craters in it since the last time I was on it.
if a tri-bike can make you feel like you're better than you are then is that a bad thing?
The baby's finally gone to sleep now so I can go back to bed.

Bertie

b.harte

Just to put this to bed.
Finally settled on the Felt Z85.
On balance it was the more sensible option.
I had even stretched the budget to the fantastic Cube Aerium Pro, Tri-bike with drops and standard road shifters, with clip ons, it certainly ticked all of the boxes.
In fairness to the guys in the LBS they didn't try to force a hard sell on any specific bike, even the bling-bling cube. Their advice was based around what my major requirements were, an everyday bike good enough to compete on in the occasional tri, occasional as in more everyday use than race use. There was little point in blowing out the budget so now I have more to spend on accessories.

Thanks for all of the input,

Bertie