Just one thought - you might want to consider a road bike rather than a tri bike. Many people think that if you will have only one bike for racing/training, it should be a road bike, because most of your riding to build endurance and strength is better done on a road bike - it is more versatile, more comfortable over long distances, and you can easily clip-on aero bars & use a forward seat post to improve your position for racing (though there is a slight deterioration in bike handling when doing this). I, for one, ride a road bike 95% of all my bike mileage, and add aerobars/forward post for racing - and I always do well on the bike. If I could afford to own another bike, though, I might try a tri bike.

cholla

Take my advice with a big grain of salt, since I'm a newbie as well, but I was in a similar situation to you about a year ago. I agree with cholla that it makes sense to look at a road bike first. I'd recommend checking out the slowtwitch bike picker if you haven't already. For entry-level road bikes with good quality & excellent value, felt are spoken of very highly around here, although I have no personal experience with them. From what personal experience I do have, I can tell you: don't do what I did. I got excited about getting a road bike, and got a nice one after a cursory fitting at a bike shop (it didn't seem cursory at the time, but in retrospect it was dodgy). Now it seems to me like I've got an expensive road bike that is a little too big for me. So start with a fit. Get the fit before you pick out a bike. You'll be much happier on a good-fitting $600 bike than you will be on an ill-fitting $1200 bike. (So if you start with fit, you really need to start by finding a fitter.)

Good luck! Curious to hear how it goes and what you ultimately decide on, so pls post back after the fact as well.

I would get this year's cervelo one.
It goes for 1000 dollars and is a very good entry level bike. I agree with twhat has been said before, Howver this years one can be road as both a tri and a road bike. The kicker and the most important thing for a newbie is going to be fit. Even though you are tryin to save money it behooves you to get properly fit on you bike, this is much more important than saving 60 dollars here and there. With a proper fit you are going to be faster and more comfortable. These are attributes which are very hard to just buy

It is best to be properly fitted at a good local shop. This will allow you to have a more comfortable, more powerful bike leg. Having said that, I have the Wheeler tri bike from Chuck. I did have the Tsunami last year, but upgrade this year because it was a minimal cost to change to a titanium frame. It was worth the risk, I love the bike. Having said that, I've been lucky at being able to work with my LBS and was able to tweak my fit to where I am comfortable and well fitted to my bike. This is not always the case for people, but if you are considering buying used or from ebay, I would definately suggest you consider the stuff from Chuck. Now, if you are looking at his stuff, I would also HIGHLY suggest you email or call him. The tri starter kit is fine, but he also has new full 105 9 speed stuff. I orignally had him send me a fully built Tsunami tri bike with 105 9 speed and a carbon fork for $695 plus shipping. That was 2002, so it may have changed a little. Then I bought the Wheeler frame and an upgraded fork, swapped the components, and for very little in cost, now have a pretty sweet bike. The main difference here, is Chuck backs his equipment. He doesn't give you a hard time if something breaks under the warranty period. Talk to your LBS, get an idea of your size, if you order from Chuck, take it to the shop and have them fit you on it. Just my 2 cents.

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- Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
P. J. O'Rourke

I would recommend going to a reputable shop and having the whole deal done for you. You may have to drive a little, but it would be wise to do so.

I have seen people get into expensive trouble making their first bike purchase on the internet. If you don't have mechanical experience, you could be in for a rude awakening.

Shop mechanics look very low upon those who cut the corners through the internet and then come to them for help. They may charge "pain-in-the-ass" charges, and other things. I don't recommend internet buying for bikes until you have some mechanical experience and proper tools under your belt.

Find a shop who has experience with triathletes. I would put you onto a road bike with shortie aerobars. You could be on a Giant or Felt with a pair of Spinachi or Profile Jammers for well under a grand. Good race wheels can come later, as a Renn disc is $350 and a low-spoke count Velocity rim with a nice hub can be had for under $300. Higher-zoot race bike that are complete will not have good race wheels, and if you stay with 700c, you can take these wheels to your tri bike that you will purchase later.

STI/Ergopower (shifting from the drops) and bar ends are completely different animals. In a tri position, you would be silly to use STI, but in a shortie aerobar position, STI is fine (and sometimes the only way with some aerobars). I would not do the forward position post, as it biases your weight too forward for the geometry of the bike.

One word of warning: Giant makes a fine bike, but their T-shirt sizing could leave you out. Thank God for Felt.

Lots of good advice in previous posts. "Fit is more important than brand" bears repeating. "Find a quality bikeshop where you can build a relationship" also bears repeating.

I'm also new to Tri and fitness in general. I decided to get a "compact geometry" road bike and add aerobars, rather than buy a tri-geometry bike like a Cervelo. First, I'm not in good enough shape or skilled enough to ride aero more than 50% of the time, so the road bike is much more comfortable. I've found that riding aero in traffic or in crowded parks is not very practical, and that's where I do most of my training rides. Lastly, the road bikes are less expensive.

My first bike was a Specialized Allez. When it was stolen, I replaced it with a Giant TCR. Several people have recommended Felt, and I also liked the Felt bikes I saw, even though I eventually bought the Giant. I tried several "normal geometry" road bikes but I thought I'd be pretty stretched out if I added aerobars, so compact was a great alternative. The Giant also came with a slightly better component set which even to a newbie makes a difference in how the bike responds when I shift and brake. I wouldn't spend the extra on Ultegra components on day one, though -- you can upgrade components as you go pretty easily. I also purposely chose a bike with a triple front chain ring when I started because I knew my legs couldn't get me up long hills without it. I'm riding a double now, and there've been plenty of times that I wanted that smaller ring!

When you think about the price of the bike, don't forget the "extras" that you probably need day one: a wedgie pack for under the saddle with a multi-tool and tube, water bottle cages, mini-pump or CO2 system, clipless pedals, shoes for your clipless pedals, aerobars, and if you don't already have them, a helmet and a floor pump. If your mountain bike has a soft saddle, you may also want to get biking shorts, and maybe a softer saddle than the stock saddle that comes with your bike. Those things add up, and they're not as "optional" as you'd think.

All that said, I still don't have the fit dialed in and it's really hurting my whole biking experience. After spending months healing my knees from running injuries, I've aggravated them again after two long rides. Did I mention that Fit is more important than brand?

FreeFlyer, All of the above advice is really good, especially bike fit. The only thing I might add is that depending on the course and how many hills it has in it, a road bike may even be faster than a full fledged tri bike. The main advantage of a tri bike with steep geometry is that you are theoretically able to run off of it better (and you are more aero). The main advantage of a road bike with shallower geometry is you are able to generate more power. If you are just starting out, I would recommend a road bike; you can race on it very competently and you will have a need for one down the line even if you do end up getting a tri bike so it will not be a wasted investment. One thing I have been experimenting with is John Cobb's slam position. This is when you place shorty bars on a shallower geometry bike such as a road bike. The theory is that the power you gain with the shallower angle over comes any (slight) loss in aero. This is the position that John Cobb worked with Lance Armstrong for TT's and I can say that it seems to work for me. This position may not work for everyone, especially if you really rely on your run to keep you in the race. Running is my worst of the three and while I work on improving in the run, I REALLY rely on my swim and bike to keep me going. I have only run off of the slam position once and while it did seem slightly longer to get into a good stride, it was never terrible and the time I shaved off my bike more than made up the time I lost on the run. While my Cervalo is not for sale, I am planning on using my road bike in the slam position in several upcoming events that are more hilly. Good luck in your choice and please understand that my opinions on the slam position are just my opinions and that it is kind of a work in progress. See you in the meat grinder.

One note of caution. We are getting close to being sold out for the year so you would need to hurry if you want one. And this bike will not return for next year, with our quality and features requirements for the frame we simply can't offer this bike for this price any longer. But maybe another company with less expensive frames will be able to offer an entry-level tri bike for 2004. So sold out = sold out.

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Gerard Vroomen
3T.bike
OPEN cycle

The only other thing I can add to this thread is to read every article on bikes on this website. Someone mentioned the bike picker article - definitely read that one - but there are other technical articles that will make the buying process much easier for you. I've read them (some of them twice) and learned so much that I now feel somewhat competant searching for a new bike.

Good luck in your search.

Dawn