How difficult is it to get used to a road bike?

[LolaLadybird]

I'm doing my first triathlon in 5 weeks time. So far I've only been cycling on my hybrid bike but plan on using DH's road bike for the triathlon. I know this should improve my time but will it be it be any harder/easier/the same in terms of exertion? I'd heard the gearings were different as well or maybe this varies from bike to bike anyway?

I could ask DH but he's quite blase about it in a blokey sort of way whereas I'm quite nervous about the tri and want to get everything sussed!

Get on that road bike ASAP and train on it.

Quite a different beast to your hybrid and you don;t want to find in a comp that you have got the set up wrong for you or are fudging gear changes. You will go faster on a bike you are familiar with.

Gearing may well be different, it does vary depending on how a bike was set up gears wise. The road bike will probably be twitchyer at slow speeds and you may find you need to keep more weight on the saddle on up hills..

Is it the right size for you?

Try it out and make sure you feel comfortable on it. I'd suggest going on at least one decent ride on it beforehand to get used to the gear changes - generally the gear system is different on a road bike. But it's not hard to get used to.

Also I assume he does not have clipless pedals, or you would be needing special shoes.

Make sure you know how to change its tyres.

As long as you feel comfortable on his bike it's a good idea to use it, it will be faster for less effort and you will feel faster too.

Good luck - which triathlon are you doing?

Thanks for the advice. I think it will be the right size. A friend of mine used it for a team triathlon we did last year and she's the same height as me. DH does usually use SPD's but put pedals on it for my friend last year and there they've stayed as he hasn't used the bike since.

No idea how to change it's tyres though and am really not v practical - f*ck!

I'm doing the sprint ('sprint' being a misleading term I feel!) triathlon on 16th May in Portland, Dorset. I did 2 team triathlons last year (swam and ran) but this will be my first solo. I'm crapping myself actually. DH and his friends (some of whom are seasoned Ironman athletes) keep saying I'll be fine but I'm just getting over a month of illness - nothing serious but enough to stop me from training - and I'm feeling behind and under-prepared!

I would try the bike out first to see if it really is a suitable size - although road bikes are gents style you can still find that they vary very much in the distance between the saddle and the handle bars and even if you are the smae height as your mate your arms and legs will not e exaclty the same.

i find my arms ache in vary different places the bingo wings area near to the elbow - as you are leaning oer the handle bars with a lot more weight than other bikes.

it really doesn't take a lot to get used to but if the bike is a bad fit it could be an uncomfortable ride

Also be careful on the shoe fitting when you turn the wheel - there are not many pedals and shoes that will turn complelty without knowcking you off so you will need to knwo the limit - even with clips this can happen

Good luck and come back and let us know how you got on??