Absolutely nothing wrong with racing on an aluminum frame. I had zero complaints with my Cervelo P1 (2011 I believe???) that I raced on for years and if you are smart with component choices you can make a "low end" aluminum frame pretty damn slippery in the wind.

Welcome!

What distance Triathlons do you plan to do - you can browse through the classified section here and see if anything is available but with your size it might be rare.

You have to ask yourself at the end of the day - how far do I want to take my Tri career and what distance do I want to do. You really do not need the top of the line stuff but a carbon bike will be nice to have - most importantly something that fits and you are comfortable on is what matters. If you think you will be in it for a while and want to do some longer stuff, get the nicer equipment.


I am sure you can poke around and find something you like!

I would say get fit and make sure the bike you buy will be the right size. If your a triathlete ride a tri bike..., sell the road bike and get a good tri bike. I ride in groups with my tribike

TT bikes aren't really practical for day-to-day riding in CO. While there are a number of routes that I can ride that are OK for a TT bike, there's also a large number with 2-4000++ elevation gains or switchbacks where a TT bike would not get you far (at least comfortably). The couple of friends I've made who do Tris here also have both a road and TT bike with workout days and races on their TT bike and endurance days on their road bike.

This size S, SC 7.0 is in Boulder: https://ebay.to/2xdqKHi

Looks pretty clean to me and I believe is within 7w of the new-gen Speed Concept.

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

I bet the roadies love you

A few thoughts, I think you consider.
1) What is the real budget for this project. Meaning Want vs Need / lifestyle etc. Do you care about where you finish?
2) If you have decided on question 1, that a purchase is required do not go "cheap" and just get something. In the long run you will not be happy with the purchase and will spend double the money to make the correct purchase.
3) Get measurement and fitted. TT Bikes can be uncomfortable and not handle right if they do not "fit" and to many compromises are made to make it fit. This will allow you to buy the "Right Bike" new or used.
4) New versus used. If you buy a used bike you have ZERO recourse if the bike fails. No warranty / Crash replacement etc.
5) You state that you ride pretty limited and that you are just starting to stretch out to 70.3. So are you REALLY invested in the sport yet? If so then get a new bike, if not stay on the road bike. If you become invested in the sport your will ride the heck out of your TT bike during season and your Roadie outside of season
6) You can get a really good TT bike for about $2k. At your size and some shopping during closeouts and or BETTER YET build a relationship by spending with your "Local" Tri or Bike shop. You will be able knock that price down.
7) So long story short. Don't just get something, just because. Certainly don't cheap skate it. I know there are many people on the forum who love to discuss their $500 10 year TT bikes they have bought and built up and they maybe passed a "Dentist" on a $10,000 bike. Ok, but how do you feel at 35 mph on a decent on that 10 year old $500 bike or when you take it in for service and find out the frame is cracked.
If a proper bike is not in the cards, wait save a bit, spend more time in the sport and then get the "Right" bike for you. The right bike does not have to cost more than $2500 retail (and there is ALWAYS a sale).

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2017 Cervelo P2
2017 Cervelo S2
itraininla.com
#itraininla

Aluminum is fine. And the Blue is a nice bike. I had the carbon so version for a few seasons and was very happy with the performance. Different materials, but pretty much the same frame shapes.

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Human Person

I certainly wouldn't discourage n+1 if you have the budget and space available. However, I'm sure you could do more to optimise your fit for aero AND comfort on your current bike. The aero position shouldn't be uncomfortable.

I currently have just one bike, and I swap out my whole cockpit (stem, base bar, clip ons, brake levers, bar end shifters), cables and seatpost/saddle. Takes about 45 minutes, fit is excellent, and the cost was very good (mostly used parts).

But yeah, if you can justify two bikes, go for it.

I just “upgraded” to a 2003 Cervelo P2K. It works well, and I was (mostly) keeping up on the group ride tonight.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Unless money is super tight, I'd get something better than the Blue AL (or the Talon). It really isn't aero at all. It would make more sense IMO to look for a good deal in a left-over or closeout bike that has at least decent aero qualities.

For instance for $1200 this 2017 (new?) 51cm Blue Triad SP wouldn't be bad. Located near you also. : https://www.theproscloset.com/...ad-sp-51cm-bike-2017

Background: I'm a former collegiate runner and had a few years at the sub-elite level post college. After ~4 years of that though, I lost motivation to be running 90-100 mile weeks and putting in 10-12 miles worth of interval workouts on a weekly basis. While I still do love running, I'm also competitive in nature - that's where triathlons (and duathlons) started coming in a few years ago. I could cut back my running to ~ 50-55 miles/week and can still have one of the best run splits on the Du/Tris I was doing while getting out 2-3 days/week on the bike for a 90-2 hour ride and 2-3x weekly swim session which kept everything fresh. This also allows me to start PRing again rather than grinding out runs to continue to have good races evade me.

I'm fortunate enough that my running background helps a lot on the bike - the bigger issue is maintaining the larger power numbers before my legs fatigue, not aerobic. The good news is that that can be fixed with more time in the saddle.

While I love my current road bike (that I actually re-built a few months back), I realize that it's not an ideal fit for using at as a tri-bike. I do struggle to stay in aero for longer periods of time -- partially due to the rolling terrain here on the front range requiring a lot of shifting, partially because I can't get a super comfortable fit without compromising the fit when using it as a road bike on some of my long hillier/mountain days. Going back and forth, switching stems, saddles and saddle positioning has gotten old, fast. I'd say that at least one of my rides/week is a mountain / hilly ride that a tri bike wouldn't be the right bike for.

As far as my goals? Personally, I have little interest in a full Ironman. I'll probably stick with mostly Olympic and a yearly Half-Irons. In all of the races I've done (so far sprints and an Olympic), I've been competitive in my age group, often placing on the podium in these smaller races.

While a $2000+ tri bike is ideal (and something in a few years I might upgrade to if I continue enjoying it), I'm currently not worried about cutting 60 seconds off a bike leg if that's going to cost me $1500 more. That's why I've been interested in a lower-end aluminum bike. A smaller upfront cost that if 3-4 years from now I'm not really enjoying means I can still resell that $700-800 bike for $450-500. Versus a $2500 bike that would probably resell for $1200-1300.

My whole thing is just getting a bike that I can dedicate to use as a Tri/TT bike so that I can get the ideal fit on both my Tri bike and my Road bike without compromising the the fit on a single one. One of the things I've continuously read is that fit is one of the most important aspects of a tri bike - getting the most power for energy expended. I currently can't do that without compromising.

I've personally never ridden an aluminum Tri bike and it's been years since I've ridden an Aluminum road bike. What I'm most interested in is if the ride quality and adjustability for fit is a too limited on an aluminum framed bike that would make it uncomfortable in the long run (well, ride).

Well, as far as ride quality goes, your aero bar pads, saddle, and tire pressure will have a far larger effect on ride quality than any frame differences between triathlon bikes, whether carbon or aluminium.

For adjustability, get the proper size for you and you’ll be able to get a great fit by swapping out the stem to an appropriate size, if necessary, and making sure the aero bar you choose has sufficient adjustability.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Along with pretty much everyone here - get the bike that fits you.

I finally had mine fitted yesterday (I bought knowing that at 6'6" that the SC would fit me, but was miles from being dialled in). Incredible difference - faster, more power in position, more comfortable.

The biggest gain I've got is not going from an ancient aluminium Ridley with house brick aero to a new carbon trek with class aero, it's being in the position where I am more aero, and can stay in that position!

Modern alloy bikes are really good and I think 95% of the hate you will find online about alloy stems from people who haven't ridden a decent alloy bike. The reason you don't see many alloy TT bikes anymore is that the tube shapes used on TT bikes are surprising expensive to make in alloy so for many companies its not cost effective. More specifically open mould carbon frames have gotten so inexpensive that companies like planet X, Ribble, Rose, etc. will be able to sell a complete carbon bike for the same price or less than a top quality alloy TT bike.

That said the Blue bike you posted is extremely tall across the size range. Because you can undermount the aerobars that come stock on the bike the extra height isn't as bad as it could be, but I would want to make sure you will be able to get low enough on the bike. It can become expensive quickly if you have to start messing around with massive negative stems and new bars to get lower.

I think entry level aluminum tri bikes are a great deal. I got my first tri-bike when I started 6 years ago with no prior biking experience. Did a full IM within a year on it and several more races until I upgraded to a carbon from 3 years later. It was a Felt S22 and the fit was pretty decent, albeit not the detailed FIST or whatever methods are used now. It was easy to work on and allowed me to get into the sport without shelling out a lot of money.

Looking back, i might have spent more to get something better just because finding the money now as a married guy with a kiddo is much harder than when you're single. Don't know you're situation, but there will always be temptations to chase the latest tech, etc.

My recommendation, buy an entry level aluminum bike with a good fit. Don't waste money trying to upgrade it tho, and bank that for the super-bike itch, if it ever comes.

So here's what I ended up measuring myself for sizing a few months back.

Looking at the differences between the Specialized Shiv Sport and the Blue (both the "Small" size), the reach on the Blue is 10mm longer while the stack is 3mm shorter. The TT is 6mm longer on the Blue but the Seat Tube length is 15mm shorter. The head tube length on the Blue is also 96mm vs 115mm for the Specialized.

Now, I honestly don't understand everything about a bike's geometry, but wouldn't it seem like the Specialized is a "taller" bike, due to the higher seat tube and head tube and stack while the blue is slightly longer due to the longer top tube and reach? Of course, I'm also not sure how that effects being Aero or not.... :)

The Shiv is a "very" tall bike. I quite like them, but there is no way that I can get one to work with my stumpy legs.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

This was much easier to explain before everyone started putting proprietary handle bars on their bikes but that's a rant for another day.

I agree that the Shiv frame is taller than the Blue. Both frames are available with a Stack of 495 but at that Stack the Blue has a Reach of 382 while the Specialized has a Reach of 365. What is important to note on the Shiv is that its spec'd with a proprietary aerobar which lets you put the arm rest almost directly on top of the base bar. I am pretty sure the aerobar that comes on the Blue will always place the pads a few cm above the base bar. This increases the 'effective height' of the Blue (and is the reason Dan has started talking about Tri bike fits in terms of pad X and pad Y rather than Stack and Reach).

All this matters because it is easy to make a bike taller but hard to make it shorter. So you want to make sure a bike isn't too tall to start with in the knowledge you can make it a bit taller if need be.

Depending of the size of the bike this is a absolute steal and up your ally if the size is right, IMO the Transistion would make an amazing first TRI bike for you.

Just food for thought;

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/.../?page=unread#unread

This guy gets it. I have a 2004 P2K that I bought used in 2008. It's certainly not stock, but doesn't go any slower than a carbon bike because of the material. Specifically I had a Kestrel Talon, set up exactly the same as my P2K (swapped the components/position from one to the other) and the Cervelo was about 3 watts faster for me. Carbon bikes tend to be faster because of the ability to shape the tubes, not because they're lighter, more comfortable, stiffer, or whatever other excuse people rattle off.

1. There’s nothing wrong with an aluminum tri bike. Frame material won’t necessarily make you faster. A good position will make a greater difference than anything else.

2. There is also nothing wrong with riding a road bike in triathlons, either. You can get in a good, fast position on a road bike with a little reading and research.

3. Your budget is what it is. If an aluminum tri bike is what you can afford, go for it. My fastest bike splits in tri came on a round tubed aluminum bike. I sold it for a carbon bike. I was slower because my position was worse.

4. You’re a fast runner. Bike for show, run for dough. I envy you tremendously. I would trade you my carbon tri bike for your running ability - if I had one. I still ride aluminum. It’s not my limiter. Available training time is.

RP

Exactly. I would look for a used Cervelo P3SL, P3, P2, P2K, etc., maybe shoot for a 52cm and you can tweak things out from there. A little searching and you can buy a fast rig on the cheap.

So these are in my area in VA, just as an example:


https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/...dura/6596516274.html

https://richmond.craigslist.org/...54cc/6564002769.html

This could be a fast setup, and could easily be cleaned up with newer cranks, front cockpit and cleaner cables. Throw on a front aero wheel and rear disk for race day and this is not going to slow you down. $350! I would love to see this blow by $10,000 Felts.

I'd highly recommend a used P3SL. If you can eventually find funds to get disc cover for the rear, a tririg brake for the front and an eTap mini group to get rid of the cables, you will have an extremely fast rig.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment