Why Should You Switch To A Triathlon Bike?

[@tomw367]

After three years of riding and racing on a road bike with aero bars, I upgraded to a gorgeous Giant Trinity. I think it was the third week of owning it that I ended up falling over in a crosswind and waking up in hospital. Cannot emphasize easing in to the new position enough. Even on the base bars these things can really catch a crosswind violently.

[@gourami7]

Hope you're now OK and bike not damaged. Slightly worrying to hear if you were on a bike with aero bikes. Have you found the gains worthwhile ?

[@farrelchinnappa9484]

Sory mate

[@bobbysilver272]

Sorry to hear that. It's mainly deep section wheels, especially at the front, that cause instability in high winds, not the Tri bike itself. What were you using? When it's windy, use a normal wheel at the front, not a deep section one.

[@cullensaquarium]

@@bobbysilver272 Agree. I commute 20k a day on 60mm deep section wheels along a seacoast road and have been gusted loads of times. Into curbs and cars mostly but had one pretty shitty off last year.

[@efd23]

One thing you've missed (someone else has mentioned this in the comments already) that I think is hugely important is to go out on a calm day for your first TT bike ride. With deep section wheels and on aero bars, it can be a nightmare to control in windy conditions, so get used to it on still days first!

[@Nessunego]

I won't switch, I will just add a tri-bike to my road bike in about 6-10 months, as I'll be preparing for my firts ironman (to be held in 2 years from now)

[@farrelchinnappa9484]

Use a home trainer, ride in tt position get the core and relevant muscles used to the position, the lower back, neck etc. Will all adapt and it will become the only position u want to ride in, make sure u set up correctly tho.

[@MilesUshaw]

Just got my TT bars on the road bike, TT bike next :)

[@stefjanssen56]

First ride on my tri bike i smashed all my speedrecords 😀

[@nickvandam1214]

Just got a tt bike 2nd hand. I'm getting used to the position on the indoor trainer before I take it out on the road. It is also helping to get the position dialed in. Thanks for the video!

[@DanielMooreDJ]

For those scared about cross winds. I’m only 53kg and I ride with 60mm deep wheels and handle 18mph winds no problem. You just get used to it

[@DanielMooreDJ]

I live on an island in Ireland by the way we get high winds alot

[@barretwaltz6631]

Started taking out my entry-level tri bike and it's fun but don't get rid of your road bike. Keep both because a lot of group rides won't even let you join on a tri/TT bike.

[@TFAalex03]

why won’t they?

[@barretwaltz6631]

@@TFAalex03 because riders on aerobars can't react as quickly or make as sharp of turns as those riding on the drops (downturn on a road bike handlebar). When you have large groups of riders pretty densely packed, aerobars won't allow for the quick adjustments needed for group rides. I mean you could but you'd need a ten-foot drafting rule like in triathalons. In a large group it could become messy.

[@Alex-kr7zr]

@@barretwaltz6631 and why aren't you riding on handlebars for these occasions?

[@barretwaltz6631]

@@Alex-kr7zr it is less practical. In group rides you want to be able to adjust gears quickly but still brake in emergencies. Triathlon and aerobikes have the gears at the end of their aero handles so even if you stayed on the handlebars, near the brakes for safety, woulyrdnt be able to adjust gears quickly and without reaching forward before pulling back to the handlebars. It could be done but it'd hurt your response time which is a bigger deal when riding in close packs.

[@Alex-kr7zr]

@@barretwaltz6631 Interesting, that would be a strong argument for electronic shifting. E.g. with the SRAM eTap shifters you can add additional levers/buttons on the aerobars or the handlebar in this case.

[@wbrent01]

i just bought a TT bike. i should have watched this video first lol. i have been doing one arm down and one arm on the break. thankfully i have a quiet culdesac near my house where i can practice in a circle similar to a track.

[@nielsbrand291]

have been riding A converted road bike with an reversed seattube / steeper 78-80* angle & TT handlebar for years now.. I do like to create the aero position, hydration, tool integration etc. myself.. though still miss the specifically designed system, now with the introduction of the disc brakes maybe it is time..

[@shaunhoulahan4080]

I completely understand that at your level a $10,000 TT bike is appropriate but if, like me, your 90km bike time is closer to 4 hours than 2 then a good quality road bike is all you need. There’s no point saving 5 minutes on the bike if you spend most of it trying to stand up straight and run. Comfort is much more important at the back of the pack. Add clip on bars if you want to.

[@Alex-kr7zr]

Disagree here. I'm looking for a bike for triathlon at the moment and road bikes are extremely hard to find. I don't have a road bike at all, so I can't simply upgrade. A mid-range road bike costs the same as a mid-range tri bike and you don't get aerobars, bento box and so on for "free". On top of that, almost all road bikes are out of stock. So if you are looking for a bike and you are interested in triathlon, a tri bike as the only sport bike is a very reasonable option.

[@darianbroadhead2863]

I jumped in with two feet to the sport and bought a tri specific bike and hated it. Never got comfortable and handled miserably. Sold it and went with a SystemSix.

[@saintott]

Before spending all that money on a tri bike just add tri bars to your rd bike to see if it's something you like.

[@Tara_Masika]

Now, all I have to do is save up enough money! 👍😝❤

[@iancuk]

Well, how much is "enough"? 😅

[@Tara_Masika]

I know right! Especially when the monthly repayment works out more than your rent!

[@sbyrstall]

Just watch Cervelo, they usually have good prices on their P2s.

[@Tara_Masika]

@@sbyrstall Thanks Steve I'll keep an eye on them 👀👍❤

[@hayabusa27]

After riding road bikes for a year I found them fun but a dead end there was no challenge. I bought a TT bike and oh man the possibilities opened up for more speed everywhere. So many challenges and more fun. I can't live without my TT bike. Whenever I hop back in a road everything feels simpler more relaxed, I don't like it.

[@notmyrealname6272]

Oooo so cool. Dreaming of a bike like that. Totally epic. What’s that saddle just out of interest?

[@seantraynor3491]

Great video

[@rosshorsley8974]

What if you skipped straight to a TT bike ahah. I ended up just going straight to a Cervelo p2 as I couldn't find any good road bikes around me.

[@farrelchinnappa9484]

I did the same, worked out well for me

[@sbyrstall]

Same here. Riding a P2 was like being on a bullet. Oh shoot was it fast.

[@ldburn]

I would love a TT bike, just cannot afford to get one :(

[@mandjevantichelaar]

Just what I was looking for!

[@stephensanderson6386]

Beautiful when you drop u.c.i rules

[@paulshearer8762]

But if you get one of these beasts, everyone thinks you know what you"re doing, which place i have never been to.

[@deivytrajan]

How about aero bars on road bike? 2 in 1 ;)

[@sbyrstall]

I've learned that the TT on Zwift is not the best bike to ride. Went to a street bike and had PRs.

[@TheJGW]

Can someone explain to me the benefits of a road bike over a TT bike? Why don’t road bikes copy the features of the TT if it seems to be beneficial? What am I missing.

[@antiskillz5663]

tri bike is not ufc legal

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

They look so cool but I am not that fit. XD

[@paulgibson3248]

602 220 Kennedale synapse I average about 18 miles an hour I really want 19 LOL should I upgrade to a TT bike

[@mathieur877]

Does anyone have experience from going to a road bike with TT clip on bars to a full TT bike ? Is the handling feeling the same or does it needs to adapt again ?

[@mikaseitsonen144]

I guess it depends on how radical your TT position is/was. For me, it didn’t take that much to adapt at all. On my 1st exercise I actually rode some 80 kms and found TT/Tri bike surprisingly comfortable. I did this change last year, from Trek Domane SLR to Cervelo P3X. With Trek & TT bars, I first changed my seat post from 20 mm offset to 5 mm. I then learnt that using my favorite road saddle was no good and changed to a Tri saddle (Fizik Mistica). This was in 2019. Last July I decided to make the next step and purchased P3X and I got LBS to do a very professional bike fit. Initially, base bar was on the lower position and I found riding bike slow to be really twitchy. On 1st service it was swapped and now I can sprint standing uphills, too :) Riding on aero position is also pretty different from Trek it being more compact although my position is not very steep/low. In Trek I could move my hands on bars more whereas on P3X there is really only one slightly more aggressive aero position. However, it certainly is much more efficient and faster. On my ”annual” TT race (76 kms), I was able to improve my time by whopping 9 minutes! I did some additional changes apart from bike them being IMHO in significance order TT suit, shaved legs and show covers. However, there was only minimal change in wattage. I had a month to adapt prior to race and I was able to ride some 1000 kms during that month.

[@maartends6051]

Could you do triathlon bike vs tt bike

[@heatherfell_oly]

It's on the channel, a recent vid worth checking out.

[@blueocean4480]

Can anyone suggest the track pant material for 10 k running. For comfort and should be full track pant. Cotton Lycra polyster, which should be chosen.

[@notmyrealname6272]

I don’t know what material they are but I love On running pants. They’re super comfortable and have an articulated knee with mesh in it. You could look them up on the On website and see what material they are. I imagine a mix.

[@julesberrry]

Do bicycles have to be UCI legal for TT races? If so, why using the terms TT bike and triathlon bike interchangeably? ...maybe you have a video explaining this?! 🤓

[@gourami7]

No UCI requirements for most triathlons

[@julesberrry]

Yes I know that! But what about time trials!?! You can’t call it a time trial bike if it isn’t legal for time trials...

[@julesberrry]

I found some answers! www.cyclingweekly.com/group-tests/best-time-trial-bikes-triathlon-bikes-316969

[@moosgruberfotodesign]

@@julesberrry it depends on the specific rules of the tt competition you wanna do. Smaller local ones mostly with amateurs and hobby riders could allow non-UCI legal tri bikes, pro races or offical championships probably will apply only to UCI rules for the bikes. E.g. the famous Austria KOTL TT race around the Atter Lake allows non-UCI tri bikes for single TT riders.

[@andrewgriffiths3275]

Sponsored testing beware. I am all up for testing and actually enjoyed the videos but there should have been a set watt output for each rider and then the true benifit of weight vs aero would have shown. It's clear from looking at Mark Threlfords strava data from each run (276 watt average) vs (231w average) his average power output was over 40kw more on the tri bike. So it's just the aero gains right 🤣😉.

[@andrewgriffiths3275]

Let's go with 40watt average more and not a kilo watt 😁

[@christinenarcilla7833]

First ❤️ i love tt bike and road bike❤️❤️❤️

[@osint6372]

No we dont need a tri-bike....... I played professional soccer in Europe at the age of 19.....You always came across kids and teenagers who wanted this shoe and that other shoe because it was better looking and it would help more....but at the end of the day if you dont know how to play the game the shoes made no difference...... Now that I am older I play sports to keep healthy. So, unless you compete professionally does it really matter? Sure you can shave a few minutes off if that's what your goal is but at the end of the day it wont make a huge difference.... Is the TRI bike faster. Sure if you know how to use it. Who is the audience for the video? $$$$$$$$$$$$$

[@njh1308]

People who 'want' things... just because you dont 'need' something doesnt mean you shouldnt have it if you want it! Stop being so bloody miserable lol

[@heezazulu8858]

So you can think you're better than you really are

[@donharrold1375]

Looks uncomfortable

[@jamesandrei4523]

Backpain intensifies

[@bohouss3622]

Not really, I have 6mm screwed L5 and for some reason rolling in TT position is sometimes easier than on road bike

[@coachjohn]

Tri bike is faster no matter what.

[@sbyrstall]

Even looks faster.

[@andrewgriffiths3275]

Check Mark's strava and my comment he puts an extra 40watts average down over his road bike effort.