In Lieu of The Bicycle Race Tomorrow, A word on Tri Bikes and forgive my grammar

But First, A hearty hand shake and a pat on the back for Axel he is going on to the real world, outside this bicycling Utopia/cult we have here, I don't quite know why he would ever want to leave here. The red kool-aid was planned for next week. In any case we wish him the best of luck in the city of brotherly love.

Play him off keyboard cat.

Back to Tri's A number of folks come in to the shop with some combination of the following phrases "I want a bike to get into shape with to do some fitness riding" "and then maybe a few triathlons" "and do you have any tri bikes?".

The first bit about losing some unnecessary pounds and getting back into shape that can be accomplished through our fx series of bikes the 7.3 fx is an excellent example of just such a bike great for moderate paced rides up to as far as you care to go. That said for that third bit where you want to start training for triathlons and doing a few, I would be doing you the budding triathlete a disservice to put you on any thing less than a road bike. The reasons for this are numerous.

1 Road bikes are faster each pedal stroke sends you further down the road or up the mountain or toward the running leg of the triathlon.

2 That one road bike can be your training and competition ride for years of triathlons. They are adaptable for racing purposes but not so much for the day to day utility.

3 While they are more expensive they represent a significant investment in your self and as a result that can motivate you toward your goal of being a triathlete.

4 The higher quality parts on the bikes shift gears smoother and with less effort and will do so far beyond the life of cheaper flat bar stuff. This makes you more confident and life on the bike easier when you get out of the pool/lake/ocean and start riding the bike and you cant quite get your fingers wired to your brain properly.

5 Drop bars and clip on aero bars give you many hand positions so you can get into an aggressive stance on the bike or get upright for easier training rides and some people can sit in the aero bars all day long.

6. Peter loves this reason but The bike is the single biggest time reducing piece of equipment you can get for a triathlon (also a good one goggles that don't leak I swim regularly, used to competitively I hated swimming with cheap goggles). Why would you make your self less competitive with ill suited to the task equipment?

So if you say triathlon I am going to say road bike. Those are the rules and they are for your benefit.

The last question "Do you have any tri bikes?" the answer there is maybe in the future but now if you want one well order it for you it will come in a day or two. The tri bike is great for competition but are really race day only bikes. While fast in a straight line they are tough to handle even for the pros.

Tour De France 2009 - Crashes - Team Time Trail - Funny blooper videos are here

And those were just the crashes from this years tour.

Therefore a triathlon bike should not be your only bike as they are more dragster than daily driver. They put you in a position that is rather uncomfortable for day to day use and unsafe for rides any where other than a closed course. Additionally a triathlon bike frame is one of the last things a rider needs to benefit from aerodynamically. Its behind Aero bars, an aero helmet, aero wheels, a skin suit, cycling shoes, and clipless pedals. So when you have all those things first the performance advantages of a Tri bike may be worth while. finally all these things with the exception of wheels are cheaper than the bike frame and there fore a better value.

Finally I hope to see you (whoever you are)

all at the Crit today. The shop will be open during the race So if you need any thing in a pinch we will be glad to help out!

P. S. for those of us out there with bike seats that are not quite comfortable (my self included) count your blessings Harry Potter spends hours flying around on a broomstick. Maybe they have broomstick specific shorts.