Yes, too short of a timeframe. Make the change at the end of your season. Some people (myself included) take quite a bit of time to adapt to the position and handling of a TT bike. Take the rest of this season to focus on execution rather than researching gear for next season. Buy a bike in the fall. You’ll probably get a better deal to boot on last year’s color schemes.

I just bought the QR PRfour disc and have been really impressed. I took to the bike easily and will be riding it in my first triathlon in about a month. I'm not a good person to give advice yet, since I've only been training for about 2 months so far. Just wanted to post that I really love the bike.

I own 2016 P2 and it's fast, but it doesn't look that pretty. I think Felt IA looks damn good IMO. Anyway, among those three I recommend either P2 or QR. One month is enough time for you to train. If you ride as much as you can you will get used to it quickly. Most of all, you will love how fast you can go. I barely use brakes except for the turns during the race, so rim or disc doesn't make much difference for me. I've never raced in a course with long downhill though. Anyway, go ahead and get it. You will like it.

Thanks! Any reason you're not a fan of the Felt B specifically?

I just went thru the same steps and landed on the P2. The QR PR4 was my other choice and came real close to buying one. I've had real fit issues and am hoping the P2 is the answer. Good luck!

I bought a B14 in November - which was my first tri/TT bike. I love it. Obviously I don't have anything to really compare it against, but I don't think it can be beat for the price range.

I would also echo one of the other replies that you might be better off finishing this season with your current setup. Going from a road bike (even with aero bars) to a properly fitted TT bike is a huge difference. Your power, comfort, and bike handling will likely be far off what you're used to and it will take some time to adapt. On the other hand, as long as you don't mind accepting that your biking performance will be thrown into a little bit of chaos because of that, no reason to wait if you know what you want and have the resources.

I have two friends own that bike and they are strong athletes but I’m always faster than them, so it’s not my favorite. On the other hand, I know one guy ride QR and he’s damn fast. Like 25-26mph fast in a local sprint tri.

A couple of years ago I went through the same process and ended up with the same list (QR, Felt, P2). I went in to the process favoring the Felt because: (1) I loved the way it looked and (2) it seems like everyone has a Cervelo. QR was next on my list because it seemed like a lot of bang for the buck. I ended up with the P2. The reason is that I did some test rides and the P2 felt by far the most comfortable; it just felt natural and smooth. Like you, I did a fitting first and so for the test rides I had both the Felt and P2 set up to my fit coordinates. I could not find a place to set up the QR, which was too bad. Given how comfortable the P2 was, it seemed too risky to go with the QR even though I had a deal that was a few hundred dollars cheaper.

My bottom line is that all three of those bikes are great and you should go with the one that feels the best when you're on it. You're going to love any of the three and you're about to be a lot faster.

As for your question about whether a month is enough time to adjust, I think you'll get a lot of different answers. My first 2-3 rides were definitely challenging, but it did not take much more than that before I was ready to go fast. I never had any problem with balance or staying steady, but seeing was hard. I wasn't accustomed to having my head so low and line of sight directed down. It felt like things came up on me faster and I tended to crane my head up, which resulted in soreness in my shoulders and neck. But I live in a city with terrible roads, so I have a lot to watch out for. My guess is that you'll have a pretty good idea whether you're race ready once you ride it outside a few times.

I bought my first tri bike about a month before my first race. It worked out fantastically. So, no worries about timing. I was going to buy a B14 because of the massive value. If you are on a budget, then I would highly recommend that bike. However, when I went into the bike store, I saw an IA16 and fell in lust. I bought that instead. if you have a little budget flexibility, I highly recommend the IA16-- super bike on a budget.

A group on the forum did an aero study of the top performing bikes. One was a prior generation Felt B. They found that there is very little aero difference between the top bikes. The P5 and P5x were fastest, but after that there was little differentiation.

https://www.slowtwitch.com/..._Peak_Aero_6429.html

I wish I had the opportunity to test out bikes in my size - is that normal practice?

Yeah I also come from a city with bad roads and lots of traffic, so will be a challenge here as well.

Do road and tri bikes have a single standard disc brake rotor size? I know mtbs vary. But if the rotor was the same size and the bikes had the same number of gears at the back. I’d probably go for the QR just for that simplicity.

I’m guessing you haven’t already got deep race wheels. Because if you did that would clinch it for me.

Did you say what distances you are interested in? The longer you go the more important storage becomes and you could factor that in.

I've just got a stock Felt road bike for now. No deep race wheels yet.

I've only done and so far interested in Olympic tris. Still have lots of room to improve on those so not making the jump forward yet. That's the other question - is it worth having a tri-bike if I only plan to do Olympic tris in the near-future?

Rotors will be 140mm or 160mm.

For Olympic distance races I’ve done I’d always use a tri bike given the choice. Maybe for a very technical course it might be a discussion but not any I’ve done.

It is always worth having a tri bike, no matter what the distance. The key factor is budget and commitment. If you do not have budget or do not care about performance, then it may not be worth having. But, a TT bike will always make you faster than a road bike. A lot faster.

If you get into the sport and start getting close to Age Group podiums, a TT bike is essential. At that point, every little second makes a difference.

Even though I'm not a disc fan, I'd get the PR4. The rear storage box is nice, aero is probably a touch better than the B series, and I'd much rather have a thru-axle than a horizontal dropout.

Did you mean to say the Felt IA series? It's cheaper than the PR4 if memory serves (but slightly more expensive than a P2).

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Trent Nix
Owned and operated Tri Shop
F.I.S.T. Advanced Certified Fitter | Retul Master Certified Fitter (back when those were things)

I have a 2015 cervelo P2 and like it. I do not like that it has horizontal dropouts. Not a huge deal just sort of annoying. If I was buying now and picking between bikes you have listed I would pick the felt b series ultregra mix as it's cheapest and has a threaded bottom bracket. all 3 bikes look good IMO and especially if your fit says they would work for you, I have a hard time imagining any would be a bad choice.

what distance is your next triathlon? I wouldn't rush the purchase but you if you have the bike you can start getting used to it. Mine didn't take long at all to get used to. If you're doing a half or full distance, it might be pushing it to race so soon on it. But you can slowly work it into your training.

Yeah I'd include the Felt IA in there as well, but was initially just looking at the B.

The IA is light years ahead of the B-series.

The only compelling reason to purchase a B-series bike in your list is a hard budget ceiling.

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Trent Nix
Owned and operated Tri Shop
F.I.S.T. Advanced Certified Fitter | Retul Master Certified Fitter (back when those were things)

Don't rush into this purchase. One month may be enough to get used to a new bike, but not in my opinion.

The PR series is a lot of bang for the buck. The storage box is nice too.

But my main point: don't underestimate the ability to switch wheels between bikes. That will be a nice touch between the road bike & tri bike.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

I recently bought my first ever tri bike after racing on road bikes for several years. I decided to buy a used tri bike as I felt that there was way more bang for my buck in doing so. I decided on a lightly used Trek Speed Concept 9.9 with a nice HED wheelset and a power meter. The advantage for me was I did not need to go and drop another $1500 - $2000 on after-market parts to get the bike to the level that I wanted. I just got a professional fitting done and then I was ready to go.

I put in about 400 - 500 kms of training on the new bike before my first race, which was a 70.3 event. For me, that was enough time for my body to get acclimatized to the new position. Only my neck muscles really bothered me, and that was mostly just for my first few longer rides.

If possible, ride each. See how you feel. Make your decision based on your objective information, not someone else’s opinion. What may benefit them may not benefit you, and vice versa.

I know trying each could be impossible, but don’t fall for the marketing. The best bike is the one that fits you the best.

If you need to err on the side of caution, go with the one that offers the most adjustability.

I am in your same boat OP. Past three years I have been racing on a used Trek 1.1 with aero bar clips on about to finish up my last race of the year dreaming of finally stepping up my distance to 70.3. A nice new tri bike seems to be in the future. I'm following this post for more information about which are the best bikes since it seems we are in the same price range. I have also been looking at putting the Trek Speed Concept and Canyon Speedmax CF 8.0 into the mix as well for options. Thoughts other 'Twitchers?