im currently starting to train for a triathlon and i dont have the money to by a road bike at the minute,i already have a mountain bike with full suspension and i was wondering of the cheapest way to convert it for use in a triathlon ie tri bars etc..The bike is a cbr 700c
2007-05-17 08:24:20 · 6 answers · asked by grant 2 in Sports ➔ Cycling
I have to disagree with the naysayers, with a couple of caveats.
- The skinney high pressure tires are a good suggestion, probably the best bang for the buck.
- Suspension lock out, if you have it, is also a good suggestion.
- There's nothing wrong with trying out a set of clip-on aero bars. Just make sure you get a few hours of practice in on them before you do the tri. This will be especially critical if you don't have suspension lock outs. The bike, especially a FS MTB, will handle very differently when you're down on the aero bars.
If you don't have a lockout, you'll want to keep a lower, smooth cadence. If you start spinning the pedals quickly you'll end up boucing around and lose quite a bit of energy in the suspension.
High pressure tires, suspension lock out, aero bars....you'll be good to go.
2007-05-18 02:31:11 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
As mirageguitarworks said, you're not going to be able to do that, but you might consider a compromise (although I'm not sure that will be ideal).
Put some road tyres on your MTB, slicks or semis, whichever suit what you're doing best, and perhaps invest in some bar ends (very 1990s I know), which may help emulate the different hand positions of a road bike. You might even try them upside down, but I'm not sure that would really work.
Also if your bike has a lockout on the front and/or rear shocks, activate it to make the bike as rigid as possible.
Other than that you're just going to have to start saving for the right bike.
2007-05-17 16:10:42 · answer #2 · answered by ashypoo 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If it's your first tri don't worry about it. I did my first tri on a PoS Huffy mountain bike and lent that same PoS Huffy to my buddy the first tri she did. It's like a tradition now haha.
Consider your first tri a learning experience. If you love it (which you undobtedly will) think about saving for a decent roadbike.
You can always do off-road tris and adventure races which are insanely fun. I personally hate the road bike with a passion but race it when I have to or want to.
If you're interested and don't already you can always invest in some clipless pedals and shoes for relatively cheap on the beginner side. SPDs are great for beginners and increase your efficiency by 100%.
Good luck with your race!!!
2007-05-17 17:03:11 · answer #3 · answered by Kristy 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You really can't do it.
The geometry of a mountain bike- especially a full suspension model- is totally different from a road bike. Placing tri bars on it would stretch you out almost completely flat and would cause significant problems in power and balance.
2007-05-17 15:32:10 · answer #4 · answered by bikeworks 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
road bikes are built for racing and designed for used on the road.and it has a minimal amount of gears and a narrow smooth surface tires to be more efficient and provide more speed.While the mountain bikes are built and used for all kinds of rough and uneven terrain and it has a lot of gears to control and maintain an efficient phase.road bikes are mostly made of carbon-fiber or titanium and mountain bikes are from steel or aluminum,which makes the road bike more lighter for road racing.so,it was the opposite of both that there's no way you can convert your mountain bike to be a road racing bike.Advice...why don't you sell your mountain bike to eBay and buy a road bike.that will make more easier than asking an impossible question.
2007-05-17 16:11:29 · answer #5 · answered by CARL76 2 · 0⤊ 4⤋
true
2007-05-17 15:31:05 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋