The ultimate bike

 

The ultimate bike is a hybird between your road bike and a tri bike setup

Or your tri bike and a road setup

...............HUH?

................Cervélo was perhaps the first bike manufacturer to peg one of its bikes as having a dual personality: flip the seatpost in one direction for a more road bike-like geometry and general training, or rotate it the other way and install some clip-on aero bars when your local triathlon comes to town. Redshift Sports Switch Aero system – first look By James Huang   for Bike Radar Published: June 3, 2013

Upstart company Redshift Sports promises to add that same capability to nearly any road bike with its new Switch Aero system, which makes the conversion much faster and easier with no tools required.

Unlike reversible seatposts that need to be partially disassembled to make requisite setback changes, the Switch Aero post instead uses a clever parallelogram-like linkage. 

In the rearward position the post provides a rather conventional -16mm offset. However, the saddle can easily be flipped about 50mm forward, to mimic a more triathlon bike-like, 76- to 78-degree seat tube angle – even while riding, according to Redshift’s Scott Poff. He said the saddle also raises slightly when moved forward, to maintain a constant bottom bracket-to-saddle distance. When riding a road bike in an aero position, the handling will be a little quicker than a triathlon bike due to the increased forward weight bias,” he (Poff) told BikeRadar. “That said, we’ve spent quite a bit of time riding with the prototypes and we’ve found that everyone’s been able to adjust quickly to the handling in the new position, and it’s

very stable once you get above 10-12 mph. Another nice feature of the system is that you always have the normal road position available when you need extra stability.

Update by Margo Belton (Bodyby Margo) May 3, 2021

In My analysis as both a cycling class teacher and a personal trainer who rides @130 miles a week commuting between clients... and does the ocassional tt race or triathlon

I found ram horns with bar end shifters is the way to go, not just because it is expensive but it simplifies things. Having cleats ,shifters and brakes in a time trial setup takes a lot of getting used to. Also if you are told you can not use the tt positions you can quickly remove the aerobars and do a classic tuck on your rams and still can shift without being forced to the way out over center. The average 3.5 inches you lose over the wheel only translates to a loss of ONE second per 40 K. Most races are not too much longer than 40K except for the Ironman.

Surprising Fact

The trend in the 2010 decade onward has been toward longer stems & curved top tubes AND confusing sizing : using SML instead of actual measurements. This is forcing the rider to pay for expensive fitting. If you though you know your body- or even better -both you and your personal trainer who rides a lot do some preliminary measurements _ there are several methods out there. To help a client who is about to drop$$ on a bike I get the numbers and then take them to bike stores with fitters that are nice and patient. I also insist the client reads this site since it has collated all the fitting methods . When the numbers make sense – the stars are aligned. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frames.html

IMHO

Triathlon bikes make great road bikes for most people because the top tube is shorter and with rams horn bars the hand positions are multiplied over the one position you have with an internally routed bullhorn and aerobars. Keeping the tri bars :you lose the middle position on either side of the stem and must ride outstretched as a result on either the bullhorns or the aerobars. Yet combined with a shorter stem the tribike geometry can fit better than your average road bike. BUT only if you have done your research on how the material and geometry is : you become your own fitter. Short torso? Shorten the stem height.Long legs?’

look at where the ball of your foot is in your cleated pedal . Pedal power is not always in your set up : go back to basics (it can be hypnotic training at rpm see end of article)

You have to transition quickly so a basic non cleated pedal paired with your running shoe for the triathlon may be the best way to have reaction time – forgoing the stiffer shoe made just for the bike . Less time in the transition area -.RUN.!!!

In any case

Redshifts Sports has a seatpost that gives you the ability to change your actual angle on a road bike by by Reversing it. Itching to go but you need to save some money ?

Convert a road bike for time trials and triathlons This is not cheap but its on sale in 2021.

https://redshiftsports.com/products/switch-aero-system?_pos=2&_sid=6b71913de&_ss=r

Road bikes are usually at 72-73 degrees and mirror the rake angle. (your front fork is the rake angle when it connects to your wheel axle)

Tri bikes range from 75- 78 degrees on the seatpost and feel more forward.

Their rake angle is not as important as how far your body is over the wheel axle aka the aero position.

In any case :get an idea about YOUR ANATOMY on a bike. You will need a friend that can help you balance on your bike and can write down numbers in inches (easily converted to cm &mm online.)

(1) Start by placing your seat in the middle of its rail AND placing your foot parallel to the floor- Your friend should be helping you Balance the (2) proper pedal stroke measurement that is plumb (straight line) from ball of foot to edge of (3) deltoid (front of your shoulder ) to mid elbow joint at the (4) 3 to 9pm position.

Is one method to wet your racing position. Another is to just use your knee at the top -

NOT the Kneecap ! measuring in a plumb (straight )

l ine to the middle of the ball of your foot . People with stiff ankles have trouble with this method. Finally

I prefer the shoulder to foot method since many people can not decide where the muscles for the knee actually start . I use the

vastus medialis insertion aka the teardrop

(5) Put your hands so they can comfortably rest at the base of your fingers without curling.

Optional Put your hands on middle of your handle bar just next to the stem which mimics the aero width starting point. It should match the elbow width .As a result you now have your forearm pad position for your aerobars .Test this by putting your hands on your aerobars and the meatiest part of your forearm should be comfortable and bent at the elbow. You are now just over the rake if standing and should be able to comfortably extend your body over the top tube if sitting.. How long can you ride that way ? Now sit down. You can see you are not really sitting at 78 degrees anyway

Check out the stickman picture below. Notice the mid thigh is lined up with the elbow. This is a beginner NON Aero position. Remember the Teardrop picture ? Elbow to insertion of teardrop or top of knee is a power position .But if you ride a lot or have a Peleton bike and push yourself -the top of knee/teardrop to elbow position is more efficient -it opens up the diaphragm and lungs, regardless of your back profile: curved or flat. 

feel free to scroll across to read  this big comprehensive poster : Below