Roadbike or Tribike?

For those who are venturing into multi-sports and still don't have a bike to race with, the question of whether to use a roadbike or tribike ( short for triathlon bike ) is a reasonable question. We always see the pros riding that blazingly fast looking bike, with bar-end shifters and brake levers, tucked down in an aero position in all Ironman races. Do you really need something like that?

I have raced triathlons and duathlons both in a road bike and a tribike, and have experienced what it feels like running after dismounting from both and can tell you this: There's a reason why its called a tribike!

Below is an image of a tribike with the seat angle highlighted in red. Let us decipher what this diagram means:

1. The Seat Angle

The seat angle differentiates the tribike from the road bike. Tribikes have steeper seat angles ( 76-78 degrees ) than road bikes primarily due to the benefit it gives the legs after dismounting and getting ready for the run. Tribikes are designed for a rider to have fresher legs for the run after dismounting from his bike, it preserves his hamstrings which are used when running.

So how does that happen?

Compared to a road bike with shallower seat angles, tribikes enable the athlete to ride "taller" by putting him on a more forward seating position, thereby forcing him to use his quadriceps instead of his hamstrings. This position helps an athlete to cycle easier, with lighter pedaling and almost like in a running position.

To experience how this feels, mount your bike, put your body nearer the handlebars and try pedaling. Next, slack up on the saddle by pushing your butt back, seating on the rearmost part of the saddle. You should feel the pressure on your legs more when in the slacked up position. This is also the reason why you cannot just install an aerobar and basebar on your roadbike, the geometry just won't match the cockpit!

2. The Head Tube Angle

The headtube is the part of the bike where the fork is inserted and where the headset stand on. In tribikes and roadbikes, the angle of the head tube is almost similar, with the tribike's angle just a teeny weeny bit steeper.

However, if you factor in the seat tube angle with the head tube angle, the difference between the tribike and roadbike starts to show. With the tribike's seat angle steeper, the top tube becomes shorter than a roadbike. Road bikes have seat angles of 72-73 degrees which is almost parallel to the head tube. With the tribike's seat tube at 76-78 degrees, its top tube will be around 1.5 to 3 cm shorter. Do the math.

3. The Top Tube

The top tube of the bike is where the head tube meets the seat tube. Its the topmost part of the bike which is located between your legs.

Tribikes are designed to have a shorter top tube than road bikes as the intention is to keep the rider in an aero position, the back curled up like a ball, head down into the wind. Comparing the sizes, a medium tribike would have a top tube of between 53-54 cm while a roadbike will have 55-55.5 cm. Most athletes will tell you that if you're riding a Large sized roadbike, you should be getting a medium sized tribike...NOT!

Tribike manufacturers have already incorporated the measurements into the design of tribikes. So if you are using a Large roadbike, get a Large tribike. Their measurements are different.

I made the mistake of buying a medium tribike when I ride a Large roadbike. I followed the advices of some friends and ended up spending unnecessarily. I changed my stem to 110mm from 90mm and set back the saddle. In the end, I was riding in a roadbike geometry already. The benefit I should have been getting from having a tribike was lost. I was virtually riding in 73 degrees when I should have been at 76 degrees. To top that, I always slid forward when in the aero position and would always have neck and shoulder pains after a ride. The medium tribike's top tube was shorter than what I needed.

The longer stem also made my bike more difficult to maneuver on road rides, plus I had to pull the seatpost up more than regular just to accomodate the correct angle of my legs when pedaling. There were more things to tweak than if I got a Large sized frame at the start.

Some would advise a new multi-sport athlete to buy a road bike, slap on a clip-on aero bar and insert a fast forward seatpost to mimic a tribike geometry. This could work. However, it will not look as aesthetically mean as having a real tribike. Would you like to go through all the trouble of changing seatposts everytime you race? If yes, then go for this set-up, there's nothing wrong with it. But if your intention in getting into cycling is to compete in triathlons and duathlons, why not train and race with the proper equipment?

Being on an aerobar takes some getting used to. You are more prone to crashing while on an aerobar than on a dropbar. Taking this risk, though, is properly compensated with the faster time you will be doing.

It is necessary for someone who gets into multi-sports to think about what's best to ride in races as the bike leg is always 50% of the race already. Back in Camsur Ironman 70.3 2009, I was among the last to come off the water. By the time I was on my last quarter of the bike portion ,I passed almost a hundred athletes already. I was comfortable with my ride because of the correct bike I chose to use. Being on an aero position for more than 2 hours enabled me to catch the faster swimmers during the race. They were using roadbikes which were heavier on the legs, and at the halfway point of their bike rides, they slowed down substantially enabling me to catch them one by one. I also had good legs when I dismounted, and was able to complete the first 10K of the run in just a little over an hour, until I succumbed to the heat.

Going back to the question on whether to invest on a tribike or roadbike, I'd say invest on a tribike if you're seriously doing multi-sports. It will be more costly for you to buy a roadbike now then change to a tribike later. You can use both in road rides anyway, but a tribike will give you better results in races.

Deo P.

Race Report: Tribob Sprint Duathlon Singapore

Tribob Sprint Duathlon is an annual race in Singapore designed for people who want to experience multi-sports racing. The distances are short (3k run-18k bike-3krun ) and the race is claimed to be fun and friendly. I was registered to race this event courtesy of my brother, Russel, who has been in Singapore for quite some time already.

http://singaporesprintseries.com/

Russel, Edu ( a Spanish friend who was also racing ) and myself took off from Russel's flat in Serangoon to Sengkang West using our bikes at 6:30 a.m. The streets of Singaapore, though busy with vehicles, were a lot safer than the roads in Manila. There were no undisciplined drivers similar to jeepney and bus drivers here. They respect the right of way of bikers and avoided them as much as possible. I guess that's how it really is when traffic laws are properly implemented.

We got to the race venue by around 7:15 and proceeded to the bag check-in area to deposit our things, then went to transition to rack our bikes.

Checking in my backpack. Russel, Edu and myself rode our bikes from Russel's Serangoon flat to the race venue

Edu's age-group wave started at 8:00 a.m., mine would start at 8:30 so I took the 30-minute difference to warm up. When I started a slow jog, I realized all the strolling and shopping we did 2 1/2 days leading to the race took a toll on my legs. It felt heavy. I shrugged it off and told myself it was going to roll smoothly at race time.

At 8:20 a.m., the 40+ participants were called in at the starting line. I positioned myself at the front of the pack to avoid getting caught in the middle and have trouble running my way to the front. The front pack was mostly caucasians, and I was bent on giving them a run for their money.

At exactly 8:30 a.m., we started.

Start of our age group. I stayed at the front to avoid weaving through the slower runners at the back.

Trying to keep a good pace at the start of the first run.

This was a short race and I knew well before the race that it was going to be an all out sprint from start to finish. I kept a 4:30ish pace on the first 2K but suddenly felt heavy legs on the 3rd K of the run leading to the T1. I was huffing and puffing and was having sidestitch. What in the world was happening to me?

Huffing and puffing towards the end of the 1st run. I wasn't at my best.

Upon reaching T1, I couldn't change to bike shoes as fast as I could. I finished the first run in 14+ minutes which was within my target but was having a hard time transitioning.

As I rolled off the bike, I told myself I'll hack it out and try to catch up with the leaders.

I was still thinking of landing in the top 40 of my age group at the start of the bike leg.

I initially was averaging 33-34 kph on the bike. I wanted to go faster and be at an average of around 36kph for the whole bike leg. However, at the time I was on the saddle, there were still some riders belonging to the earlier waves who were still on the course, making it tight for fast riding. The turns were tight and I had to pussyfoot to avoid crashing with other riders. What's worse was that the women's wave got on the bike on my last lap. Some of them were weaving through the course dangerously, so I had to take extra caution. It was a "no drafting" race, but on my second lap, there was a group of around 5-6 people bunched up in a peloton. When I excused myself to pass them, the nutheads drafted behind me. Cheaters!

Turning cautiously at the tight turn around

I finished the bike leg in 33+ minutes, at an average of 32.2kph. Not an ideal time.

Already disappointed at my performance, my legs already felt heavy going into the 2nd run.

At this point, I have given up hope to make it to the top 40 of my age group. I had heavy legs upon leaving T2 and my stamina was suspect. The days leading to the race was spent in late nights and all day strolling around Singapore. It wasn't a good way to prepare even for a short race and it all fell apart on the 2nd run for me.

There was only one water station along the whole course, located at the 1K point of the run course. With the 9 a.m. Singaporean heat already taking its toll on me, I did something I haven't done in my past 2 duathlons, walk!

I tried hard to keep a good pace on the 2nd run, but my legs weren't there anymore. I was hoping for a second wind, but it did not come the way it came on my previous duathlons which were a lot longer than this one.

I reached the finish line at 1:07 of the race, only to find myself exiting in the wrong direction. I proceeded to the transition area once more instead of going into the finish line chute. My brother Noel and wife, Carol, called my attention on the mistake I did. I was already walking towards my bike then and had to run back to where the finish line chute was, taking away precious minutes from me.

Took a wrong turn at the finish line and smiling about it. What a way to cap a disappointing race.

I officially finished the race in 1:09, with a second run of more than 19 mins, a personal worst.

Just posing happily while receiving the finisher's medal.

I was looking at finishing this race in sub-1 hour, but needed 9 minutes extra. Not nice. I placed 66th in my age category out of 175, 217th among 440 males and 239th among all racers with an official finish time of 1:09:37.

The only consolation I got in finishing, a kiss from my darling Carol

It was a good experience though. I underestimated the distance and paid dearly for it. I guess I just have to learn from it.

Our support group ( from left ): Noel, Mike, Carol, myself, Edu, Nimf, Leila. Russel took the photo.

Moving on, Tribob is a good race, but not the best. I still find the Powerade MOA duathlons better in a lot of ways. First, there are more water stations in the duathlons held here. The turns, too, are wider and safer. And the athletes here are more mindful in the bike leg and they don't weave in and out of a lane without caution. Different race, different atmosphere. Oh well.

See you guys at the Powerade National Duathlon Open on April 18.

Deo P.