Tri bars at sportives

dvntie

Was out today at a local sportive and was surrounded by clowns with tri bars one even had a full tri bike.
They were all wearing local tri club kit which leaves me to wonder WTF do those clubs do on group rides.
Needless to say said clowns also rode like clowns it weaving overlapping wheels and even riding on their trip bars mid group there was one the caused a minor crash on a climb also. Yes I saw it with my own eyes.
Tell me I'm not the only one who has a major problem with this.
I'm all for those lads showing off their kit but there's a time and a place for that

Eamonnator

I hope they weren't wearing sleeveless tops and knee length socks.
For a good reason, tri-bars are not allowed in most sportives.

easygoing39

There's nothing surer to cause a crash on a sportive than a triathlete!! Even without tri bars on their bikes they'll cause danger!!

dahat

Came across quite a few of these last year and one was even on his phone while nestling on the tri bars. He then tried to tell me he was in full control of his bike, pure asshole he was and still is.

lizzylad84

Seen one idiot on a tri bike at a local sportive last yr. I said it to him that it's not safe to ride a tri bike in a group event. No one from club running the event seemed to care tbh. Idiot even had a Ballygowan bottle in his biddon holder. Kinda put me off sportives tbh

iwillhtfu

easygoing39 wrote: »

There's nothing surer to cause a crash on a sportive than a triathlete!! Even without tri bars on their bikes they'll cause danger!!

Ah there's always one that loves a sweeping statement. I've never caused a crash but I have been involved in two crashes involving cyclists at sportives. :rolleyes:

iwillhtfu

lizzylad84 wrote: »

Idiot even had a Ballygowan bottle in his biddon holder

Careful now there's a whiff of Fred off that one

terrydel

The whole triathlon thing is like that crossfit stuff imho, like a fecking cult.

fat bloke

Just sit in his slipstream.

They hate that.

easygoing39

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Ah there's always one that loves a sweeping statement. I've never caused a crash but I have been involved in two crashes involving cyclists at sportives. :rolleyes:

The worst thing CI did was insist that tri-heads are'nt allowed wear their wife-beater tops in open races.Now we have to spend the 1st 5 minutes of the race looking out for the beefy,53 X 11 grinding,top-tube bag using,wobbly dangerous rider!!
CI should insist they have a orange flag on their bike in races.
https://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Famericansafetyvest.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F04%2FBikeFlag.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbicycle.pinpointjobs.us%2Fbicycle-flags-safety%2F&docid=of6Aasg40u46QM&tbnid=jnYL0a1perRTeM%3A&vet=1&w=256&h=320&bih=950&biw=1920&q=long%20orange%20flag%20onbike&ved=0ahUKEwjS4pq0mp3SAhVJOMAKHQuvCQ0QMwggKAEwAQ&iact=mrc&uact=8#h=320&imgrc=jnYL0a1perRTeM:&vet=1&w=256

mossym

shouldn't have been allowed, either the clip on bars or the full tri bikes. i won't bring my tri bike out if i'm even heading out with one other, let alone with a group, and definitely no place for them on a sportive. i'm surprised they weren't stopped.

mossym

fat bloke wrote: »

Just sit in his slipstream.

They hate that.

just don't be surprised when the rain turns warm for a minute or so.

fat bloke

mossym wrote: »

just don't be surprised when the rain turns warm for a minute or so.

Yep.

Can't even control their own bladders. :rolleyes:

iwillhtfu

easygoing39 wrote: »

The worst thing CI did was insist that tri-heads are'nt allowed wear their wife-beater tops in open races.Now we have to spend the 1st 5 minutes of the race looking out for the beefy,53 X 11 grinding,top-tube bag using,wobbly dangerous rider!!

You do realise you've just described at least 60℅ of cyclists in most amateur road races there, right?

dvntie

fat bloke wrote: »

Just sit in his slipstream.

They hate that.

I did and he was all over the road. Couldn't keep it straight so I thought the best place for him was far far behind

Beasty

Weepsie wrote: »

Tri bikes are fantastically ugly, so who would want to seen on one at a sportive

Triathletes

:pac:

Wishbone Ash

mossym wrote: »

.. i'm surprised they weren't stopped.

It probably difficult to police in the bigger sportives. There was a chap in the WW200 last year on a full TT bike. Looked a bit odd and uncomfortable climbing Slieve Mann.

rollingscone

Passed a guy in full Tri regalia on the 1st Great Dublin Bike Ride. TT bike sleeveless jersey, knee socks aero helmet and all.

He was going embarrassingly slowly (as evidenced by the fact that I passed him) yet looked outwardly in great shape.

In fact I passed him a second time after my double puncture.


OTOH there were a few Tri looking types on the Reservoir Dog who vanished up the first climb and seem to have flown the route*

To totally Ron Burgundy the situation they were soundly beaten to the finish by some sort of XC monster

irishrover99

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It probably difficult to police in the bigger sportives. There was a chap in the WW200 last year on a full TT bike. Looked a bit odd and uncomfortable climbing Slieve Mann.

I seen a guy on slieve mann also a few years ago on a full TT bike. I found it more strange that he had a fully loaded backpack on him which i'm sure ate into any aero advantage he was getting.

mossym

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It probably difficult to police in the bigger sportives. There was a chap in the WW200 last year on a full TT bike. Looked a bit odd and uncomfortable climbing Slieve Mann.

true. something like the wicklow200 is a nice training spin for an ironman, especiialy a hilly IM, but to get the most benefit out of it doing it on the TT bike works best, don't think anyone would set out to do a load of climbing on one by choice

mossym

irishrover99 wrote: »

I seen a guy on slieve mann also a few years ago on a full TT bike. I found it more strange that he had a fully loaded backpack on him which i'm sure ate into any aero advantage he was getting.

weights in the bag for training? if he was on a mountain there is feck all aero advantage anyway

InTheAttic

How about aero bars on a hybrid bike?... Ring of Kerry cycle has it all.

tunney

easygoing39 wrote: »

There's nothing surer to cause a crash on a sportive than a triathlete!! Even without tri bars on their bikes they'll cause danger!!

Thats b0ll0cks.

The problem with sportive is indeed the quality and experience of the rider - including all the people on their road bikes.

fat bloke

tunney wrote: »

Thats b0ll0cks.

The problem with sportive is indeed the quality and experience of the rider - including all the people on their road bikes.

Well I suppose the point is, if you take the relatively chaotic nature of a mixed ability sportive and then introduce a TT rider, on the trí bars, with the limited steering and braking afforded by that position.

It's fuel to the fire.

joey100

But instead of people coming on here saying triathletes are clowns and there is nothing more sure to cause a crash than a triathlete at a sportif why not contact the sportif organiser to bring up your concerns? If they are allowed at the sportif the people are doing nothing wrong, if there is a problem with that contact the people who organised the it. I really don't get the anti-triathlete thing, we are all cyclists. But a bit like some car drivers look down on cyclists, some cyclists look down on triathletes.

Edit: that's not directed at you fat bloke, more the 2 posters at the start of the thread.

fat bloke

joey100 wrote: »

But instead of people coming on here saying triathletes are clowns and there is nothing more sure to cause a crash than a triathlete at a sportif why not contact the sportif organiser to bring up your concerns? If they are allowed at the sportif the people are doing nothing wrong, if there is a problem with that contact the people who organised the it. I really don't get the anti-triathlete thing, we are all cyclists. But a bit like some car drivers look down on cyclists, some cyclists look down on triathletes.

Edit: that's not directed at you fat bloke, more the 2 posters at the start of the thread.

Ah yeah, I think it's only a bit of craic though. Roadies hate mtb'ers, triathletes are silly, Fred's are funny etc.

But I think tri bars are actually specifically prohibited in road sportives - I'm open to correction on that.

mossym

aye, wouldn't get too upset about it joey, i've one lad on here on ignore cause his trolling is the same old tripe every time, and it was pretty poor the first time. natural order of things, slow sunday cyclists look down on triathletes, any of the actual cyclists i know that can actually ride a bike have no issue. just ignore it.

lissard

fat bloke wrote: »

But I think tri bars are actually specifically prohibited in road sportives - I'm open to correction on that.

That's been the case at every sportive I have ever participated in. It's an absolute no-brainer from a safety point of view. If you want to TT your way around a course, why take part in a mass participation event?

eoghan84

I saw a girl with tri bars at the 160km Tour of Meath last year.

I know they are banned for the big sportives abroad like the Tour of Flanders, but I haven't seen much info banning them here.

joey100

Normally I would treat it as a bit of craic but to be fair the first post didn't read like it was a bit of craic.

irishrover99

joey100 wrote: »

Normally I would treat it as a bit of craic but to be fair the first post didn't read like it was a bit of craic.

I did mention tri bars at the W200 but wasn't taking the piss with regards to triathletes.
The Brownlee brothers have to be some of the best athletes in the world and really don't get enough credit for what they put themselves through.

Wishbone Ash

joey100 wrote: »

....If they are allowed at the sportif the people are doing nothing wrong...

Any sportive I've ever entered specifically stated that they aren't permitted but I'd still see them regularly.

OleRodrigo

I think any rider with an ounce of cop on would know not to take tri bars to a mass participation event. While the Organizers may forbid it, unless they are able to bike check and patrol all participants, some will get through.

iwillhtfu

fat bloke wrote: »

Roadies hate mtb'ers, triathletes are silly, Fred's are funny etc.

That's me bolloxed so :o

Shedite27

Is it just that if a TT bike happened to hit someone head on that the shape of the bars are dangerous? Or is there another thing I'm missing?

Wishbone Ash

Shedite27 wrote: »

Is it just that if a TT bike happened to hit someone head on that the shape of the bars are dangerous? Or is there another thing I'm missing?

The rider does not have immediate access to brakes and has limited steering while using tri bars.

iwillhtfu

Shedite27 wrote: »

Is it just that if a TT bike happened to hit someone head on that the shape of the bars are dangerous? Or is there another thing I'm missing?

I think it's more to do with lads being on the aero bars away from brakes which to be fair when cycling in a bunch is a valid point.

Anytime I've seen a tri bike at a sportive or group ride the lads are usually on the Base bar and not using the aero bars.

cython

iwillhtfu wrote: »

I think it's more to do with lads being on the aero bars away from brakes which to be fair when cycling in a bunch is a valid point.

Anytime I've seen a tri bike at a sportive or group ride the lads are usually on the Base bar and not using the aero bars.

Unless they have Di2 with extra shift buttons on the base bar then changing gear is probably also prone to compromising handling even while not down on the aero bars if they are on a full TT/tri rig too.

tunney

Hands up if you ride your road bike with your forearms on the bars in a pseudo TT position from time to time in a headwind.

68 lost souls

Speaking as a triathlete:

I know many clubs ban TT bars from group rides. I understand it and agree with it. On the sport Ives I've done I've always only had the drops, normally I'm better off that way anyway as a sportive is normally a hilly route where weight saving is more beneficial than aero and also it's normally a bit of craic rather than a time trial or anything, much rather be on a group and having a bit of banter.

Even within triathlons when it's draft legal TT bars are not allowed as is the case with ITU elite racing.

The main concerns is reduced Handeling in the TT bars, no easy access to breaks and also the line of sight is reduced in the aero position

tunney

For the sportive lads who have no idea what I am talking about.

iwillhtfu

tunney wrote: »

For the sportive lads who have no idea what I am talking about.

Much safer

OleRodrigo

^^ That's called throwing shapes. No reason not to use the drops into a headwind.

Harrybelafonte

OleRodrigo wrote: »

^^ That's called throwing shapes. No reason not to use the drops into a headwind.

Limited black flexibility when in drops for extended length of time.