sabeast

Would you ride this on public roads or should i stick to a road bike and stay away from TT bikes for that?

Paul Barnard

Where are TT bikes normally ridden?

shelbyfv

Pic assist

rsbob 

What is your goal? Will you be a dedicated TT competitor? Do you just like the racy looks of a TT bike? What kind of distances will you be riding? Will you be riding with others or a club? Any real distance riding should be reserved to road bikes unless you are a masochist. If ifs just a bike to ride around on the roads, at speed, get a good racing frame.

mschwett 

unless your goal is absolutely minimizing energy expended per MPH of speed on long unbroken relatively flat and straight stretches of good pavement... stick to an aero road bike. at mere mortal speeds the difference is really not that big. 75% of the drag is the rider, 25% is the frame, modern aero frames are pretty good, so you're talking about very incremental difference at a huge cost in terms of comfort, standardization for maintenance, weight, handling, aesthetics....

BlazingPedals

Looks like the upright version of my avatar bike. I hope that the bike pictured has a shock absorber in the seatpost, because the ride will be very unforgiving.

MoAlpha

Put some Gatorskins and a U-lock bracket on that bad boy and it will be the perfect sporty commuter.

tempocyclist

I wouldn't ride that at all because it's 🤢🤮 but I do ride my time trial bike on public roads all the time. They're mainly quiet country roads with very light traffic and only a few intersections / traffic lights.

Your roads may vary...

Reynolds 

Only with an aero helmet and skintight suit.

Pratt

It is not the bike, but the TT mind set. If the rider is maxing out his effort, on public roads, he is increasing the odds that he will have a bad experience; crash or squash.

Broctoon

I've always thought guys on TT/Tri bikes look pretty cool. My flexibility (or lack thereof) will not allow me to ride in that position for long without pain. If you can do it, go for it.


The night before last I lost a Cat 6 race to a guy on a TT bike. I was doing my favorite interval workout, and he passed me, just one or two MPH faster pace. I thought, "Good! A rabbit." I stepped up my effort, which was already near max, in an attempt to keep up with him. I thought he'd have me on the flats and the descents, but maybe I could pass him on the climbs. The hilly city park loop we were riding is not optimal for long, steady efforts, nor is aero a huge benefit there. I believe it's a realm where light and agile bikes have the advantage. I was able to just keep pace with him, about 50 feet back, for one lap. Then we came to the short, steep descent and he eased up, basically just coasted for 1/8 mile. I pushed hard and passed him. He came right back, passed me again, and pulled away.


Sometimes no matter how much you want it, the other guy's just stronger, amiright? I can just imagine how he might have spanked me had he known we were racing.


In my defense, this guy was about 20 years younger than me. He also had about 0% body fat. I was looking down at my noodle legs and slightly potbellied figure and thinking, "If I want to try chasing these really fit, healthy guys, I really should work out more."

njkayaker

Not usually in traffic.

Darth Lefty 

That thing is cool as hell. Ride it like you stole it

icemilkcoffee 

That is one of the best looking modern bikes ever.

rsbob 

Scared off another one.

beng1

If it is fun for you then do it, what is the mystery?

terrymorse 

That's not a TT bike. It's something built to appeal to the tri folks.

This is a TT bike:




If ever I were to get into time trials (unlikely with my pathetic power), I would go for something like this. Minus the world champion stripes, of course.

Would I ride it on public roads? Yes -- yes I would.

Paul Barnard

lololol

rosefarts

I think going whole hog for Tri bikes to be pretty silly at the amateur level.

At this level, the bike you race on ought to be the bike you train on, maybe with a different set of wheels. When you bike is such a space oddity that you don't want to train on it, it's not that helpful.

My last Ironman was 2001, so I'm pretty removed from the scene now, but I imagine there are still plenty of aero/tri bikes out there that are still somewhat normal. Aero tubes, aero bars, seat forward, sweet wheels.

That's only my opinion though, lots of cars and motorcycles on the road that should only ever be driven by by a pro. Or camera equipment. I think I'm guilty in the kitchen. I basically know how to make a burrito or pancakes, with a drawer full of fancy cutlery.

icemilkcoffee 

What is the difference between the two now? Is it some UCI rule nonsense again?

mstateglfr 

The DBack has no seatstays and is not UCI certified. Triathlon bikes dont need to be designed to comply with UCI rules.

surak

A thing like that shouldn't be ridden on the road. It belongs on the MUP for all the other triathletes out training to marvel at as you fly by. Bonus, you'll be guaranteed to be showered with compliments from the dog walkers and families with little kids out too.

Broctoon

Correct. UCI specifies lots of requirements for equipment that can be used in a sanctioned time trial event, so the bikes tend to be somewhat less exotic/extreme. Triathlons are not governed by the same rules, so you can pretty much ride whatever you want. On the other side of that coin is the fact that triathletes need to put at least some consideration into comfort/ergonomics, because of distances involved and their total time exerting physical effort, beyond just the ride.

squirtdad 

For training sure ride on roads, where else would you ride? but for any other use than training (commuting, ride to park with kids) this would be impracitcal and not fun to ride. doesn't mean it can't be done, but won't put a smile on your face

MoAlpha

You think you're kidding.