Hey all just wanting to find a top tri bike set up in Melbourne, can any one help as most people i talk to in bike shops want to put you in a road possie and just dont get the balance between aero and power right.

Tri cyclefit at Kennedy Cycles - Black Rock, I think they do that sort of stuff

Tri ron, if you are so sure the position they are trying to set you in is the roadie one then why not just fix it yourself??

I will tell you from experience that the two are not very far apart from road to tri set up depsite what some will have you believe. You position will also change with time and fitness and weight so it is not a fixed thing once it is set first time.
The only constant is a continual fine tuning process.
Cyclefit is a good start point and will have you set fairly neutral. you will then need to fine tune either on your own or by re-visiting them

HI tri ron

I just recently got setup in Tri position on my bike which made a huge difference to comfort and technique.
I did this through my physio - I am in Perth so cannot tell you who in Melbourne would so this, but I suggest you make a few phone calls to sports physios to see if they have the service.

Key advantage with a physio was they look at your flexibility, mechanical/muscle movement and technique

I thoroughly recommend CBD Cycles in Melbourne. They are the official bike shop for Ironman Australia and the Gatorade tri series so they certainly are aware of the sport and its intricacies. A lot of the staff in there are also involved in the sport so know the differences.

thanks guys the phisio option and cbd have helped heaps .i have since contacted a phisio and the advice i have recieved was a great help cant say ive tried kenedys but i have heard varied reports about them.i do believe the diferance in set ups between road and tri is critical for racing as the balance between power output and aero is a fine lineand the wrong set up will hinder your bike times and your abbility to have a good run off the bike

Hey Tri ron, i agree with youngrunner, although I live in Port Macquarie I have heard alot of good reports about CBD. I recently bought a Tri specific bike and I can tell you that the position is quite different to my road bike set up, the tri bike helps save your legs for the run by the angles being alot steeper than conventional road angles and once again as everyone has mentioned it will then be a matter of over time fine tuning your position to suit yourself as everyone is different.

B+ - Are you so sure that road position and TT position are so similar?

Personally I am a lot further forward and about 1cm higher on my TT bike and was helped to develop this position by a well respected bike shop. When I was there they told me that on average people get set up about 3cm forward and 1cm higher (though that is not hard and fast) than their standard road position. I reckon that is a pretty big difference - don't you?

Here are some links which explain some of the technical stuff about tri-bike set up. There isn't anyone in my town to do a tri-set up, so I actually got hubby to take a photo of me on my bike, we downloaded it to PowerPoint, and were able to draw the lines on the image. We then used a protractor to calculate angles etc. Then knowing the ratio of actual to photo size, we were pretty precise in how high to raise the seat, the seat angle, the seat forward position, and the aerobar position. Didn't take that long to do, and it was pretty spot-on for comfort. If you've been riding road position for a while though, I would recommend making the adjustments gradually, instead of going straight into TT position.

Difference between road and tri bike

Effect of bike frame on tri run

Tri Bike Fit

Hope these are helpful. It would be heaps better though of course, if you could find someone in a bike shop to talk to and help you get set up correctly.

Stevecan, From personal experience I don't think that they are too far apart. I have completed 5 Ironman races and raced over all other distances in the last 10 years. I also road race my bike most winters as a way to keep the training cycle going. I have had many discussions with Pro Triathletes, age groupers, road race rides, track pursuit riders and road time trial specialists. The main point of difference that is always raised by Triathletes is that the forward higher position is suppossed to allow you to run better off the bike. My position has varied greatly over this time from being 1cm behind the bottom bracket to being 8cm behind it, with a variety of seat height adjustments experiemented with. The thing that i find most often is triathletes end up with a seat too high and to much weight transfered onto their aero bars and hence their arms and neck. This has an effect of forcing plenty to sit up more often to relieve the pressure and hence lose their aero postion. Most also have comprimised their position of power so that they are not riding as effectively as they could. When people in this position get off the bike to run they normally have the following issues;
1. a stiff neck
2. sore shoulders and forearms (from gripping the bars to hard to stay back in their seat.
3. a stiff or sore lower back
4. stiff or sore glutes and hamstrings.
Racing in a more traditional road position can cause the following.
1. fatigued quads due to a higher load on them during the bike.
All of the above issues can show in either set up if it is not right for your body and things that influence this most highly are;
1. flexibility, particularly in the lower back glute and hamstrings. but also in the upper back and neck area.
Aerodymanics is not as negatively influenced as many people think by how upright you are on the bike compared to how wide you are on the bike. This is called frontal air resistance, hence why we all try to have or aero bars close together to stay narrow. This comment is hand in glove with comfort as many people sacrifice comfort for aero and in the end ride slower due to the above reasons. If you are comfortable in your position train properly in this set up the nyou will run fast off the bike whether it is a tri specific set up or more of a road position.
I watch heaps of athletes with full aero set up training and they spend hours on their bull horn bars and not their TT bars and then they wonder why it hurts in a race. I have some small adjustments I make from road to tri but they are not massive as my postion has been worked out over a long period. One example i will give is that I don't ride with my elbows on my elbow pads I have my forearm on them as this allows me to stay in a more powerful position for my legs and more stable position for my lower back and hips my set up like this has allowed me to ride a 5.06 at Ironman versus a 5.23 in a much more aero position.
Ok enough said I could ramble on for hours on this topic. At the end of the day always look at what the person giving you advice has to gain by giving you that advice and also be guided by your own body as each is unique in it's capabilities.
Ride safe :D