duathlon newbie.....can i survive on a road bike

lizzylad84

hi folks, thinking of entering a few duathlons next year. just wondering can/could i get by on my current road bike...trek 1.5....funds are somewhat restricted due to pending wedding so strapped for cash at the minute regards purchase of tt bike

king size mars bar

yea course ya would. i'm into my second year of duathlons and funds are seriously low and i,ve done all my duathlons on a road bike with tri bars on it. so i would say go for it with the road bike and dont panic.

lizzylad84

cheers KSMB! i doubt the missus would be too happy if i arrived home with another bike too!!!!

griffin100

A trek 1.5 is all the bike you'll need until you get serious about the sport - stick on set of tri bars and away you go.

911sc

griffin100 wrote: »

stick on set of tri bars

you probably don't even need those, unless you can achieve something like avg 35kpmh. ( i think i read somewehere that tribars start to make a difference above that speed).
A lot of people have these because it looks good, and loads with diabolical fitting, meaning poor aerodynamic.
Save yourself money and train harder, that's would make a difference:rolleyes:

zico10

911sc wrote: »

you probably don't even need those, unless you can achieve something like avg 35kpmh. ( i think i read somewehere that tribars start to make a difference above that speed).
A lot of people have these because it looks good, and loads with diabolical fitting, meaning poor aerodynamic.
Save yourself money and train harder, that's would make a difference:rolleyes:

I fail to see how that 35km/hr stat makes sense. Aero bars reduce your frontal surface area, surely that's going to be beneficial at any speed.
I think the the position of the aero bars would have to be diabolically diabolical for them not to give the rider a more aerodynamic position than sitting upright. I'm sure most people have aero bars because they make them go faster, and not for aesthetics. That's not to say there aren't some riders with poor positions, but the OP is talking about duathlons next year, he has a long time to find his optimal position.
They're a hell of a lot cheaper than a TT bike, and if looking for easy time gains nothing will be a better investment.

Buy the TT bars and still train hard would be my advice.

Oldlegs

lizzylad84 wrote: »

... funds are somewhat restricted due to pending wedding so strapped for cash at the minute regards purchase of tt bike

What about adding something to the wedding list ?:cool:

tunney

zico10 wrote: »

I fail to see how that 35km/hr stat makes sense. Aero bars reduce your frontal surface area, surely that's going to be beneficial at any speed.
I think the the position of the aero bars would have to be diabolically diabolical for them not to give the rider a more aerodynamic position than sitting upright. I'm sure most people have aero bars because they make them go faster, and not for aesthetics. That's not to say there aren't some riders with poor positions, but the OP is talking about duathlons next year, he has a long time to find his optimal position.
They're a hell of a lot cheaper than a TT bike, and if looking for easy time gains nothing will be a better investment.

Buy the TT bars and still train hard would be my advice.

He may have plucked the figure from his hole but there is a certain element of logic to it. Albeit it does sound a little like something pulled from 220 (i.e. based in fact but misinterpreted).

The power needed to overcome drag will vary as the cube of velocity.

So at 25kph the effort to go to 26kph is alot less than going from 35kph to 36kph.

This is usually countered with "but the guys at 25kph are out there longer than the guys at 35kph so it balances out".

I do however agree. Train hard.

I would buy the TT bars *if* they can be made to fit. I know on my road bike sutbbies are all that I can use without comprising handling and comfort.