If you buy the entry level bike and then pay for a good bike fit you won't notice the difference. If you take the money you save and invest in a coach even just for a year, you will be faster than if you had bought the super bike.

My 2 cents. If you want to upgrade the bike over time (better wheels etc.) it's always an option.

Time savings, in order of importance, SWAG:

1. Position
2. Clothing
3. Tires and tubes and pressure
4. Helmet
5. Wheels
6. Storage and hydration
7. Bars
8. Frame
9. Drivetrain friction

Time savings, in order of cost:

1. Tires and tubes and pressure
2. Helmet
3. Storage and Hydration
4. Position
5. Clothing
6. Wheels
7. Bars
8. Frame
9. Drivetrain Friction

This is why *position* is so important... it saves you tons of watts potentially, makes cycling much more enjoyable, and if done first might prevent you from buying the wrong bike or the wrong size of the right bike.

E

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Unless the bike is gold plated, $5000 is way too much for a used argon. Nothing against argon, but $5k is a big chunk of change. And going used is smart, but you can get a fast used bike for a lot less.

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I would say the following: If you can't hold the aero position for almost the entire length of the race (excluding some hills), then I would not be buying a $5k bike for my first bike. My first (and current) tri bike, I got off CL for $400. I have put about $900 into it (carbon wheels, 105 components, power meter), and whereas I have not done my first tri yet (70.3 in 3 weeks) I keep up with all of my buddies in training with their $5-8k bikes just fine.

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- Jordan

My Strava

A basic tt bike that fits you correctly is fine. In time get better wheels or ask the shop to upgrade to a better set of training wheels pre purchase, then get race wheels used in the future. You will get more benefit from buying things like tools, smart trainer, winter riding clothes, etc and just spending more time on the bike. You may also want a road bike to train on, perhaps with fenders depending where you live, something inexpensive.

To me this equates to do you plan on racing multiple triathlons or time trials? If you are going to be one and done an entry level bike will suffice. If you plan on doing this for a while then you will probably enjoy the benefits of having a nicer bike.

I’m still riding an 11 year old, properly fit, aluminum, entry level Cervelo P1. I won my states AG (55-59) championship on it, I’ve won 3 small local sprint tris on it, and have won my AG in every local tri I’ve entered with it. In 2018 Waco 70.3, where the swim was cancelled, I started on the bike in 1543th place (by bib #), and got off the bike in 488th place. I passed a shiton of expensive carbon bikes. I don’t think the difference is all that much. I think the difference is that I consistently ride 200-300 miles/week. I might also add that I train on a 53 year old antique road bike, and an old fashioned dumb indoor spin bike. I have no intention of upgrading any time soon... unless I win the Ventum drawing at IM Tulsa.

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Athlinks / Strava

No, it’s not. It’s really not. I’ve done it 3 times and kept each total bike (new frame) in the $4k-$5k range, including power.

If you are building $8K bikes from parts for under $5K, you are definitely working some dark magic. Take the $8K Cervelo P5 as a reference point, new parts are well north of $10K, with the major parts coming in at $9K. So, you are finding new parts for half what most others could do.

• $5,500 - new frameset
• $1,800 - new Ultegra hydro groupset
• $1,600 - new HED Jet 6/9 wheels

Same accomplishment with Specialized's $8,500 Shiv Expert Disc. Their new frame module is $6K. At least the equivalent wheels are a little cheaper.

Now, if you are building good (but not that great) bikes with used parts, I could definitely see coming in under $5K, but that is an apples and oranges economic comparison.

It would be a little easier to build a cheap Speed Concept, because their new frame module is only $3,300.

Wow, imagine you have P5 disc or something. You will fly!!!

I hear that from time to time, but I have to wonder. My only experience on something newer, was trying out a 2018 Shiv, at the LBS. I thought it felt heavy and sluggish. No way I would have traded my old Cervelo for that. I a-l-m-o-s-t bought a Ventum, when they were 40% off last November. But just couldn't pull the trigger, after reading some less than positive reviews. I've been saving, and have enough for a new bike, but what I have, is doing a great job for now.

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Athlinks / Strava

That shiv is a 10 year old bike pretty much. I wouldn't be upgrading to one either.

My first bike was a carbon QR CD0.1 with mechanical shifting. After putting countless miles on it and realizing how much I loved riding, I upgraded to the DI2 model and love it. I think the difference is that when I bought the Di2 model, I knew how much I was riding and the enjoyment I'd get out of having the extra options. It wasn't necessarily faster in a race, but made training way more enjoyable.

I agree with all previous posts. I’d like to add this:

To quote Ferris Bueller, “...if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”

Life is short. There is no dress rehearsal. We will all be pushing up daisies one day.

Get the expensive bike.

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Not everything is as it seems -Mr. Miyagi

I had a friend give me some advice once and it's been pretty accurate for most things...there are basically 3 levels of quality worth considering (and a fair amount of junk below those levels). For example, in bike components...105, Ultegra, Dura Ace. The first is everything you'll ever need, reasonably priced, and high quality. The second is a big upgrade for a reasonable expendature, and the third is a small upgrade for a significant expendature.

Holds true for a lot of things...performance cars: Camaro, Corvette, Ferrari

Tools: Harbor Freight, Craftsman, Snap On

Bikes seem to be no exception. Once you buy into the bottom end, you can sometimes pay a little more to get a big upgrade in quality/performance...after that, it's a HUGE expense for diminishing returns.

If you've got the disposable income (and approval from the wife, if that's a factor), by all means, treat yourself to the best. But you probably won't see much improvement for the extra money. There are all kinds of examples, and some may differ with mine, but that's a rule of thumb that's served me pretty well over the years.

We are on very different pages in terms of cost. Primarily with respect to frameset. I picked up a 2019 P3 frameset for ~$1200. So, there’s $4,300 off your pricing structure out of the gate. Admittedly, a few parts on my build will be used (primarily wheels). But your suggested pricing below is pure retail, no sale or discount. My bike shop has sales on new HED wheels just about nonstop. TriRig has sales. Online stores that offer components have sales. It’s not that difficult with a small amount of research and patience.

Aaaah. A P3 is a far cry from a P5 in both price and performance. That is apples and oranges to an $8K bike. And used parts converts the oranges to donuts-- you are not even comparing fruit at that point. It is possible to build a good bike with a mix of used parts for under $5K. But that is not the same as a top-end new $8K-$10K bike on multiple levels.

Most of those parts I listed were full MSRP (wheels were discounted, I think) to illustrate the starting point for building a new $8K bike from parts. But, I addressed the MSRP with the caveat that you would have to find those parts new for less than half of MSRP to get to $5K. That is a steep hill.

I built a couple killer bikes with a mix of new and used high-end parts for a whole lot less than $5K. It took a lot of time and a lot of skill to know what parts to shop and what was a value. Few people have that skill and time. The point of my original post was that if you buy a cheap bike complete, and then incrementally upgrade to a great bike, you will almost always spend more in total than if you had just bought the great bike up front.

I do agree with your point, that if you shop high-value parts new and used as cheaply as possible, you can probably build a bike that would be cheaper than a comparable complete used bike. I did that too.

I agree that a stock P3 maybe a far cry than a P5 in terms of pricing,. I disagree that a nicely specced P3 is far cry in terms of performance. I'm quite confident my P3 would be extremely close, if not as fast as a P5. I'm talking about a nice P3 build from a frameset. HED wheels, etap, Tririg bars, magura brakes etc. I can assure you that paying full retail for the parts specced on my P3 would be in the $8k+ range. But again, with patience and research, it is not that hard to build a bike for FAR less than full retail price. That is my point. A small amount of time on here and ebay will give you all the info you need to understand pricing and save lots of $$$$. I’m trying to pass this advice onto others so they can understand they can build a bike faster than a $8k+ new, super bike by simply investing in that research and patience in looking for sales and dispel the myth you are proliferating about the amount of money it costs to build a fast bike.