Question:
T he only true advantage of a tri
bike that I have discerned is that
a tri bike is designed to keep a
rider in the aero position with
less strain. If this is such a big
advantage, why don't the Tour-de-France
riders use aero bars and tri bike
geometry? (Maybe they do, but when
I checked the photos available at
the official web site all the bikes
appeared to be road bikes.)
Answer:
Here's my opinion on the difference
between tri and road set-ups. I
ride both a triathlon bike and a
racing bike with areo bars. I like
both of them and choose which one
to ride depending on the course.
For a longish (1/2 IM or more) distance
which is relatively flat, I like
the rode bike because it is more
comfortable and stable. I do have
a forward seat post on it, but it
has a fairly soft fork angle and
drop bars with STI shifting. It
doesn't twitch as much on the downhills
and turns as my triathlon bike and
demands less attention to ride.
On the other hand, I ride my Kestrel
500SCI in any race where there are
a lot of hills because I believe
I climb better with it. It is a
full tri set up with bar end shifters
and bull horns instead of drop bars.
I rode the Kestrel in IMC and have
ridden it in several 1/2 IM races.
Also, I rode the Kestrel last week
at Pacific Grove because, even though
the course is flat, there are four
loops, with u-turns in the width
of the street at each end, and the
Kestrel is faster on acceleration.
I really think
the difference in a road Vs. Triathlon
setup isn't terribly important.
It is much more important to get
a good fit in whichever style you
choose and to be comfortable on
the bike. Go to a good shop which
sells both styles and try out several
before making up your mind. I think
the fast twitch/slow twitch stuff
the shop owner was selling is bunk.
I had both of my bikes custom built
by a very experienced bike racer
and triathlete, and he never tried
once to sell me on either of the
two styles. In fact, he contends
that changing bikes probably actually
helps me develop better muscle tone.
I have done both short and long
races on each of my bikes and can
tell no difference in fatigue; neither
do I see any difference in the performance
on the run following the bike leg,
no matter which bike I ride.
