TT/Tri bars

[G]

G'day everyone
I have been advised to practice with TT bars for an upcoming triathlon. I was recommended not to just put the clip-on aero bars on normal ho0d and drop bars of my road bike, but put the tri bar that don't have drops

I am clueless about where to find such bars at a cheap price, and wot difference they would make as compared to the clip on aero bars. I spoke to a mechanic at cell bikes cyclery and they advised the changes required as:
1) tri bars = $100
2) forward shifters $150
3) brakes $70
4) tape $20
5) labour $50

Total costing about $400. Is that reasonable? [/img]

[weiyun]

It's an expensive and involved conversion but works well IF you have a dedicated TT bike. If not, then staying with clip-on TT bars will keep your bike more versatile.

[G]

It's an expensive and involved conversion but works well IF you have a dedicated TT bike. If not, then staying with clip-on TT bars will keep your bike more versatile.

I don't have a dedicated TT bike, but would a TT bar make the road bike less versatile?

[weiyun]

I don't have a dedicated TT bike, but would a TT bar make the road bike less versatile?

TT bars restrict maneuverability and is not safe to use in traffic and not permitted in bunches. They are good for TT and TT alone. If you take a look at the recent ITT at the Giro, because of the difficult course, many riders opted to go with regular drop bar rather than dedicated TT bikes.

[G]

TT bars restrict maneuverability and is not safe to use in traffic and not permitted in bunches. They are good for TT and TT alone. If you take a look at the recent ITT at the Giro, because of the difficult course, many riders opted to go with regular drop bar rather than dedicated TT bikes.

Yea I noticed di Luca used the road bike in the final TT stage. I think I will be better off with clip-on aero bars for the time being. Any suggestions where to get them cheap?

[weiyun]

Clip on TT bars are available in most LBSs as well as online. However, there are a lot to choose from.

IIRC, there were some discussions on this in a recent thread in the Road section of the forum as some prepared for the TTT.

[Artson]

perfect advice, weiyun

[T-Bone]

If you want to do road riding and triathlons, and only have one bike, then i don't see the full setup being a sensible option. For the costs you would most likely use new cables as well, and then you have to remember the cost to revert back to road setup.

For clip on bars there are plenty of options, you may also want to get a shorter stem to improve the position, but all up it will be a whole lot cheaper.

[G]

Weiyun, T-Bone, thanks for your advise

[mikesbytes]

The most important thing is to get your torso out of the wind. With the aero bars, you need to ensure that they are low enough, that your body is aerodynamic, not just the arms.

[G]

They are about the seat height. Should I have a shorter stem?

[Toff]

They are about the seat height. Should I have a shorter stem?

Possibly, but it is more important to lower the stem. You want to flatten your torso at the same time as bringing your arms in. Triathlon positioning often involves moving the seat forward, and having the arm (from shoulder to elbow) vertical. This means that the elbows often sit behind the steering axis of the headset.

Good summary here.

To accomodate the best riding position on a road bike, I would suggest buying a tri bar that allows you to slide the bars you grip forward and backwards. This will give you more options for positioning, and more flexibility to adjust the bars to work with a road bike.

Here is a good example of a fully adjustable bar.

[weiyun]

But no point in pushing for the "perfect" aero position that's so extremely on the body, leading to a loss in power production. It's always a balance b/n aeroness and physical capabilities.

[mikesbytes]

But no point in pushing for the "perfect" aero position that's so extremely on the body, leading to a loss in power production. It's always a balance b/n aeroness and physical capabilities.

I've been training in this position and I feel that you can learn to be in this position and only loose a tiny amount of power.

I too want some aero bars, cheap ones please. Why cheap ones, because you don't know what you want until you've already being using them and then you go and buy the ones you actually need.