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Ironman bike recommendations - budget
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jkase001
Jul 22, 11 17:45
Post #1 of 5 (2664 views)
I would welcome advice on a reasonably priced bike for an ironman distance. I plan on doing IM Florida next year. I have done several half IM so know what I am getting into (sort of). My priorities are comfort, price, aero, weight. I don't plan on riding agressive but I am don't want to ride a road bike with some jammers either. Is their any reason to believe I can't comfortably complete an IM on an aluminum frame (i.e. P1, Argon E-80, others?). Maybe a planet-X or even aero road bike with forward seatepost (Litespeed M1)? I have some Mavic Carbone SLR I can trick it out with (my road bike race wheels).

Any advice appreciated. Throw some darts!
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Re: Ironman bike recommendations - budget [jkase001] [ In reply to ]
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jackmott
Jul 22, 11 17:50
Post #2 of 5 (2657 views)
the same bike you did the half IMs on?

comfort is 99% a function of tires, tubes, pressures, saddles, and cockpit. the frame is, imho, largely irrelevant.

weight is irrelevant, especially at florida.

I would look for a P2k or P1 or P3 aluminum in good condition. planetX would be fine as well though I believe the alum cervelos would be quicker.

for the super budget you could try to find a cheap steel frame with a low head tube and steeper seat tube angle. smash the saddle forward and put some vision aerobars on it. crush dreams.

Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
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Re: Ironman bike recommendations - budget [jkase001] [ In reply to ]
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Titanflexr
Jul 22, 11 20:27
Post #3 of 5 (2581 views)
For comfort it'll be hard to beat a used softride or titanflex frame (got mine on ebay). For the more conventional stuff, it's hard to go wrong with a P2C if that's in your budget.


Get a wheelcover for the rear carbone and slap some 23mm PR3 tires with latex tubes in and you should be good-to-go.


As far as comfort goes, I've found that having a carbon fork is 3/4 of the comfort (and every racing bike has one these days) so a carbon bike is not going to be significantly more comfortable than an Al one. I tried slapping a carbon seatpost on my Al road frame (to get the carbon vibration damping between the rear wheel and the seat), and honestly couldn't feel any difference.
ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: Ironman bike recommendations - budget [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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Frenchman
Jul 22, 11 22:36
Post #4 of 5 (2547 views)
jackmott wrote:
the same bike you did the half IMs on?.

+1
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Re: Ironman bike recommendations - budget [Frenchman] [ In reply to ]
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Eaglerulez
Jul 22, 11 22:55
Post #5 of 5 (2538 views)
A P2SL (also known as a P1) will be perfect. You can find them for around 1200-1500 on ebay, they are very quick and slippery frames and are plenty comfortable.
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