Road bike upgrades for triathlon
Discussion
I currently have my first road bike a Giant Defy 1 which I bought for my first season doing triathlons. I was just wondering about what upgrades it might be worthwhile doing for some free speed. Clearly the best solution is to train more but it's my birthday soon and I fancy some "bike bling". What are the best bang/buck upgrades?
Clip on tri-bars, then wheels and then...
Any suggestions on tri-bars they seem to range from £50 to £200.
Have read with interest the road wheels thread and now am itching to buy some Mavic Ksyrium Elites, but are they the best for triathlon or will I be wanting something better sooner rather than later.
My wife has approved a carbon triathlon bike purchase in theory but they all (in the approved price range) come with poorly rated wheels. It doesn't seem fair that they don't all throw in a set of firecrest 404s. Not sure I can sneak a new bike and new wheels through, so sensible head thinks I should stick with the current bike and upgrade modestly.
All thoughts and suggestions welcomed.
Clip on tri-bars, then wheels and then...
Any suggestions on tri-bars they seem to range from £50 to £200.
Have read with interest the road wheels thread and now am itching to buy some Mavic Ksyrium Elites, but are they the best for triathlon or will I be wanting something better sooner rather than later.
My wife has approved a carbon triathlon bike purchase in theory but they all (in the approved price range) come with poorly rated wheels. It doesn't seem fair that they don't all throw in a set of firecrest 404s. Not sure I can sneak a new bike and new wheels through, so sensible head thinks I should stick with the current bike and upgrade modestly.
All thoughts and suggestions welcomed.
Edited by drinks on Tuesday 17th July 10:26
Tri bars the best bang for buck, can be as little as £30 or so. Wheels are that yes, the mavics will be not great, you want aero wheels for TT. Have a look at some of the Chinese carbon ones, they would do the job.
Its certainly possible to be very fast with just tri bars. I know I've referenced him before, but a mate rides 21's on a road bike with tri bars on normal shallow wheels. And on my road bike with no tri bars I managed to beat about 30 people on TT bikes recently in a TT, so it still is all about the engine, but I think tri bars are the best way to free speed
Its certainly possible to be very fast with just tri bars. I know I've referenced him before, but a mate rides 21's on a road bike with tri bars on normal shallow wheels. And on my road bike with no tri bars I managed to beat about 30 people on TT bikes recently in a TT, so it still is all about the engine, but I think tri bars are the best way to free speed
Ksyrium Elites are probably a good upgrade on your OEM stock wheels but they arent really going to make you faster in a flat TT. They might be a bit lighter but weight isnt the biggest factor.
I would say the clip on aero bars will give you the biggest immediate benefit.
Getting into a better position will give a much quicker TT time.
Probably the next easy/cheap step would be an aero helmet or covering some of the front and top vents on your existing helmet (like the Sky guys in TdF). Once you are down in a good position you can really feel the helmet being caught in the wind.
Then the wheels - some deeper carbon for sustained 40+ kmh but then you are getting into some $$ invested.
And a full on TT bike will go faster than a road bike with clip ons.
I would say the clip on aero bars will give you the biggest immediate benefit.
Getting into a better position will give a much quicker TT time.
Probably the next easy/cheap step would be an aero helmet or covering some of the front and top vents on your existing helmet (like the Sky guys in TdF). Once you are down in a good position you can really feel the helmet being caught in the wind.
Then the wheels - some deeper carbon for sustained 40+ kmh but then you are getting into some $$ invested.
And a full on TT bike will go faster than a road bike with clip ons.
Edited by Oscar the Grouch on Tuesday 17th July 10:52
tri bars and a good cycle computer preferably one that has a heart rate monitor are all you need really.
1/ fit a cycle computer. set it to display your average speed, never let it fall below 32km/h.
2/ set the bike up so your backside is closer to the bars, this will make your arms comfier as by using tri bars as you will be stretching too much if you dont. most people on a budget just turn their seat post round 180 degrees and shift the saddle forwards to replicate the position they would get on a tt bike.
i wouldnt bother upgrading the wheels too much though £100 on some fulcrum 7s would be a good cheap option. an aero helmet will do nothing for you unless the rest of your riding position is spot on and you can only guarantee this with a fitting session at a physio.
1/ fit a cycle computer. set it to display your average speed, never let it fall below 32km/h.
2/ set the bike up so your backside is closer to the bars, this will make your arms comfier as by using tri bars as you will be stretching too much if you dont. most people on a budget just turn their seat post round 180 degrees and shift the saddle forwards to replicate the position they would get on a tt bike.
i wouldnt bother upgrading the wheels too much though £100 on some fulcrum 7s would be a good cheap option. an aero helmet will do nothing for you unless the rest of your riding position is spot on and you can only guarantee this with a fitting session at a physio.
i have a pair of profile century bars in the garage you can have for free if you want 9he says desperately trying to remember if they are still there.....) pm me if you want them. not sure they still have the adapters for bar sizes but you can make them easy enough.
check the regulations for tri bar legalities, pretty sure the BTF require you to have one piece bars though that might be george.
check the regulations for tri bar legalities, pretty sure the BTF require you to have one piece bars though that might be george.
donfisher said:
Out of interest, I watched the London Triathlon last year and noticed that no one at the front was using tri-bars. Are they illegal in certain competitions?
In fact thinking about it not many of the front runners seemed to be on particularly ‘aero’ looking bikes.
Were you watching the elites? Their race is draft legal, so there's little or nothing to be gained from using them . . . us mere mortals get penalised for drafting, so our bike section is very much a pure TT.In fact thinking about it not many of the front runners seemed to be on particularly ‘aero’ looking bikes.
As has been mentioned, speed is a by-product of the "engine" so personally with a gift opportunity coming up, I'd get something like a GPS Heartrate monitor. If you can live with the clunky look you can pick up a Garmin 305 pretty cheaply these days. Won't make you instantly faster, but you'll be able to train a lot more efficiently which will make you go faster ultimately.
Otherwise, as others have said, aerobars and some time spent adjusting your position will yield "free" speed and the best bang for buck. I say adjusting your position as you'll do better finding a good road position and a good TT position and learning how to quickly switch between the two than trying to compromise, which will give you an uncomfortable road position and an uncomfortable, or at the least, inefficient, TT position. I think this is worth doing for triathlon as you have to run afterwards, whereas for pure TT, being able to use your legs in any way afterwards implies you didn't try hard enough!
Otherwise, as others have said, aerobars and some time spent adjusting your position will yield "free" speed and the best bang for buck. I say adjusting your position as you'll do better finding a good road position and a good TT position and learning how to quickly switch between the two than trying to compromise, which will give you an uncomfortable road position and an uncomfortable, or at the least, inefficient, TT position. I think this is worth doing for triathlon as you have to run afterwards, whereas for pure TT, being able to use your legs in any way afterwards implies you didn't try hard enough!
I don't know what your budget is, but Planet-X will sell you a carbon TT bike for £1,299 with 50mm carbon wheels thrown in gratis at the moment.
Otherwise the sensible things seem to be:
wheels
clip-ons
bike fitting
followed by a pointy hat - given the weather you can always say you bought it to keep your ears warm.
Otherwise the sensible things seem to be:
wheels
clip-ons
bike fitting
followed by a pointy hat - given the weather you can always say you bought it to keep your ears warm.
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