Get a fit done first. That will tell you what bikes you should be looking at

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

What BryanD said, but if you can, get a 3rd party fitting. If you get one at a lbs, I can pretty much garuntee that they will tell you you fit on brands a and b. wow look at that, they sell brands a an b

If I was getting into triathlon and looking for a bike and didn't know what to buy I would:

1. Find a local club and ask around to get opinions on local shops to help me
2. Look at some of their bikes in stock and research them on-line
3. Ask locals how they like their bikes.
4. Decide budget for bike
5. Ask for opinions on-line about bike
6. Look at local shops again for what's available and how they fit people to bikes.
7. Start off on the low end of pricing and let yourself be talked up if you find value

Some triathlon bike brands to look at:
Felt (S series, DA series, IA series)
Cervelo (P2, P3, P5)
Trek (speed concept)
Cannondale (Slice)
BMC (Time Machine)
Quintana Roo (CD0 series)
Specialized (Transition, Shiv)
Scott (Plasma)

I'm sure people can suggest more brands and models to research

jaretj

Agree, a good fitter can tell you what bikes (brand and model) work best for you, probably they will always end up selling you a specific brand if they also sell bikes but if they give you options that is a good sign, my fitter was kind of upset because I didn't buy a Guru bike he had in stock for a long time but he suggested other 4 or 5 different brands and I bought the one I liked the most, in the end if you don't like what you ride chances are you won't ride it but if you love your bike you will find any excuse to ride it, I got an Orbea ordu gold and I love the bike, not the fastest not the slowest but it is very adjustable so over time I can easily get into a more aggressive position without having to buy spacers or any other extra piece (with the bike they include 4 different stem sizes), not many like that bike but I love it!