Converting a road bike to Tri bike

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Curt
I am sure this has been covered, but if anyone has a link or any input on this I thank you. I am
looking to put some tri bars on my road bike and not sure where to start. I have ergo shifters
(campy) on the brake levers and don't know what route to go. I can't afford another bike and I am
not sure I will like tri's yet since I have just been training and starting out. Is there a good
clip on tri type bar to put on that is any good?

Should I look for a whole set of bars with levers used that would be compatible with my c-record
group or is that too much? I don't want to go too crazy, but looking for a better position on my
bike for a tri.

Thanks, Curt

Best bet for you would be a set of "clip on" aerobars. They simply attach to your current "downturn" road bars. You still brake and shift with your Campy the way you always did. Many people like the Syntace bars, but I like Profile Designs many options. There are usually many on ebay that are about new, or slightly used that I would get as they really don't wear (except the pads) and should be fine used for under $75.

Tips: get a bike fit after trying this as many things will change. You will likely need to do 2 these to your road bike (assuming many things here, especially that you are currently comfy and fit well). #1 Move your seat as far forward on the rails that you can. #2 May need a shorter stem (i.e. switch from 120mm to 100mm).

The one piece aerobars are very nice (I ride a CarbonX), but they are costly and you have to get new brakes, shifters, etc. Does not sound like the way to go for you.

Thank you for the response. I will keep my eyes our for the bars on ebay. Great idea! Curt

"rroof" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Curt said:

I am sure this has been covered, but if anyone has a link or any input on this I thank you. I
am looking to put some tri bars on my road bike and not sure where to start. I have ergo
shifters (campy) on the brake levers and don't know what route to go. I can't afford another
bike and I am not sure I will like tri's yet since I have just been training and starting out.
Is there a good clip on tri type bar to put on that is any good? Should I look for a whole set
of bars with levers used that would be compatible with my c-record group or is that too much?
I don't want to go too crazy, but looking for a better position on my bike for a tri. Thanks,
Curt

Best bet for you would be a set of "clip on" aerobars. They simply attach to your current
"downturn" road bars. You still brake and shift with your Campy the way you always did. Many
people like the Syntace bars, but I like Profile Designs many options. There are usually many on
ebay that are about new, or slightly used that I would get as they really don't wear (except the
pads) and should be fine used for under $75.

Tips: get a bike fit after trying this as many things will change. You will likely need to do 2
these to your road bike (assuming many things here, especially that you are currently comfy and
fit well). #1 Move your seat as far forward on the rails that you can. #2 May need a shorter stem
(i.e. switch from 120mm to 100mm).

The one piece aerobars are very nice (I ride a CarbonX), but they are costly and you have to get
new brakes, shifters, etc. Does not sound like the way to go for you.

--

Quoted message said:

Best bet for you would be a set of "clip on" aerobars. They simply attach to your current
"downturn" road bars. You still brake and shift with your Campy the way you always did. Many
people like the Syntace bars, but I like Profile Designs many options. There are usually many on
ebay that are about new, or slightly used that I would get as they really don't wear (except the
pads) and should be fine used for under $75.

Tips: get a bike fit after trying this as many things will change. You will likely need to do 2
these to your road bike (assuming many things here, especially that you are currently comfy and
fit well). #1 Move your seat as far forward on the rails that you can. #2 May need a shorter stem
(i.e. switch from 120mm to 100mm).

To add to the above points which I fully agree with..... I have a Giant TCR set up for road and
triathlons with a Profile Design Century clip on aerobar. My greatest regret was not getting an
aerobar that is length adjustable - watch ebay for a Profile Century bar coming soon! Adjustable
aerobars give you the flexibility to set up your aerobar (length, width, pad position) WITHOUT
having to have a shorter stem and possibly ruin your road position. I find the Century bar a wee bit
too long for my road bike.

DEFINITELY get fitted for the changes but think carefully about how you want to use the bike. I do
a mix of road and triathlon/TT so the setup reflects this - I don't want a pure TT bike (yet!)!
That is where adjustable tri bars can let you tweak your aerobar position without ruining your
road position.

Good luck!

Quoted message said:

To add to the above points which I fully agree with..... I have a Giant TCR set up for road and
triathlons with a Profile Design Century clip on aerobar. My greatest regret was not getting an
aerobar that is length adjustable - watch ebay for a Profile Century bar coming soon! Adjustable
aerobars give you the flexibility to set up your aerobar (length, width, pad position) WITHOUT
having to have a shorter stem and possibly ruin your road position. I find the Century bar a wee
bit too long for my road bike.

DEFINITELY get fitted for the changes but think carefully about how you want to use the bike. I do
a mix of road and triathlon/TT so the setup reflects this - I don't want a pure TT bike (yet!)!
That is where adjustable tri bars can let you tweak your aerobar position without ruining your
road position.

Good luck!

Hmmm, adjustable length. I will keep my eyes open for them. I am 6'2" which isn't a very good size
for a cyclist or a tri participant for that matter, but I want to be comfortable and in good
position to do the best I can.

If anyone has brand names that are light and fully adjustable that would be good. Profile seems to
be popular and you mention Profile Century which is length adjustable. Are there others?

Curt

Hey, no heightism here, I'm 6'2" as well and I'm often not the tallest at events even if I am one of
the taller in the club. I'd agree, until you can crank out reasonable10-mile TT in sub 25-mins a
full blown time trial bike will be of little advantage.

I have a pair of these on one bike,
performancebike.comProfile.cfmOpen ↗ people told me I'd these would
be better becuase the armrests are spring loaded and flip up out of the way and you can still use
the bars. I actually prefer the shorter Jammer bars which I have on another bike. rei.comProductDisplayOpen ↗
1&catalogId=40000008000&storeId=8000&partNumber=702645&memberId=-2000&link=1

Both are adjustable for length... One of the simplest things you can do, especially if you have
broad shoulders, is sit on a turbo trainer in front of a mirro, work on you position to get as
tucked in as much as possible and narrow your shoulders by keeping the arm rests as narrow as is
comfortable...

++Mark.

"Mark Cathcart" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hey, no heightism here, I'm 6'2" as well and I'm often not the tallest at events even if I am one
of the taller in the club. I'd agree, until you

can

Quoted message said:

crank out reasonable10-mile TT in sub 25-mins a full blown time trial bike will be of little
advantage.

I have a pair of these on one bike,
performancebike.comProfile.cfmOpen ↗ people told me I'd these would
be better becuase the armrests are spring loaded

and

Quoted message said:

flip up out of the way and you can still use the bars. I actually prefer

the

Quoted message said:

shorter Jammer bars which I have on another bike.

rei.comProductDisplayOpen ↗
1&catalogId=40000008000&storeId=8000&partNumber=702645&memberId=-2000&link=1

Quoted message said:

Both are adjustable for length... One of the simplest things you can do, especially if you have
broad shoulders, is sit on a turbo trainer in front of a mirro, work on you position to get as
tucked in as much as possible

and

Quoted message said:

narrow your shoulders by keeping the arm rests as narrow as is comfortable...

++Mark.

Thanks Mark for your help. I will look into them both.

Curt

I set up my bike with a complete tri bar package. 130 mm stem, cowhorn bars, dia comp brake, syntace
C2 bars with bar end shifters. I also have a complete road bar set up so that all I have to do is
switch them out. Takes about 1/2 hour if you are familiar with adjusting your derailleur cables.
Cables are a part of the set-up in each case.

I have competed in Triathlons on a Sat, TT Sunday morning and Road Race about noon on the same week-
end day simply by shifting the entire set-up. It is too much of a hassle to ship two bikes when
traveling to race as well as being a bit costly.

Ken @ Kauai

"curt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am sure this has been covered, but if anyone has a link or any input on this I thank you. I am
looking to put some tri bars on my road bike and

not

Quoted message said:

sure where to start. I have ergo shifters (campy) on the brake levers and don't know what route to
go. I can't afford another bike and I am not

sure

Quoted message said:

I will like tri's yet since I have just been training and starting out.

Is

Quoted message said:

there a good clip on tri type bar to put on that is any good?

Should I look for a whole set of bars with levers used that would be compatible with my c-record
group or is that too much? I don't want to go too crazy, but looking for a better position on my
bike for a tri.

Thanks, Curt

Quoted message said:

Hmmm, adjustable length. I will keep my eyes open for them. I am 6'2" which isn't a very good size
for a cyclist or a tri participant for that matter, but I want to be comfortable and in good
position to do the best I can.

If anyone has brand names that are light and fully adjustable that would be good. Profile seems to
be popular and you mention Profile Century which is length adjustable. Are there others?

Curt

These are on ebay for about 10 more hours. And are very adjustable.

tinyurl.com38eqyOpen ↗

I'm in the market for a pair myself and was bidding on these. I wouldn't have told you about them if
I hadb't noticed that they would only ship to the states (I'm in Canada). Oops.

"curt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

To add to the above points which I fully agree with..... I have a Giant TCR set up for road and
triathlons with a Profile Design Century clip on aerobar. My greatest regret was not getting an
aerobar that is length adjustable - watch ebay for a Profile Century bar coming soon! Adjustable
aerobars give you the flexibility to set up your aerobar (length, width, pad position) WITHOUT
having to have a shorter stem and possibly ruin your road position. I find the Century bar a wee
bit too long for my road bike.

DEFINITELY get fitted for the changes but think carefully about how you want to use the bike. I
do a mix of road and triathlon/TT so the setup reflects this - I don't want a pure TT bike
(yet!)! That is where adjustable tri bars can let you tweak your aerobar position without
ruining your road position.

Good luck!

Hmmm, adjustable length. I will keep my eyes open for them. I am 6'2" which isn't a very good size
for a cyclist or a tri participant for that matter, but I want to be comfortable and in good
position to do the best I can.

If anyone has brand names that are light and fully adjustable that would be good. Profile seems to
be popular and you mention Profile Century which is length adjustable. Are there others?

Curt

6'2" -good to see a few short people on the start line! I'm 6'4" and find the Profile Century too
long, I feel too stretched out - and by the way it is NOT length adjustable. I don't think height is
really an issue in triathlons or cycling as long as you get the bike set up correctly you will be
comfortable. Length of aerobar you need will depend on your geometry, the position you are after and
that of the bike - you may find the Profile Century is fine in which case its an excellent cheap
option. In my book, fit and comfort go much further than extreme aero positions, particularly over
longer events and an adjustable bar lets you experiment a bit more with positions. How many times
have you seen half the field riding on the hoods when on the flat? Most of the time, so get
comfortable!

Other adjustable bars include Profile, ITM, 3T etc etc - most makes do one of some sort or another.

See you at the races and mind you don't get trodden on.

These any good?

Curt

all3sports.com106Open ↗ "Ken"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"curt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

To add to the above points which I fully agree with..... I have a Giant TCR set up for road
and triathlons with a Profile Design Century clip on aerobar. My greatest regret was not
getting an aerobar that is length adjustable - watch ebay for a Profile Century bar coming
soon! Adjustable aerobars give you the flexibility to set up your aerobar (length, width, pad
position) WITHOUT having to have a shorter stem and possibly ruin your road position. I find
the Century bar a wee bit too long for my road bike.

DEFINITELY get fitted for the changes but think carefully about how you want to use the bike.
I do a mix of road and triathlon/TT so the setup reflects this - I don't want a pure TT bike
(yet!)! That is where adjustable tri bars can let you tweak your aerobar position without
ruining your road position.

Good luck!

Hmmm, adjustable length. I will keep my eyes open for them. I am 6'2" which isn't a very good
size for a cyclist or a tri participant for that matter, but I want to be comfortable and in
good position to do the best

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

can.

If anyone has brand names that are light and fully adjustable that would

be

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

good. Profile seems to be popular and you mention Profile Century which

is

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

length adjustable. Are there others?

Curt

6'2" -good to see a few short people on the start line! I'm 6'4" and find the Profile Century too
long, I feel too stretched out - and by the way it is NOT length adjustable. I don't think height
is really an issue in triathlons or cycling as long as you get the bike set up correctly you will
be comfortable. Length of aerobar you need will depend on your geometry, the position you are
after and that of the bike - you may find the Profile Century is fine in which case its an
excellent cheap option. In my book, fit and comfort go much further than extreme aero positions,
particularly over longer events and an adjustable bar lets you experiment a bit more with
positions. How many times have you seen half the field riding on the hoods when on the flat? Most
of the time, so get comfortable!

Other adjustable bars include Profile, ITM, 3T etc etc - most makes do one of some sort or
another.

See you at the races and mind you don't get trodden on.

"curt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

These any good?

Curt

all3sports.com106Open ↗

I would say they look excellent although I haven't used them personally - light being carbon and
adjustable for length and pad width. Wouldn't mind a pair myself!

Thanks Ken,

I think that is what I am going to get. They certainly hold value. I was watching this on ebay and
was going to bid, but they over paid I think. I would rather buy new for an extra $10.

cgi.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗

Thanks again. Seems like a good price new. Curt

"Ken" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"curt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

These any good?

Curt

all3sports.com106Open ↗

Quoted message said:

I would say they look excellent although I haven't used them personally - light being carbon and
adjustable for length and pad width. Wouldn't mind a pair myself!