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Looking for help with a First Tri Bike
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Need some suggestions on what to buy for a first tri bike.

I'm a pretty competitive runner for my age group in Central Florida, but have gotten into sprint tri's for cross training over the summer months. I might eventually do an olympic but really have zero interest in 70.3 or IM distances.

Obviously fit comes first but I'm not looking to break the bank either. Right now I'm on a 56cm Felt FR which works great for group and longer rides, but I want something I can hammer on for 30-60 minute LT level efforts. Am I better off buying a lower priced new bike with decent specs like the Motobecane Nemesis or A2 Speed Phreak for $1200-$1700 or shopping the used market for something like a S32/Transition/Trinity at around $600-$1000?
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Re: Looking for help with a First Tri Bike [laseranimal] [ In reply to ]
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You'd be better off getting a good fit session done, then taking the provided shortlist of recommended bikes and sizes to the 2nd hand market.

(The bike itself won't make anywhere near as much difference as being well set up on it)
Last edited by: MattyK: Mar 31, 21 23:02
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Re: Looking for help with a First Tri Bike [MattyK] [ In reply to ]
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^ this. go get a professional fit from a well respected fitter in your area FIRST, PREFERABLY one that is completely independent and not attached to a bike shop that sells a particular brand.

80/20 Endurance Ambassador
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Re: Looking for help with a First Tri Bike [laseranimal] [ In reply to ]
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For all the advice here on getting a bike fit the thing to keep in mind is that isn’t rocket science. With a limited amount of effort anyone can get a very good fit without paying a professional. Bike fits are most beneficial in three scenarios: you know nothing and don’t have the time/desire to learn, you are looking to eeck out that final 0.5% gain or because of sponsorship requirements you are stuck on gear that isn’t good for you but you need to find away to make it work.

To directly answer your question I would start by getting clip in aero bars and adjusting the FR accordingly. From this you will get most of the way to a full TT bike while also determining all the fit numbers you need when looking for a TT bike. Overall you the time savings between a S32 and an optimized FR are seconds over a sprint so save the money at this stage.
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Re: Looking for help with a First Tri Bike [laseranimal] [ In reply to ]
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Used.

Check the slowtwitch classifieds, your local craigslist and facebook pages for bicycling groups in your neighborhood.

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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.
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Re: Looking for help with a First Tri Bike [hblake] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks all! Got an appointment with a local fitter lined up already. In terms of used bikes how old should I be looking? Is there a dividing line where there is a large jump between model years in terms of performance or is it more or less a slow evolution as the top tech trickled down?
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Re: Looking for help with a First Tri Bike [hblake] [ In reply to ]
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hblake wrote:


Used.

Check the slowtwitch classifieds, your local craigslist and facebook pages for bicycling groups in your neighborhood.

.

^^Agreed. You'll get more bang for your bike than the new ones you mentioned.

Kiwami Racing Team
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