Benefits of a Tri-bike for Newbies
Should a newbie buy a road bike first or go straight to a tri-bike? That’s the question most newbies ask when they are about to buy their first bike. So what bike should a newbie really get?
It’s been said one of the benefits of riding a tri bike is that its steep angle/geometry, aside from being more aerodynamic, allows the rider to get to T2 fresher because it opens up the hip angle . Thus, taking less load on the legs and making them run faster.
But does it really?
“Nasa Indian yan, wala sa pana” is the most commonly used term in our Community Forum. What does that mean? It means that even if you have the best equipment money can buy, nothing can beat the speed gained by training consistently. At the end of the day, it’s still the fitness level of the biker, that truly matters.
I also vividly remember this post in a famous triathlon site before..
“I have also started looking at tri equipment and how far it has actually come.
I have compared 2 races: IM Hawaii 1989 and 2007. In 1989 Mark Allen and Dave Scott rode road bikes with road wheels and tribars in 4hr38, and ran 2h40.
In 2007, Macca rode 4H38 on a highly developed tri-bike with all the gizmos, and ran a 2H42. All 3 had similar race day conditions, all 3 are spectacular athletes, so the real question is does all this technology work? or is it just a way of extracting your hard earned cash, just to look good on race day. “
This question was actually asked already at our ASK THE COACH section. For Coach Jomac, our online coach, he recommends buying a tri bike straight from the get-go. (Click here to read the article)
For me, my answer depends on certain factors.
- What’s your budget?
- How good is your bike handling?
- How flexible are you?
- Are you going to do mostly triathlons? or will do road races too?
Bike fit, in my opinion, is more important than the bike frame. How many times have you seen athletes using 200k+ bikes but often rides on the bullhorns than the aerobars because they couldn’t handle the steep angle? Then you’ll hear them complain of back pain.
All tri positions, is actually attainable even if you use a road bike.
I still have nightmares when I think of all the riders blowing past me at Ironman races using bikes with stock wheels and aluminum frames!
So let’s determine the benefits of a tri bike for newbies. Is it worth it? This is currently the hottest topic in our SWIMBIKERUN.ph Community Forum.
Can a tri bike really make you run faster? What are the pros and cons of using a tri bike and road bike in triathlon races for newbies?
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