adapting road bike for tri use? - Triathlon Week

05-17-2005, 10:08 PM

Hello,
I've got a straight road bike (a Lemond Arrivee) that I used for sprint tris last year just as it was, but I'd like to know what I can do to adapt it for tri use this year. From what I've read, clip-on aero bars, sliding the seat forward, and possibly a zero-offset or fast-forward seatpost are possible adaptations. A groups.google search of this group turned up a (dead) link to rooworld.com on doing this, but I haven't seen much else. I bought a pair of Easton Aeroforce clip-ons to go on my Easton EC 90 Equipe bars.

I've been through a bike fitting for road use, so I have all my anatomical and bike measurements. Is there any way to use this data to know how far to move the seat forward? Any heuristics or rules of thumb for how far is far enough or too far?

Thanks,
Chris

05-18-2005, 11:13 AM

What are zero-offset and fast-forward seatpost? Thanks

pyschosyd · 05-18-2005, 02:55 PM

Zero offset are when there is no rear offset of the mounting braket for the saddle. It is directly above the post
Fast forward is when the offset is forward of the post. The purpose of this is to get you into a less stretched out position when using aero bars.

As for fitting yourself. There are specific angles and such which I can't remember off the top of my head, but I suggest that you get yourself and bike to a good bike shop and they will gladly help you adjust your bike into the best position possible.
S

05-18-2005, 04:30 PM

Take a set of allen wrenches on a long bike ride and adjust the setup
until comfortable.

That is how I configured my road bike for tri use.

You may find this link helpful if you have not already seen it:
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

And remember make small, incremental changes.

my $0.02

roger

fittotri · 05-18-2005, 06:05 PM

I determined I bought to big a frame, it's a 58cm and I should have bought a 56cm. I measured at a 57 but thought the 58 would be fine, oops. After a year of playing, researching, and experimenting with my seat position, I found a position I like. I spun my bontrager seat post around, moved the seat to its most forward position, very slight tilt forward. I use a short 75mm stem and tossed the uncomfortable aero bars that I was using. I may get more confortable bars in the future, but for now I can ride an easy 30 miles with no discomfort just with the drops. I put a little extra bar tape at the location were I hold the bar on the drops, that helped. It may not be the most aero position, but I have been getting faster, and I like coming out of the saddle and grabbing the hoods for passing and cornering, what a rush. Looking forward to my improved bike position in Madeira Beach Tri in Florida this weekend. Good luck on perfecting your position. My .02. Later.

05-18-2005, 07:38 PM

I went by comfort. If you've been riding for a while, you'll probably have an idea of what feels right and wrong. I went through this a couple of years ago. Once I dialed in a position that felt right, I video taped myself on a trainer to analyze. This worked for me.

I'm getting the tri setup off of my road bike. I may be selling my mint condition Nitto forward seatpost, Syntace C2 aerobars, and Ergo stem. Let me know if you're interested. I have photos of all this stuff.
"Chris Esposito" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
Hello,
I've got a straight road bike (a Lemond Arrivee) that I used for sprint tris last year just as it was, but I'd like to know what I can do to adapt it for tri use this year. From what I've read, clip-on aero bars, sliding the seat forward, and possibly a zero-offset or fast-forward seatpost are possible adaptations. A groups.google search of this group turned up a (dead) link to rooworld.com on doing this, but I haven't seen much else. I bought a pair of Easton Aeroforce clip-ons to go on my Easton EC 90 Equipe bars.

I've been through a bike fitting for road use, so I have all my anatomical and bike measurements. Is there any way to use this data to know how far to move the seat forward? Any heuristics or rules of thumb for how far is far enough or too far?

Thanks,
Chris

05-19-2005, 06:06 PM

Thanks to everybody that replied. The tech articles at slowtwitch are a
goldmine of useful information.

--
Chris Esposito
UOP Washington Faculty
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
(425) 865-5322
"Roger Cortesi" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:1116459038.265117.164570@g49g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> Take a set of allen wrenches on a long bike ride and adjust the setup
> until comfortable.
>
> That is how I configured my road bike for tri use.
>
> You may find this link helpful if you have not already seen it:
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> And remember make small, incremental changes.
>
> my $0.02
>
> roger
>