When I got my tri bike over a year ago, I hung my Specialized Dolce elite road bike in the garage. It just was not nearly as comfortable as the tri bike, probably because I had it rigged up with clip on aero-bars and an aggressive racing position – and a road bike really isn’t meant for that. So it has been just hanging in my garage, un-used. Sometimes I would see it hanging there and feel a little bit sad.
I have been thinking about doing “Blood, Sweat, and Gears“, which is a mountain century ride in Boone, NC. 13,000 feet of climbing, 18-20% grade at the top. I need to learn to love my road bike again. There is no way I am can climb Grandfather Mountain on a tri bike!
So, I put my old Specialized Dolce Elite bike on my trainer, watched Performance bike’s Youtube video of how to fit a road bike. Saddle height was good. Fore/Aft saddle position was good. Stem length was good. Hmmm…why is this bike so uncomfortable? Ah, saddle tilt. I had tipped it way down, for leaning over into the aero-bars. I tilted the nose of the saddle up so that it was horizontal.
Then I started to spin for a little bit, testing it out how things felt. The position felt great. Yippeee!
Crap, I noticed that the cranks were slipping with each pedal stroke. I figured that my bottom bracket must be worn out, so I set out to fix it. It turned into a long process involving two trips to the bike shop. Even tho it took a long time, I had fun because I like being a grease monkey. I tweeted each step of the way:
Turns out, that the rear tire was worn and it was slipping on the trainer. Nothing at all wrong with my Bottom bracket. Big kudos to the bike guru at Performance Bike Shop helping me figure that out, just by looking at the bottom bracket that I took into the store, and asking me questions about what I was doing!
When all was said and done, I got on the trainer and did Spinervals Uphill Grind. The rear tire was still slipping despite putting alot of tension on the rear wheel, but it was still a great workout. It felt great getting re-acquainted with my sweet old road bike again. Kind of like going out for pizza and beer with an old friend that you haven’t seen in a while.
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So you took it all apart only to figure out that it wasn't broken at all. Too funny, especially because I can see my self doing the same thing. I think I actually did that with my first car back in college....
blood sweat and gears is a beast. it's been on my bucket list for a while. you might want to tackle the assault on mt mitchell first? it's 11,000 ft of climbing over 112 miles.
Great post as always, Carol. Timely, too. I just put tri-bars on my road bike recently and need to get it refitted. Not buying a tri bike until I know if I'll continue doing them...especially the longer races.
Hey, side topic. I'm doing my first 70.3 this year, Kansas, and was thinking about the shorts. Do you just wear tri-shorts the whole time or have you thought about throwing on a pair of regular bike shorts over the tri shorts in order to keep the girly parts comfy? I figured that 56 is right at the limit of the tri shorts, but haven't tested that yet.
Thanks in advance. Love your blog still!
Kari
Anne - my advice is don't go test ride tri bikes unless you can afford to buy one. I never knew what I was missing till I got one! And I will never go test ride a carbon frame until I can afford one for the same reason...ignorance is bliss!
Hmmm, that makes me wonder about my road bike. I have it set up with a fast forward seat post, great saddle and clip on bars. I think it is comfy and did IMFL on it, but I wonder how much more comfy a tri bike would be ...
nicely done !