Pick up a used CAAD10/12. That is the best bet that is going to be durable, easy to work on, have a good component setup, and affordable. You can also look for a Trek Emonda ALR or a Specialized Allez. A lot of used bikes in this price range tend to be alloy endurance bikes that people sell when they move to carbon.

Ofcourse it is. My road bike cost me half of your budget and I raced tris on it my first year, even a half and a full. It was alloy with box rim wheels and in no way was it holding me back. For your budget you should be able to get a cannondale caad with ultegra or something similar, great for road racing. New is prob a stretch, at that price point they really start to skimp on things like brakes, wheels, bars, etc.

Craigslist, i bought a 2013 Cervelo R3 with 105 (Shimano 5700) off CL for 1200. I sold the wheels and some other stuff off it and got the price down to $1050, it only had 200ish miles on it. You just have to be patient and check CL everyday. A bike will pop up that you are looking for in your range and size.

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ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |

Look at Nashbar's "105 Carbon Road Bike". It's an unbranded Fuji frame (if you dig around you'll see Nashbar, Performance Bike, and Fuji share ownership). It's often for sale for ~$925.

What wheels do you own? Often second-hand at this price you'll find great frames and decent groupsets on bad wheels.

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

As you've mentioned, go second hand. Take your time and sooner or later a great bargain will show up. Just be aware of your correct frame size.

What size do you need. I have some demo bikes barely ridden I can offer in your budget depending on size. And where are u located

55 culprit croz blade
52.5 culprit roadi
58 arrow one

Tks

Joshua

Fuji Roubaix 1.1 from Performance:

PC browser link: http://www.performancebike.com/..._1186434_-1___000000

Mobile browser link: http://www.performancebike.com/...52_1186434_-1_catNav

[edited to add non-mobile site link]

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

I'm digging my Felt FR and though the msrp is a little north of your 1,000 budget, a local felt dealer may be able hook you up with a college/club discount to get it in line with your price. If not, I'd guess second hand is the way to go. Or check out mybikeshop.com.

I raced ITU on a CAAD10 with 105 that I originally bought for $1,000 new.
Companies are doing some cool stuff with high end aluminum, and yes, you'll live fine with 105. When that wore out, I gradually replaced it with ultegra. Ultimately it was the bike's position and money burning a hole in my pocket that "forced" me to upgrade, not feeling like the bike was inferior.

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IG: idking90

Buy used for the best value.

C'dale CAAD, Trek ALR, Giant SLR, Spesh Allez, and the list goes on - there's amazing value for money going on with modern alu frames and I, for one, don't see a reason to look beyond that for racing. Plus, you will crash and you might wreck a frame, so it's best if that frame was cheap to begin with.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

Bikesdirect.com has the Fuji Transonic with a 105 group for $1199 shipped. My brother in law just picked one up. A very nice bike for the money and an aero frame too.

Ok, it is not as important as it is with a TT/Tri bike. But first figure out what geometry will fit you then start looking for used aluminum bikes. Specialized Allez, Cannondale CAAD series. Fit will be the biggest factor on whether or not you are comfortable and powerful on the bike. And once you know what you are looking for, finding a used bike becomes a lot easier, and you will regret it less.

A local college age kid I know started racing on a $1000 Fuji from Performance. He did fine on that bike. In fact, within 12 months of his first race he was a Cat 2. He did eventually get a new bike, but he did not pay retail for that one ;-)

You can go used too. It is kind hard to get a great deal on your first bike used since the best way to get a great used bike is to be tuned into the local ride/race scene but scope out Craig's List, or better, a local bike classified group on FaceBook, long enough and you will find a killer deal for $1000.

I have a used Supersix with Rival/Force that I need to sell. I was asking $1300 but it hasn't gone yet and I could work a deal to help a college kid. Send me a PM!

I'd suggest looking around some Cannondale dealers in your area for closeouts on CAAD 10's, those are the best "budget" race bike by far, if you get lucky you can find last years model with 105 for just a bit over a grand

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http://www.instagram.com/cyclewise

Used is the way to go!

However, if you want to shop new I'd suggest trying local sporting goods stores that also carry bikes. I find they're more interested in moving old product vs a LBS when the season is over. I managed to scoop my ar5 for 40% off this way.

Pick up a used CAAD10/12. That is the best bet that is going to be durable, easy to work on, have a good component setup, and affordable. You can also look for a Trek Emonda ALR or a Specialized Allez. A lot of used bikes in this price range tend to be alloy endurance bikes that people sell when they move to carbon.

I second the Cannondale CAAD series and the Specialized Allez's The aluminum framed bikes are were the real deals are at.

I bumped into a guy on a ride last summer. He was riding a black-on-black Allez, with Ultegra. You had to get up real close to even see it was aluminum. It was a super cool looking bike - from 5 - 10 ft away, you would have sworn it was carbon!

Spring for higher end 700 x 25 tires, and run them at 85 - 90 psi (as you should be) and the bike will ride really well and feel great!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

i bought my tri bike at http://www.mybikeshop.com and couldnt be happier. great experience working with them to get what i wanted. Brian should be able to make something work for you.

good luck

Last summer I got to do a group ride with a few members of a US pro crit team who were in town supporting a charity ride my club was helping out with. All of them were riding aluminum Allez' - with box rim training wheels. And, yes, the were a lot faster than us folks on Madones and Venges rolling Zipps.

Hey Jeff... I work for mybikeshop.com. happy to help if we can. What size do you need?

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more bikes and gear available at:

http://www.mybikeshop.com
sales@mybikeshop.com

I'm a size 54, got anything race-ready in my size?

Go to your local Cannonade dealer. C-dale was clearing both the Supersix and CAAD12 stuff. I think the CAAD12 105 was around $1300.

I'll jump on your thread and ask if it's possible to get a decent triathlon bike at or around $1000?

Yes we do for sure.

New 2015 Litespeed M1 Shimano 105 (5800 11-speed) for $1199 shipped - see here: http://www.mybikeshop.com/...5-demo-full-warranty

New 2015 Litespeed M3 w/ Apex for $1099 - see here: http://www.mybikeshop.com/...3-demo-full-warranty

Lightly used 2014 Scott Foil 20 w/ Shimano 105 (listed at $1299 but can offer for $1099 for a fellow STer) - see here - http://www.mybikeshop.com/...0-54cm-free-shipping

The Litespeeds being new come with a full factory warranty as well. If you can swing a bit more, the new 2015 Axino EX with Ultegra 6800 11-speed is a steal at $1299 and the 2011 Trek Madone 6-series is a great deal too. The 2013 Madone 4.7 as well, but then we're a bit above your budget. All bikes come fully certified with free shipping, no tax, and a 30-Day Guarantee as well.

Take a look and feel free to PM me or email to brichards@mybikeshop.com.

Thanks.

brian

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more bikes and gear available at:

http://www.mybikeshop.com
sales@mybikeshop.com

depending on the tools you own and your skill level,be careful of buying a used bike that needs a lot of wear items replaced. Be on the lookout for something that was ridden on the trainer a lot and has sweat down in the headset, check carefully for play in the bottom bracket and wheel bearings, avoid bikes with filthy chains, cables without little end caps, plier marks on bolts, and other indicators of abuse. If you have to drag a bike into the shop to have these items repaired it gets expensive in a hurry, like many hundreds.

On aluminum bikes with internal headsets, be careful of damage to the internal cups that leaves the headset with some play, in that case the frame is shot. Also look carefully for cracks in the welds and parts secured to the frame with rivets coming loose like the FD mount and fractures around the bottle cage mounts.

One indicator of a bike ridden by a real sweat bag is the condition of the bar tape. Some people ride on trainers and sweat so much the bars corrode, avoid bikes like that

I bought a new Cannondale Synapse for $1,200 three years ago from a LBS. I hadn't done a triathlon yet and I was an ultrarunner but wanted to join my wife and give the tri thing a try. Fell in love with tri and I'm still riding my Synapse and it's got me through 2 IM's, 2 70.3's and an Olympic.

It's a buyer's market for used bikes; therefore, I believe you can find, with a little effort, a great bike for $1k.

If you're limited to a single bike, I would recommend a great road bike over a dedicated tri bike. I know some will disagree but a good road bike will let you train in all kinds of conditions and will be fun to ride.

Bought a new CAAD12, full 105 on ebay last month for just over $1100. Deals are there to be had. A lot of bike for the money.

A tangent to your question that hasn't come up (I have nothing to add to the suggestions)...

By road racing I assume you are doing Crit racing? If that is true then you should consider that most newbies crash in the first few races. The first think we tell the "new guy" is if you aren't financially capable of replacing that bike don't do it.

I get the feeling you are doing this on a shoe string budget. Just a friendly reminder that you could waste the money you spend on a bike 10 minutes into your first race. Been there, done that, which is why I race on a 2008 Allez with the stock wheels that I bought used - its the 4th one I've had, the others all died in a blaze of spokes, handlebars, and body limbs.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

I got a lightly used Felt S-32 for $400 from a local shop. Personally I'd just browse around local shops regularly for deals. Another good place to look is Craigslist, but beware of scams.

I've seen about three 2012 P2s go for $1,000 recently.

JeffreyIThink wrote:

I'm a college-aged club triathlete that mainly focuses on triathlons in the spring and fall. This past season I have really started to excel in the bike leg. With both of those in mind I really want to spend the summer doing some local and state bike races. My only issue is I only have a TT and I'm on a pretty low budget. Is it possible to find a decent road bike ready for racing around the $1000 range? I have no problem with it being used, as long as it's in good shape. I would prefer something with Ultegra or better, but I'm fine with 105. Is this realistic or not even close?

Bought a ton of bikes from BikesDirect in the past. I see they have a couple of sub-$1000 Ultegra 6800 setups. This one looks a little less aggressive but they have other frames to choose from:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/...pro22-road-bikes.htm

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