Hello eveyone, new to slowtwitch and new to Triathlon, I just did my first sprint last weekend and have 3 more sprints through Oct, with the next next weekend. I did my first on my 10 yr old hybrid Bianchi alum. Thought it was fast until I tested a road bike yesterday and realized how much faster I could go. I don’t want to spend more than $1000 bucks, I’m a BOP/MOP
I know I hear buy as much as you can but I just don’t want to spend a lot right now but want to go faster, and am the type that if I get good at Tri I will upgrade in a year if needed.
Performance Bikes is having a great sale on Fuji Absolute Ladies Road Bikes 2.0/3.0 but I hear Trek 1.2 or 1.5 is the way to go.
What’s your advice, any others you’d recommend? I know very little other than to have the bike fitted and test ride. I’m 5’6" 146lbs (and losing weight, ideally 135lbs).
If you’re new to the sport, I have to recommend going to a local bike shop to get a bike on closeout. You could end up spending more getting a bike off the internet in repairs, tune-ups and stuff, especially if you’re not already a competent mechanic.
Being new to the sport, I think it’s hard to go wrong with a generic bike from one of the bigger bike brands (Trek, Specialized etc.). Just get a bike that fits you, and you should be all set. Get as good a frame as possible without worrying too much about the parts… you can upgrade along the way. The latest Trek and Specialized frames are trickle downs from the top-end frames of a few years ago, so you’re getting pretty good stuff.
I have a Trek 1.2. Its not glamorous, but I’ve put 200+ miles weeks on it and have done 80 mile rides. Its surprisingly comfortable. Its the cheapest bike you will find with carbon fork and seat tube.
Its a good road bike, and for tris, I take the spacers out, flip the seat post and clip on aerobars. Its done me well.
I would advise you to shop for a bike shop instead of a bike. By that I mean go with the best deal you can find at a local bike shop that you feel good about. Establish a good customer LBS relationship and go from there.
There’s not a whole lot of real world differences in various bikes in the $1,000 range. Go with the shop that you feel best about dealing with.
At that price point Giant, Cannondale and Specialized all have bikes in their line that provide great value at that price point. At end of season you should be able to find a good deal. You may also be able to find leftover stock from last year.
Aim at something spec’d with as much Shimano 105 (or you may even chance on something with a little Ultegra, if you’re really lucky…) as you can find. Wouldn’t go as low as Sora for the drivetrain. Also, spend as much money as you can on the bike and not the accessories. Many people walk in with a budget in mind and then trim back the cost of the bike to load up on the widgets and gear, leaving them with a lot less bike. Some LBS’ prefer that, though, as the margin is higher on the gear than on the bike itself…
Whatever you buy impulsively now at a low price point you will probably end up hating/replacing in the future. So maybe instead of spending as much as you can you spend as little as you can. Hit Craigslist or local classifieds. Have your LBS check it out/tune it. Use the bike to finish your sprint season and then start compiling your list of wants for the real bike.
I would also recommend local bike shop. I would however, also recommend going for good components over good frame, as the frame is probably one of the cheapest parts of the bike if you go in the sub $1000 catagory. If you’re patient, there’s many a good deal to be had. I got my trek 1500 with full shimano 105 out the door for $950, and its more bike than I need.
All the bikes I’m looking at use Soro or Soro/Tiagra (Dolce Elite, Dolce Triple, Trek 1.2 or 1.5. These bikes with pedals are going to cost me 1k+ and that is even more than I originally wanted to spend. I haven’t seen anything with 105 in that price range. What’s a girl to do? And I’m not patient, I have a tri next weekend and now that I’ve tasted road bike I can’t imagine riding my hybrid!
It might not be what you’d like to hear, but i tend to agree - hold off until next season:) bank the dough, and train like what on the old bianchi. If triathlon is really your cup o’ tea, you can sell the bianchi to some hipster and hopefully have enough cash for a ride that will take you from beginner through to high level intermediate.
Worst case scenario, you buy a mediocre bike that you won’t be happy with now, and next year be out the $ for an upgrade! best of luck on your races!
brief note: I started with a Trek 2.1 and found that i immediately wanted to upgrade to a TT bike. i had to go through the rigmarole of selling and saving all over again!
If you can take your price up to $1300 you can get one of these - Tomasso aluminum frame with DuraAce 10 speed for $1300. The gruppo alone is worth that. And they have a full range of small sizes. You can buy it online and have it shipped. And at this price, with this spec, no need to upgrade later unless it’s into a tri bike…