Standard responses:

1. Forget the test ride: It tells you almost nothing usable.
2. The bikes AREN'T comparable. They all fit differently.
3. Get measured, especially since you are at the top end of the size range apparently.
4. Buy by fit, it is the most important factor.
5. How are you going to make your road bike optimal for triathlons?

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Tom,

Do you really think the test ride tells you "almost nothing"? I think when given the opportunity a long test ride, and I mean 1hour to 1day will tell someone a lot. Granted there are tons of things which can be changed on a bicycle to "make it fit", when the local shop sends the chap out on the aforementioned test ride, they should make these adjustments to his liking.

The most impressionable parts on the bicycle to a person at the entry level are the position of the handlebars(height above saddle), reach(from saddle to hbars) and how the seat feels. I know you know this, but I still think when a bike is set up properly for the test ride it will help the customer narrow her/his choices.

Oh, and I think either the Giant or Felt. We sell both and both fit differently. You need to test them to feel the difference.

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"Nothing in life ever just happens. Calculated progression insures your strength."
Shawn Spencer
Bike Cycles
Wilmington, NC
http://www.bikecycleshop.com

Two things to remember:

1) It's mostly the engine

2)Fit is the most important thing.

Now having said that, I'm partial to the TCR-2. It's a compact frame which IMO lends itself a bit better to a more forward seat position than does a traditional frame. This is exactly what Cervelo is doing with the Soloist. I would purchase an M2 Racer seat shifter and Syntace C2 aero bars. For tris run at 75/76 degrees and then with a simple adjustment of the M2 Racer, you're back at 74 degrees for roadie group riding. How good is a TCR as a tri/TT bike? Consider that Luc VanLierde won IM Hawaii with the fastest bike split in 1999 and Team Once has won the TDF team TT three out of the past four years.

The only thing to be careful of is make sure that you can fit one of the three size frames offered. This sytem works for 90% of riders, but probably not everybody. Be sure the shop selling it dials your fit in correctly.

Hi Shawn. I am definately not a fan of test rides. I think (now, this is just my opinion...) it is a somewhat irresponsible way to sell bikes, especially to new riders. My primary issue with test rides is, when you ask a customer what they hope to learn from a test ride, they frequently say "I want to see how it FEELS". Well, I can make a bike FEEL any way on a test ride, especially to a novice. Oh, frame too stiff for you? No, no... Let me take that back into the shop and make some adjustments... (take 15 psi out of the tires...). Here, try this my friend... Suddenly the bike rides totally different. The irony is that the best bike for a person, especially a new rider, may be the one that does not FEEL the best during an (even) extended test ride. Responsible bike retailing is about protecting the buyer's ownership expereince, not just how they FEEL during a one or two hour test ride. I wish it were that easy, then again, I'm glad it isn't. Some people call it bike fitting. I call it job security.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Like Cerveloguy, I have two bikes, a Cervelo P2 tri bike and a Giant TCR road bike (technically TCR-1 frame, but they're all the same frame/fork and the number designation just signifies the std. specs they come with). I like the P2 so far but can't get dialed in just right. Meanwhile, I'm completely gassed with my TCR after about five months with it. I used it for my last two tris of last season with clip-on bars and the seat at around 75 degrees and had my two best ever races.

The thing about the TCRs is the top tubes are rather long. I chose the small size because I normally ride a 52-54 cm. top tube and the small TCR has a 53.5 cm. (virtual) top tube. This makes the rest of the bike seem pretty tiny, and I need a really long seat post. I wish they made a "small" that was genuinely small at around 50 cm. at the top tube, and the current small would be a medium. I agree with Tom Demerly in his review of the Soloist that Giant is getting away with three sizes when they should really have at least one or two additional sizes in their compact geometry.

Still, I like my aluminum TCR so much I am longing for the carbon version.

Keep the sizing of the Giants in mind and make sure it fits you. The top tube of the large should be pretty long, but you'll need a long seatpost.

-David in Taipei (home of Giant)

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American's are definately infekting the world with there English grammer.

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"Nothing in life ever just happens. Calculated progression insures your strength."
Shawn Spencer
Bike Cycles
Wilmington, NC
http://www.bikecycleshop.com

Dude, call (313) 278-1350, ask for Tom Demerly. Tell him you're looking for a new bike for aorund $1400 and you'll see him in a couple of days. Then get in your car and drive to 925 Mason, Dearborn, MI and do whatever he says. If I was looking for a new bike, that's exactly what I would do.

Tom-
You mention "get measured". If I'm comparing these bikes, and they're from three different dealers, all of whom tell me the XL or the 63cm should fit, how should I get measured in a way to distinguish between them? Should I try to make a trek to "the big city", in order to find a dealer who sells all of these, or a couple, and could reliably say "this bike fits better than that one"? Especially with the shops having to special order the bikes to even have me sit on them, for some reason I doubt the owner of the store dealing Cannondale would say "Nope. This 63cm frame we special ordered for you doesn't fit- a Giant would fit you better, go over to..."
How should I go about buying by fit?

Thanks,
Darrell

I wish I could, but the whole (a) not having a car, (b) not having a license(just failed the test tuesday!), and (c) being in school kind of stops me. It's too bad about the whole Maine being far away from everything(even the other side of maine- school is 300 miles away).

Darrell

At the local shop the process is fit--ride and tweek with the customer----refit--------yearly re adjustment