Most group rides will not allow to use a tri bike.

I would get a decent road bike, and put some shortie aero bars on.


I know a of people who do all their training on a road bike, then race on their tri bike. (never understood that)

Road bike. You don't *need* a tri, bike, but you will need a road bike.

Road bike. You don't *need* a tri, bike, but you will need a road bike.

I have seen people finish Iron-Distance races on hybrid bikes...

Work on the engine before you worry about a bike. If anything, get some road bike tires on your hybrid (700x28c for example) which will help a lot. If you can't keep up with a group ride with the hybrid, chances are you won't be able to with a road bike either, until you further build up your bike cardio.

Not sure I'd agree with this. One a hybrid isn't designed for that use. Two, most people don't have hybrids that fit them correctly. While I agree that the engine is of far more importance than the bike a well fit road/tri bike will yield a much more comfortable and enjoyable experience than a hybrid will.

I bought a road bike when I wanted to start tris. I was afraid of a tri bike and read about so many people mostly riding their road bikes. After 1.5 years of riding, I just bought my first tri bike and now I'm selling my road bike. I don't go on group rides and I like going fast, therefore I see no point in ever riding my road bike over my tri bike.

I also tried going the whole road bike with shortie aero bars and all that did was scare me more away from a tri bike because it made my road bike so twitchy. My tri bike though is amazingly not twitchy to the point I am surprised every time I go on a ride on it how comfortable I am on the bars in terms of feeling in control of the bike.

As to the comment about going without clipless pedals for sprint distances, I can't imagine not having my clipless pedals for all distances. Yes you lose time in transition putting on shoes (unless you do flying mounts/dismounts), but to me at least, it would feel very difficult trying to push my speed without being able to do a full pedal stroke (pushing down and pulling up).

I say if you're going to do triathlons then get a freaking tri bike. I don't even own a road bike - just a tri bike and a cross bike. Everything I can do on a road bike, I do on my tri bike. I used to own a road bike, but I got rid of it. My tri bike is so much better! Why keep something I'm not using?

We have a multitude of tri clubs in my area, and they do group rides all the time. I've been on more group rides than I can count, and all of them on my tri bike.

You can't group ride on a tri bike? WRONG!!! Anybody who says or thinks this doesn't know what he/she's talking about.

Find a tri club. Ride with other triathletes. They know what you're trying to accomplish, and have a better chance of helping you get where you want to be with your cycling skills. Road riders act like snobs and jerks toward triathletes. Screw them. I have no time or patience for people like that.

To repeat: TRI BIKE!!!

So there have been 3 or 4 people in this thread that don't know what they are talking about?

okay then..

Not everybody is from a big enough city that is lucky enough to have tri clubs and roadie clubs.

The tri bike on group rides issue is only an issue if you go on group rides.

Which the OP said they wanted to do.

So for the OP it is an issue.

Yes, I have a friend who is really into cycling and would love to join her on some rides. I do not live in a neighborhood that is easy to ride more than ~8 miles in without just doing really short loops around the same areas, so to increase my distance for long rides I need to drive somewhere else. I feel a little bit safer having a group along with me. I have never rode on anything other than a hybrid bike in my life and used to fall down all the time as a kid and young adult. I've been a bit scared about making the transition to a faster bike, but need to get over that. I ended up getting a road bike over the weekend. I really appreciate all of your comments and suggestions and I've actually learned a lot from you. Maybe in a year or two I can add a tri bike to my collection. I just got my new shoes and pedals (never rode a bike with these before) and I am going out tomorrow evening to practice in a safe area. I am not the most coordinated person in the world, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Good luck!!

This is me in May 2010 - First year of multisport. What I'm riding is a 2003 Rocky Mountain Metro - hybrid. I swapped the flat bar for a aero bar setup I picked up used for $80. I swapped the tires to 700x28c Gatorskins on the original 32 spoke heavy wheels. The bike weighed in at 27.5 lbs in "race" trim. My race mountain bike weighs a little less than that..lol


On this 30 km (18.6 mile) rolling course with a few good climbs, I averaged 20.5 MPH.

At my next race a month later, another 30 km bike course, but this time fairly flat but I did have to turn around close to the end because my Garmin popped out of the quick release and had to go pick it up...I still managed an average speed of 21.6 MPH.
This is the race coming into transition - look at those quads..lol


Again, the engine is worth more than the equipment.

You can't group ride on a tri bike? WRONG!!! Anybody who says or thinks this doesn't know what he/she's talking about.

Don't get your tri shorts in a bunch. Actually, most roadie clubs won't allow tri bikes on their group rides so you're not entirely right either.

A rather annoying comment.

Who says she said "Roadie clubs"? She didn't. There are TONS of groups out there doing rides that aren't "roadie clubs". Maybe you should pay more attention to what's said, vs/ what you infer.

I stand by my point. You do not need a road bike to go on group rides. Get the bike you want, to do the job you want. From there, it's pretty easy to find like minded people to ride with. It's as simple as that.

I live in a large metro area (well, actually suburb type area) and have found a difference between the bike shops - in their recs, but more importantly to some of the comments I've been following in this thread - re: whether tri bikes are welcome on group rides.

The one closest to me (local bike store chain) mainly focuses on road/mountain type bikes. They were discouraging me from any type of aero bars, saying they are not safe as add-ons, etc. That I couldn't use aero bars on group rides. They do not carry tri bikes in the shop, but will order them in. They won't come out and SAY they don't do tri bikes (they'd love to sell me one!), but I wasn't feeling like they really knew tri stuff. I've really liked these guys when they have tuned my bike, etc.

There is another shop 10 miles away that I finally made it to today. They are a private/truly local shop with two store fronts. I went on recommendation of someone I know. This shop is a tri shop. They carry tri bikes (and rent wet suits). They are the bike support for the local HIM as well as other local tris. They also do group rides every week (some century rides, too), and half the people in the advanced group ride on tri bikes. I will probably be joining them in the Spring, or whenever my doctor clears me to ride. The person I know rides in the advanced group. (He doesn't do tris, but races mountain/cross/road.) I plan to start with the beginning group to get ride experience/etiquette/knowledge, but that guy and the shop owner said I will be moving to the advanced group pretty quickly with my speed (I laugh at that, although the beginner group top speed is where I was on my own).

So I went in to look at the Felt AR, thinking of getting it changed out with tri parts, but he discouraged me from a tri bike for now. There is a new 2014 (with some pink, which I wanted!!) that will be coming in very soon. I can't remember which model, but I will be going back in the next week to get some shoes (had to leave to pick up my kids). He said that with the type of hills and roads we have here (including that HIM I have my eyes on), a road bike is what I need now (though probably 98% of participants use tri bikes for the actual race). He suggested to get the road bike and then turn it into my off-season training/rain bike if/when I eventually get a tri bike. I will likely get the aero bars put on because I also need them medically due to my wrist surgery. Disagreeing with the other shop, he said the aero bars were no different safety-wise than riding in the drops b/c either position requires you to move to get to your brakes. I told him right up front that I might have a lead on a used Felt. He was so non-pressure and willing to share lots of info anyway (and I've heard that about them). They have Cervelos and some others, but he said for the training bike, Felt was probably the way to go (cheaper, but still a good product), and to save the money to spend towards a tri bike later.

Anyway, I'm just putting my experience so far out there for other newbies like me, and welcome input from more seasoned competitors.