Tri-bike to Road Bike conversion
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823 days
benzinobrown posted 1 year ago.
I had a similar question, looking to upgrade my tri bike but wanted to know how hard it would be to convert it into a road bike for training. I am a little bike retarded so I would prob have to have the bike shop convert it. Is this really costly?
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Member
1000 days
fpugsley posted 1 year ago.
You would also want to look for a layback seatpost to artificially reduce the seat tube angle.
Another thing you might need would be a fork since tri bikes tend have low handlebars, there might not be enough steerer tube left to raise them up to a comfortable level. Or get a stem with a steep angle.
Bars, shifters/levers and seatpost, stem and fork. $900 for quality stuff.
If its not a great deal and you dont need a second tri bike, I would get a Tarmac or something for the road.
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1090 days
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616 days
TMann posted 1 year ago.
+1 to buying a road bike. By the time you get all of the parts to make the conversion, it won't be such a great deal anymore. As far as geometry goes, the seat tube angle is the biggest difference (the Spec. Transition is 76 degrees, most road bikes are about 73 degrees) and the rest of the bike is measured to accomodate this. Road bike handlebars don't extend as far forward as aerobars, so your arms would be more vertical, which places more weight on your hands and wrists. Other unforseen problems might arise the longer you ride. The differences in geometry might seem miniscule, but they are well thought out and have proven to be reliable.
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524 days
Ozzie0523 posted 1 year ago.
I know from experience that changing out the cockpit of a road bike or a tri bike can be a major pain in the but and will probably just end up costing you more money than buying a decent used road bike. As already mentioned, the geometry of the road bike will allow you to be much more comfortable for those long hauls...I currenty only have a road bike and I swap aerobars on and off for racing and training, respectively.
Is it a worthy investment to convert a 2006 Specialized Transition elite Tri-bike to a road bike? I have a buddy that is giving me a really good deal on his new tri-bike. I already have a tri bike and was looking at buying a road bike for training. For the most part simply changing out the handle bars, shifters and brakes levers would basically be all I need to do (stem included). However, is this really a good ideal? Is the geometry of the bike that different compared to a typical road bike?