Greetings all,
After doing a 4 multi-sport races this year on my MTB (Trek X-Cal 8) with knobbies and making it on the podium for 2 of them, I’m finding myself hooked and wanting to see where multi-sport can take me (full disclosure - I say multi-sport because of the 4 “tri s”, two were aqua bike and one was a paddle/bike/run, but color me surprised when I learned I got first in my age group for that one!). The bike is definitely where I excel but also stall out because I just don’t have enough gear. I’ve entertained adding gear to my existing bike, because my chief complaint is that with a 1X, and a small one at that, I top out way too quickly. Unfortunately in talking with the bike shop, changing to a larger 1X that has the potential to diminish/mess up the gearing for what the bike was actually intended and I’m not sure I want to go down that route. Barring major gear changes, it seems that I can make tremendous inroads on my ride with even the most modest redirect to a road bike, so I’ve started looking into what that might look like.
I’m lucky to live in a part of the country (SoCal) where I have a lot of resources (almost too many, it’s overwhelming), e.g. I recently went to Moment Cycles to get a proper fitting on my current bike that I can apply to my future bike. The guy who did the fitting recommended I consider a Cervelo (Caledonia line), but I can’t help but wonder if a ~$5,000 bike is really the right direction. Doing a bit of searching though sent me down the rabbit hole of “oooooh, shiny…” (anyone checked out the Vitus Venon Evo RS?? Yes, same price point, but oh so pretty, even if not currently available in my size). Truth be told, it seems nearly anything will be lighter and faster, but it’s hard to deny the lure of better components. With that said, I know there are several other threads talking about bikes and how much of a difference will it really matter, and ultimately it comes down to personal priorities. I’m not eager to buy used, as I don’t feel I know enough to not get taken advantage of and I don’t have the time or interest to put into becoming so (at least I’m honest, although I did read the posting about it).
Priorities (ignoring $$ for now although $5,000 is my absolute top end)
- handling/ability to climb/good gear ratio for speed on the descent/good braking
- good/reliable components
- weight (< 20 lb)
- speed/overall gearing, ideally a 2X
- I DON’T want super skinny tires (I swear all roads have an abundance of potholes and schmutz - I want tires that I can change myself. This is a huge reason why I only used road slicks on my MTB for a hot second; even the guys at the bike shop struggled to get them off). Apparently newer bikes are coming with 28 - 30s, a width I am much more comfortable on.
- I’m less excited about the dropper bars (another reason I’ve stuck with the MTB), but I’m coming around to them, particularly if I can still comfortably reach the brakes from the higher hand position
At the end of the day, I know there is no panacea, and that there are a number of bikes that would fit the bill. Recognizing there is already a number of conversations on this subject, I’m going to ask anyway, am I crazy to consider spending so much for a bike? Would I get THAT much more out of it? I know a lot of folks have experience with Cervelo, does anyone have any experience with Vitus? (I am reasonably mechanically inclined/confident I can either build it or something comparable, and have a good shop nearby to turn to if I get stuck; I also love that the Venon was designed to not be just a road bike) Are there other brands that one should consider in the closer to $2000-3000 range or all the major brands pretty comparable at that price point? I guess to some degree I’m looking for someone to say “girl, you’re crazy, go buy a cheap bike and be done with it,” lol, while also hoping a little devil on the other shoulder says “the Vitus is amazing. Do it if you can get your hands on one.”
Anyway, that is probably enough for now. Thank you in advance for any thoughts/words of wisdom/links you have and apologies to those who feel like this question keeps coming up. Going from MTB to a road bike is a big transition for me, so I’m trying to do my due diligence, balancing a lot of reading with asking to see what the hive mind has to say. Lastly, if you’re wondering about timing, I’m aiming for a Jan/Feb purchase so I have time to train on it before the first race of the season pops up in May.
Holly
After doing a 4 multi-sport races this year on my MTB (Trek X-Cal 8) with knobbies and making it on the podium for 2 of them, I’m finding myself hooked and wanting to see where multi-sport can take me (full disclosure - I say multi-sport because of the 4 “tri s”, two were aqua bike and one was a paddle/bike/run, but color me surprised when I learned I got first in my age group for that one!). The bike is definitely where I excel but also stall out because I just don’t have enough gear. I’ve entertained adding gear to my existing bike, because my chief complaint is that with a 1X, and a small one at that, I top out way too quickly. Unfortunately in talking with the bike shop, changing to a larger 1X that has the potential to diminish/mess up the gearing for what the bike was actually intended and I’m not sure I want to go down that route. Barring major gear changes, it seems that I can make tremendous inroads on my ride with even the most modest redirect to a road bike, so I’ve started looking into what that might look like.
I’m lucky to live in a part of the country (SoCal) where I have a lot of resources (almost too many, it’s overwhelming), e.g. I recently went to Moment Cycles to get a proper fitting on my current bike that I can apply to my future bike. The guy who did the fitting recommended I consider a Cervelo (Caledonia line), but I can’t help but wonder if a ~$5,000 bike is really the right direction. Doing a bit of searching though sent me down the rabbit hole of “oooooh, shiny…” (anyone checked out the Vitus Venon Evo RS?? Yes, same price point, but oh so pretty, even if not currently available in my size). Truth be told, it seems nearly anything will be lighter and faster, but it’s hard to deny the lure of better components. With that said, I know there are several other threads talking about bikes and how much of a difference will it really matter, and ultimately it comes down to personal priorities. I’m not eager to buy used, as I don’t feel I know enough to not get taken advantage of and I don’t have the time or interest to put into becoming so (at least I’m honest, although I did read the posting about it).
Priorities (ignoring $$ for now although $5,000 is my absolute top end)
- handling/ability to climb/good gear ratio for speed on the descent/good braking
- good/reliable components
- weight (< 20 lb)
- speed/overall gearing, ideally a 2X
- I DON’T want super skinny tires (I swear all roads have an abundance of potholes and schmutz - I want tires that I can change myself. This is a huge reason why I only used road slicks on my MTB for a hot second; even the guys at the bike shop struggled to get them off). Apparently newer bikes are coming with 28 - 30s, a width I am much more comfortable on.
- I’m less excited about the dropper bars (another reason I’ve stuck with the MTB), but I’m coming around to them, particularly if I can still comfortably reach the brakes from the higher hand position
At the end of the day, I know there is no panacea, and that there are a number of bikes that would fit the bill. Recognizing there is already a number of conversations on this subject, I’m going to ask anyway, am I crazy to consider spending so much for a bike? Would I get THAT much more out of it? I know a lot of folks have experience with Cervelo, does anyone have any experience with Vitus? (I am reasonably mechanically inclined/confident I can either build it or something comparable, and have a good shop nearby to turn to if I get stuck; I also love that the Venon was designed to not be just a road bike) Are there other brands that one should consider in the closer to $2000-3000 range or all the major brands pretty comparable at that price point? I guess to some degree I’m looking for someone to say “girl, you’re crazy, go buy a cheap bike and be done with it,” lol, while also hoping a little devil on the other shoulder says “the Vitus is amazing. Do it if you can get your hands on one.”
Anyway, that is probably enough for now. Thank you in advance for any thoughts/words of wisdom/links you have and apologies to those who feel like this question keeps coming up. Going from MTB to a road bike is a big transition for me, so I’m trying to do my due diligence, balancing a lot of reading with asking to see what the hive mind has to say. Lastly, if you’re wondering about timing, I’m aiming for a Jan/Feb purchase so I have time to train on it before the first race of the season pops up in May.
Holly
