Road bike (versus Tri-bike) for shorter Triathlons
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PJT posted 23 weeks ago.
Tons of variables here. To start with: size of data set, power, heart rate, wind, temperature time of day, traffic, weight of the bikes. Without knowing that or having access to a wind tunnel, you're kind of left with wild guesses.
My wild guess is that you are generating more power in the drops, but are probably not more aero (think arm width).
Either way, you might consider getting your tri bike fit re-evaluated, preferably by someone with a power meter.
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GregL81 posted 23 weeks ago.
rlauredo wrote:
Am I right that one can get into a much flatter, more aggressive aero-position on the drops of a roadie-bike than on aero-bars? That's what my body tells me, although it also tells me I couldn't hold it for 112 miles.
You can get just as aero on the roadie, it's just not going to be nearly as comfortable for long durations and your arms will let you know this.
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burnman posted 23 weeks ago.
I'm not a cyclist either, but I've incrementally converted my road bike to a tri configuration (or as close as I can get). Over time, I've found that the drops are a middle ground between crank bending and cruising. I can generate decent climbing power and control on the drops, but not as much as when I'm up top. At the same time, I can cruise the flats/downhills longer and more efficiently on the aero bars. In my pre-aero days (using the drops), I was about 2mph slower on long courses (>30mi), but comparable on short courses. A lot of it had to do with the onset of arm and back fatigue. Although they still weigh my bike down, I handle my drop bars <1% of the time, and it's usually when I'm unclipping at an intersection. For me, there is no utility in having/using them when I am comfortable transitioning into and out of the aero position.
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tbs_craig posted 23 weeks ago.
my guess is that a better fit on your TT bike would help. I dont think a road bike should be faster in a short course. Pro tour Time Trials are relativley short and they ride TT bikes.
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SDtriman posted 23 weeks ago.
I agree that you need to get fit for your tri-bike. As your fitness level changes so does your position on a bike. When I am at my peak fitness I go into my LBS and they re-fit me on my bike. This makes a huge differance. TT bikes are meant to be faster than road bikes for short distances. Plus your legs will feel better getting of a Tri-bike probably making the run faster giving you a faster overall time.
Mox
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SueR posted 23 weeks ago.
I acutally just ordered the seatpost to change my road bike seat angle as I found my legs were tighter than I would like on the runs. I have gone with the FSA one. It's my 80$ tri bike basically as I road race as well as do half IM distances. Any thoughts on how often I should train with it at the tri angle vs regular seat post angle?
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ChunkyB posted 23 weeks ago.
GregL81 wrote:
rlauredo wrote:Am I right that one can get into a much flatter, more aggressive aero-position on the drops of a roadie-bike than on aero-bars? That's what my body tells me, although it also tells me I couldn't hold it for 112 miles.You can get just as aero on the roadie, it's just not going to be nearly as comfortable for long durations and your arms will let you know this.
That's not really true unless you have roadie handlebars that are like 6'' wide. One big advantage of aero bars is width, and therefore the profile.
"The melting point of wax means nothing to me": Thrice
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mikem posted 23 weeks ago.
This does not seem to be right as the whole piont of having the Tri bike with aero bars is that it "should" be faster than the road bike at the same heart rate and power output.
I would look at the setup on your tri bike .
when I do the same loop on both bikes the tribike is on average about a mile an hour faster using the same training wheels. even when I put a pair of clip ons onto my road bike the aero bars are faster.
Ride it like you stole it.
I did my two IMs on a tri-bike (Felt S25) and found that I could REALLY rest my back for that long 112-mile ride on those aeros. But last year I bought a conventional road-geometry Kestrel Talon for some training variety (in other words I wanted another toy) and have been regularly alternating riding the two bikes every weekend on this standard 4.1-mile loop that I use for 6-lap 40km time-trials.
Consistantly over time, I notice from my logs that my speed on that standard course is about 1mph faster on the roadie Ketrel. I'm not much of a cyclist, and was wondering what you guys with more experience think? Am I right that one can get into a much flatter, more aggressive aero-position on the drops of a roadie-bike than on aero-bars? That's what my body tells me, although it also tells me I couldn't hold it for 112 miles.