Im looking into the red shift system as I don’t want to buy a TT bike and mainly ride road.
Have you used the seat post?
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Yup, had it since the Kickstarter. It works super well and is dead reliable.
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Yeah, if you have a round seatpost, the Redshift post is a great option. the whole system is, really…80%+ of your aero gains come from your position, not the bike.
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All this talk of tri vs. road bike geometry can be a little overblown. It really depends on the specific tri bike and the road bike being compared. There are only 3 points on a bike that affect fit and there is a significant range of adjustment in most bikes. I can ride a size 56 or 58 in most bikes and set them up exactly the same. I can set my Shiv Tri bike up with the exact same fit as a 56 sized tarmac. Handling can suffer at extremes, but there is a lot of flexibility to duplicate fit when you start messing with seat posts, stems, and bars.
The most common limiter with bike fit is typically stack height. When in doubt, go smaller because you can always increase stack, but it can be hard to go lower.
A good illustration of fit flexibility is with the Specialized Shiv TT. They used the same stack height on all frame sizes because it’s really easy to make the frame taller via spacers. Reach is different because you screw up handling when you get your body too far forward.
With a zero offset seat post and the right stem/bar combo, most people can take a road bike and get into a very good TT position if the road bike they are starting with has a reasonably low stack height.
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No doubt…I ride a Shiv TT (old-school version w/ nosecone) and I could never replicate my fit on a Shiv Tri. Too short and tall for me…the Shiv TT is long and low. But you can replicate any Shiv Tri position from a Shiv TT.
I beg to differ. Hip angle, hip rotation, more weight on the front wheel, seat tube angle are all affected and the bike handling, fit and run off the bike will ALL be affected. If one os merely looking to finish, fine; but if one is looking to maximize performance a tri bike is a given. Do what you will, but years of experience will make me keep my opinion.
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I’m not debating that bikes are different, but just pointing out that frame geometry is often not the limiting factor it’s made out to be. Seat tube angle is a great example. If you can get your saddle far enough forward with the right seat post, it doesn’t matter that your seat post angle isn’t that steep. Yes, at some point you are so far over your front wheel that handling suffers, but that’s really only an issue when you start putting crazy long stems on.
There is a fixed bottom bracket on most bikes, and then you move your saddle and bars relative to the bottom bracket. How far they can be moved is certainly limited by the frame geometry, but it’s not always the factor it’s made out to be. Debating the handling qualities of a TT bike based on geometry is an exercise in futility, it’s like arguing which dump truck has the smoothest ride.
I have the previous version of the aero madone and I’d certainly check out the bar option if they were available. I love TT’s and I’m pretty decent at them, but that bike gathers a lot of dust compared to most that I have.
That’s an awesome bike, still holds it’s own in the wind tunnel after all these years.
The tri version is indeed really tall, so most size it way down. I am a little over 6’ and I ride a medium (which is loosely equivalent to a 54 cm frame). I don’t ride in a particularly low position, but it’s decent. I remember Jordan Rapp (former pro triathlete) also rode a medium with a very low position and he’s 6’3". That’s a big dude on a medium frame.
Yeah, I’m hard-pressed to get a new tri bike…damn few long & low bikes and those that are cost big $$ (new Shiv TT, which is, at best, a push to the old version). BIggest issue I have with the bike is using wider wheels. My front is an 808 FC and I have to file down the brake pads to get them to fit.
Funny you mention Jordan as I was PM’ing him about my Shiv TT before I bought it…based on fit chaerts, I needed a Large, but have never ridden a Large in my life (5’9") He told me it wasn’t that big of a bike and he was correct…fits me great.
I have no idea how he fit on a Medium Shiv Tri…last time I looked, the only option for me would have been a Small with something like a 123 or 130 stem, -17*. Just no way for me to get low enough on a Shiv Tri.
At some point when discs fully come to tri bikes, I may consider getting another one. A disc version of the Premier Tactical would certainly get my attention…
I’m pretty sure he was sponsored by specialized at the time, so I’d guess he didn’t have much choice. Not an ideal frame geometry on that bike for anyone wanting to get low, but an extreme example of how you can sometimes still optimize your position even if the geometry isn’t “right”. I’m sure his belly button was about even with his headtube, but he got his butt and hands in the right position relative to the bottom bracket and the bike handled well enough to ride deep wheels in the kona wind.
Everyone thought that original shiv TT was a little odd with the same stack height across all the sizes, but it was pretty smart. It allowed you to just pick a frame based on reach and then build up the stack to suit the rider. I assume they didn’t go that route with the Shiv Tri because all the weekend warriors are ashamed of riding a bike with a bunch of spacers, so they made the head tubes taller and scaled them up by size.
Yeah, he was sponsored by Specialized at the time, but he could have ridden the Shiv TT as an option (unless they forced him onto the Tri…dunno).
The Shiv Tri geometry was definitely based on findings that many / most triathletes did not ride very aggressive geometry…hence the short and tall geo.
But bike fit philosophy is coming back around the other way…as you note, you can always pedestal UP, and with good bar design, it will b more aero than adding stack to the whole bike.
The reason I am looking to move from TT to Aero Road is that I’m finding most of my riding / racing to be in the hills, where climbing becomes a bigger factor than the sleek aero position…
My current TT is still a great bike - so I’ll just hold on to that for when I want a flat fast blast (not that I am very fast 
)
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