"ritcho" <
[email protected]
> DaveB Wrote:
> > tortoise wrote:
> > > 2 hopefully not too dumb questions.....
There are no dumb questions.. only dumb replies! ;-)
> > > 1. What is the difference between bikes advertised as "triathlon"
> > > bikes, road bikes and criterion bikes???
> > >
> > Oh **** here comes the triathlete bagging. Hippy/Dutch begone from
> > this thread.
Ooh.. looky and open invitation from Dave..
I did actually let this thread go.. for a whole two replies.. but I
have useful info to add (maybe)..
> > 1, A cheap triathlon bike is basically any roadie with a set of aero
> > bars bolted on. A good one will have the aero bars with gear-levers
> > inside so you can change gears while in the aero position.
If you are just starting aerobars are totally optional. I've
never raced (sprint tri's) with 'em. That being said, they
would make a huge difference for long, flat-ish time trials.
Even roadies use 'em for TT's.. and the pro's were on
them for the Alpe D'Huez uphill TT stage of last year's
Tour de France..
> > they're no good for riding in a pack. And really, unless you're the
> > lead rider they wouldn't make much difference anyway. But if you're on
your
> > own in a non-draft tri they can make a difference, I found about a
> > 2-3kph difference depending on the wind.
I thought all tri's were non-draft with the exception of the Elites?
> .. plus, a tri/time-trial bike has a steeper seat tube.
and is designed to be as aero as possible - hence the 'bladed'
style "tubes" rather than more traditional cylinder tubing of
road bikes. Tri-spoke and disc wheels abound. Bigger gears
because TT's are generally done at a lower cadence (pedal
rpm) than road racing.
Google has plenty, given the right input:
http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-62514
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=triathlon+aerodynamics
hippy