650c for road

[BigDaddySmooth]

Fellas,
I have a Calfee Luna tri frame that I had planned to use for, well, tri's. That plan has changed so I'm left with 2 options, sell or convert to road by slapping on normal bars and Campy shifters. Any con's to riding a frame designed for tri's on the road?

Thanks,

[fiamme red]

Any con's to riding a frame designed for tri's on the road?Very limited tire selection, for one.

[bargainguy]

If you do the conversion, I'd be curious how it works out. I'm wondering about the hip forward geometry and whether it would be comfortable with road bars.

Don

[HenryA]

Sell it and buy a more "normal" 700c road bike. You'll be glad you did.

[Vinci]

FWIW, I've considered getting a 650c frame for road use simply because nice secondhand 650c carbon wheels are incredibly cheap.

[bargainguy]

I'm a shorty at 5'4 and have bikes with both 650c and 700c wheels. Keep in mind that if you go from 700c to 650c, your gearing will change.

In general, the smaller the wheel, the faster it spins up, but also the lower top end.

Don

[muz]

I was in the exact same situation last year. Ended up selling the Luna Tri, later picked up a Tetra Pro for the same price. Much better for the road.

[Chance]

Any con's to riding a frame designed for tri's on the road?


Poor handling “could” be a problem depending on your bike’s size and geometry. The other is being able to get proper contact-point fit while maintaining reasonable seat post setback and stem length that will result in proper reach.

Some tri bikes (particularly those with 650C) tend to have short chainstay lengths compared to front center. If you position yourself correctly in road-bike-standard over bottom bracket the weight distribution may be too far back, and you may also end up with very short stem.

You can measure and see how it works out. If goofy fit then selling and buying new bike may be only good option.

Good luck.

[John M]

Chance is on target.

Set up with a steep seat angle, there may be too much weight on the hands with drop bars (most tri bikes are designed to be used with aero bars).

If you use a setback post to get the saddle back to a typical 73 degree STA equivalent, and the frame has really short chainstays and long front center (as mentioned by another poster), the weight distribution will be suboptimal. Weight too far back will make for sluggish steering and squirrelly back end (in my experience trying this on a 650c frame with 38cm chainstays).

If you want a proper riding road bike, this is not going to be great solution.

[AgilisMerlin]

if your around 5 ft, it might be a helpful wheel choice.

wife 5ft 2" on a good day

independent crownjewel 46cm x 650c

perfecto !

[BigDaddySmooth]

Chance is on target.

Set up with a steep seat angle, there may be too much weight on the hands with drop bars (most tri bikes are designed to be used with aero bars).

If you use a setback post to get the saddle back to a typical 73 degree STA equivalent, and the frame has really short chainstays and long front center (as mentioned by another poster), the weight distribution will be suboptimal. Weight too far back will make for sluggish steering and squirrelly back end (in my experience trying this on a 650c frame with 38cm chainstays).

If you want a proper riding road bike, this is not going to be great solution.


That's what I figured...the TT is 55.5 and the fork is cut so that the stem sits right about at the top of the head tube plus headset. I already did the goofy short stem (9cm w/+17 degrees) and my reach is at max but with virtually no set-back due to the steep seat tube angle. Well, I guess I'll try and sell as a whole unit or part it out. Thanks for the advice.