Road Bike vs Triathlon Bike
Whether you are a cycling enthusiast or a triathlete, you know that having a bike best suited to your requirements is a must to improve upon your performance. Triathlon is a multisport event comprising running, swimming and biking whereas cycling is 100% biking. There is, therefore, basic difference in the designing of the two different types of bikes. Before buying a bike, you must be aware of these differences so as to buy the right bike and not waste your money. Here is a comparison of the two bikes on various points.
If you are confused between triathlon bike and a road bike, first consider if you are in love with triathlon and want to take it up on a continuous basis. If you have been bitten by triathlon bug, it is better buy a triathlon bike, but if you are just trying to compete with your friends into triathlon, you would do well to stick with a road bike.
Triathlon Bike
It is not that you cannot take your triathlon bike on the road for a round of biking, but it is a fact that triathlon bike is a special road bike that is designed to improve the performance of an athlete in triathlon through optimum aerodynamics. A fact that makes designing of tri bike different from a road bike is that, in the event, a tri-athlete does not bike in the draft of competitors and has to ride along fighting the wind. The bike has to be fast and aerodynamically shaped to make best use of rider’s energy as biking is only 1/3 of the competition and the athlete has to conserve energy to complete the other two events. This necessitates steeper seat tube angle which is kept at 76-78 degrees. It is this angle that helps the bike achieve increased aerodynamics and the rider attains a more forward position.
Road Bike
Road bike is more or less a general bike that is designed to handle a lot many circumstances like cornering, climbing and competing with other riders in a race. This is why the design of the bike is such that the rider sits upright with a seat tube angle standing at 73-74 degrees. This makes the hands of the rider on top of the handle bar to allow fort easier braking and handling. This position also makes better power transfer when the rider wants it during pedaling and climbing, and also when he wants to get ahead of a pack of riders.
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What is the difference between Road Bike and Triathlon Bike? • Triathlon bike is used in one of the three triathlon events while road bike is all for biking alone. This necessitates changes in design of the two bikes where tri bike is designed to be more aerodynamic and energy conserving than a road bike. • The rider sits in an upright position in a road bike whereas the seat tube angle is steeper in triathlon bike. This gives rider more control when required in the case of pedaling and braking and also when he is trying to get ahead of other riders. On the other hand, a rider does not bike in the draft of other riders in case of triathlon bike and thus a more aerodynamic bike is needed.
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