Advice/Experience needed for proper bike choice

Triathlon Forum
1

I’m going into my second Tri season using a Giant Defy Advanced 2 bike for Oly distance. I know it’s not an ideal bike for racing but I purchased it prior to discovering Tri’s. It works for now, especially at the shorter distances. My dilemma, and why I’m coming here for input, is the difficult choice of what to upgrade too moving forward. After this 2020 season I am planning on dropping $3-5k on a new bike, ideally disc with di2. The big issue is do I go Aero road w/clip on bars or straight Tri bike? I live and compete in a very hilly/mountainous region so the events I race in have difficult climbs (2000-3000ft elevation gains over 25mile course). For this reason I lean toward an aero bike w/ clip on aero bars because theoretically it should be a better climber. HOWEVER, almost every article or forum discussion I read recommends a legit Tri bike in almost every scenario, hills or not. I plan on moving up to 70.3 in 2021 and full IM after that eventually and those courses will probably be a lot less climbing since I’ll have to travel for those due to lack of longer distances locally. This will also be my only bike as I do not plan to keep my Defy, I’ll sell it when I get the new one to offset some of the cost. Another reason to lean Aero so I can use it for other rides besides training/racing.

This is the long-winded way of asking: is anyone in a similar situation? What route did you go and how did it work out? Buying 2 bikes is out of my budget so I’m gathering intel to make the right decision on the best option to be able to compete. If a Tri bike is still the faster option and climbing is doable with it then I’m ok with that choice.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

2

Buy a TT bike, period.

3

How much do you expect to sell your road bike for? You gave a $2k range on what you are willing to spend on a new bike. Why not keep the road bike and spend a little less on the new tri bike. You can still get a very good bike in the bottom end of the price range you mentioned especially if you’re willing to go lighlty used.

4

Keep your bike and buy a used tri bike. 2500 on a used bike gets you a lot of bike. That said, it is more work to buy a used bike. You have to find a fitter, Learn the market find a bike you want, Be knowledgeable enough to know it’s what you want, and then take it to a mech.

There’s was a recent article on the main site that referred to the lack of an entry level / mid level tri bikes. That’s really where you are; you want two pretty good bikes.

5

How much do you expect to sell your road bike for? You gave a $2k range on what you are willing to spend on a new bike. Why not keep the road bike and spend a little less on the new tri bike. You can still get a very good bike in the bottom end of the price range you mentioned especially if you’re willing to go lighlty used.

Honestly won’t get even $1000 for it based on resale estimates. This is a good point. I’m open to keeping the Defy and going full Tri for new bike I’m just not a big fan of the Defy groupset being 105 but I can always upgrade in the future if need-be. I appreciate the response!

6

Buy a TT bike, period.

Fair enough. Thanks for the reply!

7

Keep your bike and buy a used tri bike. 2500 on a used bike gets you a lot of bike. That said, it is more work to buy a used bike. You have to find a fitter, Learn the market find a bike you want, Be knowledgeable enough to know it’s what you want, and then take it to a mech.

There’s was a recent article on the main site that referred to the lack of an entry level / mid level tri bikes. That’s really where you are; you want two pretty good bikes.

I have a fitter that can help me for sure which is good. I am certainly not opposed to used, especially if I can find a good di2 with disc brake Tri bike, preferably with bar end shifters and tubeless race wheels. That would tick all the boxes. Tri bike will still be able to ascend/descend these tough climbs without issue?

8

Tri bike will still be able to ascend/descend these tough climbs without issue?

The rider is the limiter, not the bike. If you put the same gearing on both bikes, then you’re simply talking just a little weight difference.

9

Tri bike will still be able to ascend/descend these tough climbs without issue?

The rider is the limiter, not the bike. If you put the same gearing on both bikes, then you’re simply talking just a little weight difference.

Roger that. Thanks again!

10

I would suggest skipping the Di2 and disc brakes.

11

I would suggest skipping the Di2 and disc brakes.

Disc brakes I feel are important mostly because of the amount of descents in the area, I would want more reliable braking power vs traditional brakes…despite the added weight. I’m curious why you think Di2 is a bad decision though?

12

Rim brakes are very powerful and reliable. They are very easy to fix when traveling.

Di2 adds a lot of cost to the bike and it doesn’t make you any faster.

13

I switched my tri bike from mechanical to Di2. It’s a huge upgrade, and those that say otherwise probably haven’t used it. You’re in a hilly area? You definitely want Di2 for the simple reason of being able to shift while on the base bars. That alone makes it worth it, on top of Di2’s other benefits.

14

Everyone needs a road bike, in my opinion. With a 5k budget, you can sell your bike and buy a road bike and a Tri bike. Don’t rule out used parts, especially wheels. I personally don’t like the idea of used carbon frames, but that is me. Unless you know it’s history. I bought a used carbon bike from the shop last year. Different sale than a stranger on eBay.

FYI, all my bikes are Di2. It’s great.

15

Rim brakes are very powerful and reliable. They are very easy to fix when traveling.

Di2 adds a lot of cost to the bike and it doesn’t make you any faster.

Excellent info and very much appreciate your input!

16

Di2 is magic. Having now owned a Di2 eqipped bike I’m sure I’ll never buy another bike with mechanical shifting.

17

I switched my tri bike from mechanical to Di2. It’s a huge upgrade, and those that say otherwise probably haven’t used it. You’re in a hilly area? You definitely want Di2 for the simple reason of being able to shift while on the base bars. That alone makes it worth it, on top of Di2’s other benefits.

Agreed and thanks for the input!

18

Everyone needs a road bike, in my opinion. With a 5k budget, you can sell your bike and buy a road bike and a Tri bike. Don’t rule out used parts, especially wheels. I personally don’t like the idea of used carbon frames, but that is me. Unless you know it’s history. I bought a used carbon bike from the shop last year. Different sale than a stranger on eBay.

FYI, all my bikes are Di2. It’s great.

I may just keep my Defy bike for leisure rides and spend money on a Tri bike.

19

I have been manufacturing and selling bikes for 26 years and have put together several hundred bikes with Di2.

Di2 is relatively new and has tons of cool factor because it costs more and generally works great.

Mechanical shifting is less expensive and generally works great.

I would rather save some money on a mechanical group and buy better wheels.

20

I got a new TT bike in 2017 and replaced my road bike after a crash, shortly after, in 2018. I have raced road cycling and Triathlon for 11 years, and have worked as a bike mechanic in an LBS- here are my thoughts:

Personally, I would keep the defy. You won’t get alot of value for it in the 2nd hand market, but the defy is a perfectly good bike. It can do everything- and if you’re fast- you can go fast on the defy. Shimano 105 is no limiter, and having two bikes- one as a spare- is very useful if one is in the shop. Your budget is plenty to get a nice tt bike if you look on the 2nd hand market. The only exception would be if I were comitting to disc brakes- see point 3 below.

  1. what are your main races going to be-i.e. whats your main use case for the bike? How many times a year will you race long course? If you are doing mainly group rides, olympic distances, and up to half ironman- a road bike, well fitted with short aero bars- will be plenty. A road bike is simply more versatile. Above half iron it starts to tip toward a full blown tri or TT bike.

If I were keeping 2 bikes, I’d spend more money on the one I spend more time on. In my case, I use my road bike more, so my road bike is nicer than my TT bike. In fact, my TT bike has shimano 105 and microshift parts. It goes plenty fast. Don’t be ‘afraid’ of 105. It’s a good groupset and whoever is saying it isn?'t good enough is a bike snob. Lower level professional bike teams use it- and put many more miles into it than you will.

  1. how often do you travel with your bikes? That probably influences decisions 3 and 4.

  2. choose your brake system wisely- I would harmonise brake systems between bikes if I had 2 bikes. Either go both rim or both disc- it just makes things easier from a logistics perspective.

You don’t NEED discs. Discs have more power- but do you have enough traction in your tyres to take advantage of that? Your area has alot of descents- but are they technical, or does it rain alot? If no, I mantain you don’t NEED them. Discs have more power- but are higher maintenance, more difficult to travel with- and right now generally more expensive. Whichever system you choose- know the pros and cons of each.

  1. Regarding Di2- again, you don’t need Di2. In fact, I would say there is even less of an argument for Di2 than disc brakes in your case.

Di2 makes more sense on a TT bike than a road bike, so if it were a choice of having Di2 on a TT or road- it would be TT, any day.
Di2 is ‘nice to have’- shifting under power is seamless- but I would say the advantages are small. shifting from the base bars as a huge advantage? That’s bollocks. It takes me 0.5 seconds to shift with one hand on the base bar, and I’ve raced in all conditions on my TT bike. If you can’t shift a mechanical TT system with one hand on the base bars, you have bigger problems than choosing Di2 over mechanical!

Also note that Di2 is a commitment to a slightly more high maintenance system. If you travel with your bike, any mom and pop bike store can sort you out with a snapped cable or a ruined derailleur, in 30 minutes. If TSA clamped one of your Di2 wires? Or if a rear derailleur electronic shorted out? Cold weather can drain batteries prior to race day. Faults with Di2 are not uncommon, and they typically take longer and are more complex to fix. Good luck. You better be travelling with spares for an A race if you go Di2. This is not to say Di2 is BAD- it’s perfectly good- but its good to understand what can go wrong.

Di2 has some nice advantages if you’re planning to go race UCI Time trials- but this probably does not apply for your case.

If budget were no object-I’d probably go Di2, thats true. But if not- I wouldn’t be afraid to drop it.

  1. finally- keep within your reasonable budget. 3-5k can buy plenty of bike. For example, the cervelo p series disc with shimano 105 is just above 3k retail and thats all the bike 99% of people need. Then you could sell the defy and get a cheap disc road bike. If you chose rim brakes for the tt bike and kept the defy - then your options are even wider.

You could always upgrade it to Di2 later if you wanted, but to my mind it’s not a priority if budget is an issue.