It sounds like the hybrid is already getting her to where she wants to be so I would just stick with what you have and use the money on something else.

I'd probably go with a road bike at this point. You can always add aero bars fairly cheap. If she doesn't take to it, she can still do group rides or casual rides with the road bike. If she does enjoy the sport, you have the option of either selling the road bike and switching to a TT bike or if she's really a keeper, you'll get a TT bike and keep the road bike.

If she plans on doing more triathlons then I would get her a tri bike.

If not I'd find a tri bike with the front end geometry close to a road bike and then switch it over if she decides she wants a road bike. You can get 105 road shifters for about $130 and a good road bar for under $50. That's much less expensive than two bikes.

For example: just about any P2 has 61mm of trail. While that is more than most road bikes it's certainly less than most tri bikes and turns very well.

I went with a tri bike as my first bike even though every one I talked to told me to get a road bike. However, I knew from the beginning that triathlon is what I wanted to do and I was happy with my choice. In your case, your GF doesn't seem to be 100% committed to the sport so I would probably go the road bike option. She will enjoy riding it more and still be competitive. If she get hooked and want to do events every year, then you can upgrade to a tri bike.

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I assume you could easily do the opposite and find a road bike with the front end geometry close to a tri bike. That way I could just slap a forward facing seat tube and bar ends on it. I think this could be a good option. I will have to do some research into bikes that will fit this.

a road bike will be great, very versatile and more comfortable if she starts going longer distances. like someone else said, you can always get aero bars and be very competitive on it. i did my first tri's on a road bike, even my first half. a road bike is made to do anything.

however, a tri bike is not quiet as comfortable as a road bike, and made to do one thing- ride in aero in triathlons. it's harder to handle and often times discouraged in group rides as you don't always have your hands on your breaks.

i'd encourage her towards a road bike, but she should definitely try a few different bikes first.

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I see. Yea definitely upgrade. Its a win win situation for her. A road bike gives you some versatility (group rides) and is less expensive. But if you think there is a good chance she'll really latch onto triathlon it may be worth it to get a tri bike. If you get the road and later decide to go all in on triathlon and wish you'd have the tri bike I would suggest keeping the road bike for group rides, and whatnot. You can't lose really.

"If you buy one bike, buy a road bike".

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Developing aero, fit and other fun stuff at Red is Faster

Unless she's trying to win overall or win her AG I'll agree with above. The first bike should be a road bike. If she gets hooked then get a tri bike. Then she will have both.

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I would base this decision on the distance of the events you guys plan on doing or just her if she has different ambitions. If sh'es doing Olympic and lower go for the road bike. It'll be nearly as good and she'll be learning better bike handling throughout her progression. Now if the events are going to be 70.3 or 140.6 Id argue the Triathlon bike would be warranted. Long hours in the saddle training for those events means she'll welcome a more comfortable position with arm rests. Not to mention it'll allow her to run a BTA setup and practice race day nutrition strategies more in line with what others are going to recommend.

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

Likewise, I would not like to be without my road bike. This year I've been almost entirely on my tri bike in prep for my first IM but I really miss the road bike. If you want to ride in groups, have really enjoyable rides in the mountains, etc, a road bike is great. Mine will be getting plenty use as soon as I get back from my IM.
If I could only have one bike it would be the road bike but 2 bikes is obviously the best of all worlds!
I did my first triathlons on a road bike with clip-ons and a forward seatpost and to be honest, while it wasn't ideal, it wasn't a huge compromise either.

Unless you have a bunch of money, they do what ever you want since you can always just buy another bike. Some people have lots of money, we should not discriminate against them on this site.

#RichLivesMatter

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I don't. And I stand by my assertion regarding ONE bike, not many.

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Developing aero, fit and other fun stuff at Red is Faster

There is a simple equation to explain how many bikes you need.

X+1

With X being the current number of bikes you own.

Couldn't you run a BTA with a set of clip on aero bars? I don't see how nutrition is any different with a road bike vs a TT bike. I tend to eat & drink the same things regardless of what bike I am on. I can put bottle cages on both bikes, a bento box on both, BTA on both (add the clip on aero bars), behind the seat cage...

What I meant to articulate is a road bike + clip ons does not hit the ideal position for a 56/112mi (90/180km) bike ride. The seat tube angle is wrong, the top tube length is typically too much and the handling on a set of clip-ons is terrible as the weight is too much over the front of the wheel.

Sure you can do it, run BTA etc but good luck holding it for long periods of time. The whole reason triathlon bikes came into existence was to remove these limitations. Works vs Optimal is my argument here but even that is subjective rider to rider. It is worth considering however.

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

+1 to this... Wisdom here.

I just did my first HIM, and I had been out of bike riding for >20 years. I still had my old road bike, and began my training on that bike. After a short time, I reasoned that if I am going to spend 3-5 hours on a bike, I want it to be as efficient as possible. And, I did not want the bike to have an avoidable negative impact on the run. So, I bought a tri bike. If I was only doing an Olympic or shorter, I would have stuck with my old road bike.

Buy a road bike if you might want to use it for other events (like a century) and your target distance is Olympic or shorter.
Buy a tri bike if you are likely to do HIM or IM, and may not want to use the bike for other casual or group rides.

Regardless of which one you buy her it will be wrong!

If anything, I'd be thinking the reverse! For long rides, I think most people will find a road bike is more comfortable than a tri bike. Unless of course they're trying to stay in the drops on the road bike the entire time which might cause problems after a while. I've no problem staying comfortable in the drops for half an hour or more but I don't think I've ever tried staying there more than an hour. It might be okay, it might not. So for general riding when you're not trying to stay as aerodynamically clean as possible the entire time, a road bike is the comfy option.

Most triathletes want a road bike anyway. That would be my choice. Could pair it with the Redshift Switch system, the seatpost allows on-the-fly toggling between a tri and regular roadbike saddle position and the quick-release aerobars compliment that. That what I ride, on a road bike, and super happy with it.

 
She needs a more clear picture of what she wants to do, but I would err on the side of road bike, especially if she is at all shaky at bike handling, or nervous riding around cars.

My first bike was a roadie, I used it in a few sprint tris and then decided I wanted to do a HIM. My roadie was as low end as it comes, and I wanted an excuse to buy a really cool bike so I bought a P2 for my HIM. Rode that for quite a few years as I was doing almost all of my riding by myself, but I really didn't ride much either. I got involved in a local cycling group and went back to the roadie. I rode that for a year and didn't touch the P2. I then went back to the P2 for a full IM in 2014. Since finishing the IM in June of 2014, my P2 has exactly 8 miles on it. It only gets used for short TT's now while my new road bike gets constant use.

If there is a local group she might be involved in or if she wants to ride with you and draft, the road bike is going to be better and more versatile.

Isolating it down to just the bike rides I can see where you're coming from. Now when we switch it to a scenario where you have to run a half or full marathon afterwards then that changes greatly. Having a tight lower back, glutes, and hip flexors from riding a road bike, fitted for riding in an upright position, with strapped on clip-ons will forsake your running potential every time. This is why triathlon bikes came to be and have over the years gone to steeper and steeper seat tube angles.

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"