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TT bikes worth the $£?

I'm in my second year of Triathlon and am loving the whole training and racing scene and have been looking at the sexy Tri bikes at the races.
Apart from being aero which will save me a small amount of time on a sprint/olympic is there any other Noticeable advantages to these bikes compared a carbon sportive type bike?
Is it worth the cash for one of these bikes?

Who couldn't live without their Tri bike?

Thanks!

Comments

  • okennyokenny Posts: 231
    love mine...

    it's sooo nice. Specialized Transition.
  • pataallenpataallen Posts: 94
    geometry is more aggressive meaning legs are fresher for the run
  • As with most things, the answer depends on your own personal situation. A TT bike is a good choice if...

    - You've ambition to win your age group, qualify for age group team or race pro in non drafting races
    - you can't get comfortable in the aero position on a road bike
    - you've reached your limit on your current bike and aren't satisfied with how fast you're going
    - you've oodles of spare cash and like to own nice bikes

    If you answer yes to the majority of these questions, then yes, almost certainly worth it.
  • FatKnackerFatKnacker Posts: 36
    I agree with Bike-Science. I'm never likely to win my age group and basically use triathlon as a justification for eating whatever I like ('cos I've done the training). I know I could get a lot quicker by slimming down a bit and taking things more seriously, but hey, life's too short. I've got a job, wife, kids mortgage etc, and so shiny kit is well down the list of priorities for me - especially when there are other things I could do to improve my times which wouldn't involve huge expense, such as structuring my training better, shifting some lard etc.

    I guess it is all about your personal circumstances. If I were a single 20-something with some spare cash, and serious about the sport then yes, it would be worth the £ to buy a tri-bike, but in my case I can't justify it. It doesn't stop me getting bike envy in transition though...

    And having the blingy bike alone won't make you faster necessarily. I did a pool based sprint last week and on hte bike leg I overtook about a dozen people, three of whom were riding tri-bikes. That definitely made me feel better going into the run I can tell you!

    FK
  • willieverfinishwillieverfinish Posts: 1,381
    I love the " I overtook a bloke on a TT bike" comment.

    Just think though - maybe the sprint race you overtook them on was a warm down race after a middle distance the week before.

    Maybe they are just back from inj.

    Maybe they are just getting their kit squared away.

    Maybe it's not their A race.

    Overtaking someone on a TT bike doesn't make you special - it makes you faster at that given time.

    And no, I don't have a TT bike
  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    bike-science wrote:
    As with most things, the answer depends on your own personal situation. A TT bike is a good choice if...

    - You've ambition to win your age group, qualify for age group team or race pro in non drafting races
    - you can't get comfortable in the aero position on a road bike
    - you've reached your limit on your current bike and aren't satisfied with how fast you're going
    - you've oodles of spare cash and like to own nice bikes

    If you answer yes to the majority of these questions, then yes, almost certainly worth it.
    Surely its only the last one that matters

    I am noticably faster on my TT bike than on my road bike over a 40k circuit that i tested on. The roadie (with clip on bars) averaged 29.8kph (not fast I know) but the TT did it at 36.3 kph (still not fast I know) however the gain in terms of % average speed is quite high (~20%), although some of that gain is down to training - they were 2 months apart.

    *EDIT* Just had a check and I think they are running different sized chaingrings, which could also account for some more of the difference...should have thought of that before posting
  • dactridactri Posts: 2
    Ha! Thanks md6 I dont think I could ever justify a TT bike as I couldn't win someone elses age group never mind my own!
    But yeah its an ace toy and owning nice bikes is a clean hobby...
  • jacjac Posts: 452
    Bikes make a difference but I'd prefer to splash out on the engine.
    A new bike will make you quicker once - then it's up to you how much you progress.
  • GGBGGB Posts: 482
    For me it was worth the ££ - I have a cheapy road bike which is fine for tri's and hilly coarses, used all last year - but this year decided I wanted something better - I love been in the aero position so decided on a TT bike - for which I shall be doing my Tri's this year and a few TT's -

    For me a massive difference over my old bike - but then there was a big difference in price - so the question for me would be would a TT bike of similar price to a road bike be better or not ??
  • ZacniciZacnici Posts: 1,385
    Yes
  • Race1Race1 Posts: 58
    I am a newbie to Tri. But I "WANTED" a nice bike, I'd never even sat on a road bike before, but I was taken by the way TT bikes look in the shop. and I could afford it (well mastercard could!) so thought sod it.

    Now the proud owner of a Giant Trinity 0. Not cheap, but I love riding it, and I love the attention I get from other riders when I'm out on it

    [img:2n6kvsds]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v24/rich_w/24100_388197912345_648382345_384400.jpg[/img:2n6kvsds]
  • Morg007Morg007 Posts: 54
    I think its like any hobby or interest - there are different levels of costs involved and we all have our dream purchases. A petrolhead would for example have their dream car they would love to own. Us triathlets have their dream bike. I personally would have 3 bikes if money was no object - a road bike for long weekend rides, a TT for triathlons/speed work and a mountain bike for off road/winter training when the whether is rubbish! But I know unless I win the lottery or somehow have a job that allows me to earn lots of money but not have to work long hrs to earn that money thus not having the time to train anyway, I know this is a pipedream.

    but as they say, its not the fancy bike that makes you quick its the engine behind it and frankly I'm the equilivant engine of a smart car and if you stick a smart car engine in a ferrari that ferrari won't suddenly have the same performance as normal ferarri!
  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    Morg - nail, head, hit...although on a somewhat related note i did once see a smart car with a ferreri badge on it...it was also red

    However having recently completed a tri which was partly on the 40k loop i tested roadie v TT previously - i found that I averaged 40kph on that second and was much more comforatble at that speed on the TT than I have ever been on the roadie at that speed. I also ran comfortably off it. I put the additional speed (over my last loop on the TT there) down to training, but running off it afterwards was down to the bike. Even at Oly distance I haven't ever run that easily off my roadie, this was a lot longer than Oly and the run was much easier.
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