Road bike vs Tri bike speed

[AustinPT]

All the attributes of TT/tri bike (aero frame, aero bars, aero wheels) come with a caveat - it’s all based on an average speed of 40kph. Outside of pros and top tier age groupers, that’s not realistic. Add in the fact that most TT bikes are heavy, climb poorly, corner poorly, descend technical descents poorly (compared to a road bike), and the shininess starts to fade. Sure, on a pan flat course like Texas or Florida, there’s some advantage, but take IM Switzerland, with lots of climbs and technical descents (in pouring rain when I did it), and the road bike has an advantage. I see triathletes waste thousands on Tri bikes expecting instant speed, but lose all that advantage due to poor riding skills, or crashing b/c their head was down and they pull a Bernal.