BIke question

dreamer12151

Did my 1st Duathlon this past weekend. Even though I was low on the ranks over all, I still took 1st in my division, Female Fat Tire. (ok, so I was the ONLY 1 out of 5 registered who finished, but I still EARNED it!). Total time was 2:00:45.

I was stressing over the drafting, but I heard "On Your Left" more times than I could count. It felt great to pass a lady, then eventually I was stoked to pass another lady....then let down to realize she wasn't a racer, just someone out for a ride who got caught up with several other riders! lol Eventually I did pass another rider, so it made me feel a bit stronger. I realized that while I though I was going fast while riding when training, it ain't NUTTIN' compared to thin tires.

So...is it practical to get thin tires for my bike or just save up for a road bike? I probably won't be doing but 1 or 2 duathlons a year due to my work schedule, so an official "tri-bike", while drool worthy, if not an option.

sarahz5

I'm pretty much a newbie, but I wanted to say congratulations!!!! I would save up for a road bike - it isn't just the tires, it's also a much lighter bike. You won't regret it! I always feel bad zooming by the women who don't have road bikes, because I know it's their bike holding them back!

jacksonpt

I'm not sure I follow. Did you do the race on some kind of mountain or gravel bike, and you are thinking about swapping out knobby tires for slicks when you race?

If so, then it's TOTALLY worth it. It's cheap and easy and makes a noticeable difference. Yes, clearly a true road/tri bike would be preferred, but road slicks are a tiny investment comparatively.

I got into road riding by putting 26x1.5 slicks on my hardtail mountain bike... what an improvement.


But ultimately, nothing will make you faster like getting faster. Gear only does so much.

wpayers

Save up for a road bike. Different tires on what sounds like a regular bike (i.e. mountain, fat tire, trail) won't get you to the next level. Maybe a little faster but you'll most likely still want more.

jacksonpt

Save up for a road bike. Different tires on what sounds like a regular bike (i.e. mountain, fat tire, trail) won't gain you anything.

I disagree.

It won't gain you much, but there are benefits. And the whole $30 that it'll cost you shouldn't impact your ability to save for a road bike (if you even want to go down that road).

scott091501

No harm in getting the road tires for your current rig. It will save you a bit in rolling resistance and maybe give you a small bump in speed to keep you set until you can get a road bike.

Don't settle on a bike because of want or convenience either. A good road bike can be used for tris, dus, aquabikes, charity rides, knocking around with friends and/or kids. Make sure it's comfortable and something you want to hold onto for a while.

JenRunTriHappyGirl

I feel you! My first tri was on a mountain bike with thinner tires. I got out of the water 5th woman OVERALL! AMAZING!

Then came the bike. I was 3rd from last woman overall. I got passed by all but 3 women. All but 3. There were at least 100.

I got my roadbike and I average 2-3 mph faster without much more effort. I would say 2 mph faster with no more effort. They are lighter, easier to ride, more gear options, more options period.

My advice and/or opinion, road bikes are much better for road biking/racing. If you are serious about road biking and are wanting to be competitive, then I would definitely consider getting a road bike. You can probably find a good used one at a local bike shop.

If you just want some exercise, stick with the "mountain" bike. The seats are waaayy more comfortable and they give you just as much of a workout.

Good luck!

EnduranceGirl2

I agree don't hurry with buying a bike so that you are better able to determine what you need vs what you would like. Its the motor that counts. I loaned my old ('93) road bike to a friend who had done her first race on a mountain bike. When she did her third race, she talked me into joining her and I was hooked. Two years later once it seemed that triathlon wasn't just a phase, I bought a tri bike but still love the road bike for short trips around town.

dreamer12151

Thanks all!

I'm sorry, I guess since I know what I ride, you should to! ha! I have a $160 Schwinn mountain bike I bought from Wal-Mart. I have toe clips on the pedals, and I switched out the original knobby tires for slicker ones. (Can't have totally slicks because where I live is 1/2 dirt roads, so I have to have some kind of traction still.) Once I did that, I did notice my pace time increased, but I noticed on Saturday that no matter how fast I thought I was going, I was still at a disadvantage with the "thick" tires.

ccather

I did my first two Duathlons on my mountain bike that I put slicks on. I didn't want to invest in a bike unless I decided that this was a sport I could enjoy. I have since decided that multisport is freaking awesome and I really enjoy it! I decided to majorly upgrade in the bike department (AKA Throw Money At The Problem) and went with a really really nice Trek Madone road bike. This bike has transformed my life! I looooooooove my bike! Because I enjoy it so much, I WANT to ride as opposed to being drudgery I have to do.

Since I love numbers and comparing year over year improvements, here's some numbers for you! My first Du has a 13 mile bike course. First time out on the mountain bike my time was 1:13. Next year on a loaner road bike (my bike was on order) 58:27. Finally, this year on my road bike, 55:12. There's not much difference in my conditioning between those first and second years. The loaner road bike I rode all of 4-6 times before the race (just enough to not kill myself on it!) Really, the biggest difference in these two years was the bike! 15 minutes worth! This year we had wet road which slowed me down a bit. I have a tri that I did last year and in 2012 that had a 16 minutes year over year improvement in the 18 mile bike. For that I had gotten my new bike two weeks before that race.

I think these really illustrate what the difference a bike upgrade will do for you. Several of my tri team has been upgrading from hybrids to road bikes. They're also reporting time improvements.

I have to say, however, the difference is not all in the tires. There's lots of other factors that come into play to cause the improvements you'll see. I have a much more aggressive seat position on my road bike, optimizing for power and aerodynamics (well...as aero as a pile of mash potatoes can be! LOL! ) The gearing is so much nicer for racing compared to my mountain bike! I loooooove my big chain ring on flat roads! Wheeee!!! So fast! I also upgraded to clipless pedals and road shoes (actually, I did that on my mountain bike and that produced an improvement too.) ALL of these things help add up to a faster performance!

The new bike has given me a real love of cycling. At first I was mostly interested in multisport and thought maaaaybe I'd do more cycling since that's the hubby's preferred sport. Now, I love it and I'm looking to add more cycling tours to my calendar. Any excuse to ride my bike is a good one

Wow! I had a lot of thoughts there! LOL!

jacksonpt

Just to make sure I'm understanding the question...

wide/fat tires with a little bit of tread (not a full on slick, but not a real knobby mountain bike tire, either)

vs

narrow tires with... what type of tread?


Narrow vs wide won't benefit you much. I'm guessing you're running something like a 2.1 now, and a "narrow" tire will likely be something like a 1.5. Not a huge difference and I doubt the benefit would be noticeable. Going to a slick tire will. How much depends on the tread you are currently running.

Ultimately though, to be faster you have to get faster. Gear actually does very little, especially on shorter courses.

.

dreamer12151

I'm being honest, I'm not totally knowledgeable with all the "terms" when it comes to bikes. I just know what I have & what I noticed out on the road on the race. The tires I have now are slick on the middle, but have a tread on the outside, I think they are 2.1's you were talking about.

I did see people with all kinds of bikes out there from the mega expensive pro tri-bikes, recumbent bikes, to yes, even a beach cruiser! I was getting passed left and, well, left(!) by people, and while I realize that the "motor" is the important part of the bike, there were some people who looked like they were putting in a lot less effort than I was (sitting up more vertical, spinning the pedals less) and getting further, faster, than me. I do know that fatter tires (more road surface) and bike weight have something to do with that.

One of the used bikes I've seen on craigslist has a link to a listing for a new bike: http://www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/BikeSpecs.aspx?year=2006&brand=Fuji&model=Newest+3.0#sthash.1wddieoT.dpuf The one listed is a 2006 & being sold for $250. Another one is a 26" Giant for $225 "Needs a tune up and new tubes, but in great shape." (Any bike I buy used would be taken to a bike shop for a looking over anyways!)

I have seen the clipless pedals and have been debating them...guess I've been kinda "scared of change", so to speak. I know how my clips work & hesitant to change that.

CaeliGirl11

First congrats on your accomplishment!! That's awesome no matter how many in your group! I race in Athena divisions for my tri's and sometimes there's a lot and sometimes there's only a few of us;) But I did my first two tri's on a hybrid and while the tires were not huge, the bike was heavy and the handles were straight and the pedals were just toe clipped flat pedals. I was exhausted after my bike rides. Something had to give at the end of the season last year. So I begged my family for a bike. And I got one off of a discount bike store online. It's a time trial bike so definitely tri-specific but O-M-G what a difference it has made! I literally took off like 10 minutes on my rides without any further training!!
Also, I, too was pretty worried about the change over to clipless pedals. However, that, too, was a fabulous move! I don't have the most expensive shoes (just comfortable) or the most expensive pedals but I get just so much more power out of my pedal strokes that its so worth the switch.
I don't know many terms either;) But I would say that if you could swing a lighter bike with clipless pedals it will make a world of difference not only for your races but also just for your training rides. (I mean, I only have one bike so it gets used for both;) )
Good luck with your search!

FrenchMob

Also make sure you inflate your tires (fat tires) to the max allowed on the sidewall to lower rolling resistance.

This doesn't apply for road bikes though. Here's a good document on bike tire inflation. http://www.bccclub.org/documents/Tireinflation.pdf