I’m just starting to do triathlons and am now looking into getting a bike. I can’t afford to buy both a road bike for training and a tribike just for competition, so should I buy a road bike and just add on aero bars or should I go for the tribike? Any suggestions on good starter bikes would be great to.
Whats your sports background? What Distance races? What budget? Hoping to finish or looking to win?
Welcome to a great sport! You’ll find a number of threads on this topic on here if you do a good search. You’ll find a few opinions, but most seem to tend to get a road bike first. I strongly agree with this and you can find my reasons why in the back pages…
GET a road bike, you need to develop handling skills, as well, as basic cycling endurance. Also, if you want to do any local group rides ( WHICH I WOULD STRONGLY ENCOURAGE), they tend not to like tri bikes so much. I would look into a nice road bike to start, and then after a year or two, you can buy a TT/Tri bike to have in ADDITION to your roadie. As far as suggestions I have a bunch, but I need to know your budget first. Welcome.
I’m going to graduate after this year so I’m going to be done with all of my sports and was looking for something fun and challenging to do so I chose triathlons. I currently play football, wrestle and play baseball. I can run a mile in a little over 5 mins and I lift weights regularly. I’m looking into just starting with sprint distances but I want to eventually work up to an Ironman. I’ve never quit anything and don’t plan to start so I am willing to spend some money but only having a summer job I’m not able to put forth a lot. Price range would preferably be anything under $1000
Oh and I hate losing, my friends say I’m the most competitive person they have ever met.
I’m relatively new too. I had ran and swam before, but had no experience on a bike. Go the road bike route. Ride, ride, and ride some more. You can easily do sprint and oly. distance races on a road bike. For me, just the idea of going fast on a bike for a long period of time was new. I don’t regret buying a road bike at all. I bought a Trek 1500 for under $1000.00. Now, I would love to have a TT/Tri bike, but the war dept. (wife) thinks a new roof for the house is more important. Hmm. Wasn’t she the one at my last race that said, “You need to go faster.”? Anyhow, get a road bike. Learn to ride it fast. Then graduate, get a job and buy a fancy carbon fiber TT bike.
“…war dept. (wife)…”
I’m always sad to see some guys in this situation. I was there for awhile, but now things are different. My wife lets me buy “anything” I want or need for tri’s. She’s there at every race, even getting up at 4am to be my support crew.
Ok I found a few bikes that I could afford but I have no idea if they are good or bad so any advice about them would be greatly appreciated.
Bianchi Brava Frame w/ Shimano Sora Kit
http://www.triathletesports.com/Bianchi-Brava-p/b05bravasora.htm
Motobecane Fantom Cross Road Bike
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom_cross_preorder100.htm
2007 Mercier Corvus Road Bike
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/mercier_corvus.htm
Best bet is to go to a local bike shop and sit on and test ride a few. There are perfectly good bikes in the $500-$700 range, pretty much all of them will work fine, so just find one that you like to look at and sit on and is comfortable
i’m sorry your wife is like that. my boyfriend and i both compete in tris and i’m very grateful for that.
back to the bike question, as others have said, i’d go for the road bike if i were you. it initially gives your more flexibility to ride in groups, and enter a road race or two to improve your cycling. tri bikes are generally harder to turn/manuver/stop, and a road bike will help you develop good cycling skills. fortunatley, if or when you do decide to bump up to a tri/TT bike, they are usually cheaper than road bikes for what you get.
Let me ask you:
Are you competitive and skilled and young? You want to win, platform, be in the front of the pack? You are in this sport for the long haul?
You’re not some 60 year old granny who has never ridden a bike?
You have been committed to your other athletic endeavors and are committed to this one?
–
If yes to the above, go with tri bike and do all of your training on it. Train how you race. It doesn’t make sense to train on a roadbike and race on a tribike. If you want to ride with groups, ride with groups of triathletes where they are a little cooler with you being in the bars. It’s not hard to learn how to ride on one, especially for someone like you.
Go to no less than three area bike shops and try what they have. Tell them your budget and see if you can negotiate them down. Try the bikes they have available and see which one fits/feels best. Make sure the person fitting you is at least FIST certified. If you negotiate right, some to look at are the Orbea Aletta, the Specialized Transition, or a Valdora AC-Tri. The transition is probably your best bet. Shop online, too, once you know what bike and size you need.
If you really want to get bang for your buck, keep your eyes out for classifieds / craigslist. Huge discounts are possible here.
Remember to keep most of the budget shifted to the frame because, over time, you can upgrade components.
One other note: if you can somehow get your budget up to 2k rather than 1k, you can get into a much better range of bikes. Even 1500 might be enough.
Good luck and welcome to the sport.
road bike. learn to ride, it is more than just sitting on a saddle and pushing pedals. listen to the others–road bike all the way!
if Mrs. Gestapo is just stingy, that’s one thing…but if pennies are tight at the Donut house, I think the lady has a valid point: a sound roof on the house takes priority over a second bike! Perhaps she’s just as generous and supportive as any tri spouse, but knows how to distinguish between luxuries and essentials.
to the OP–good luck! It can be a tough transition for school-team athletes when they leave that environment, so it’s great that you’re finding a doable, rewarding individual sport. Depending on the race, you’ll see folks out there on everything from $7000 racing bikes to wal-mart mountain bikes. Different goals, different budgets, different kinds of fun, all good.
Road bike. Absolutely. If you like the sport and begin to advance in it, then get a tri bike as a second bike.
If yes to the above, go with tri bike and do all of your training on it. Train how you race. It doesn’t make sense to train on a roadbike and race on a tribike. If you want to ride with groups, ride with groups of triathletes where they are a little cooler with you being in the bars. It’s not hard to learn how to ride on one, especially for someone like you.
Completely agree. My first bike was a road bike and I regretted it immediately after my first race. get a tri bike first, then a road bike in a couple of years. I’m hopefully picking up mine tomorrow.
Mrs. Gestapo is a kind, loving, beautiful woman. She tends the house, feeds me and the kinds, washes my stinky workout wear, and generally takes care of all kinds of things so I don’t have to. She supports me and all the OCD things that are Tri related. She arranges for the sitter to be at our house at 5am so that she and I can go to my races together, she puts up with my shaved body as it grows back, and best of all she still kisses me when I’m all sweaty (which seems to be very often).
She also makes a very good argument for the roof versus the Tri Bike. I think she said something about wants versus needs. But, I really didn’t hear her because I was thinking about a carbon fiber something.
Anyhow, get the road bike and don’t look back. There will be plenty of things to buy in the future.
Oh boy…the bikesdirect thing. BAD move for a first time bike purchaser. I know you want to save some clams, but FIT is so important in cycling, and until you know your fit parameters (ideal TT length, HTA, Stem Length, etc.) you can buy a nice bike and not be comfy on it. BD is not a bad organization, neither is any of the other e-tailors, but I would NEVER recommend them to a newbie. You need to establish rapport with your LBS, you’ll get free tune ups, and often times discounts on all the other items you’ll need to buy…Pump, Seat Bag, Helmet, Clothing, etc. Plus you’ll get FIT properly if they are a reputable LBS. For 1100, you could get a pretty nice Specialized Allez, Trek, etc.
BTW- the Fantom Cross is a cyclocross bike, NOT a road bike. For JRA no big deal, but racing a cross bike on the road is less than ideal if you are intending to do tri’s and road riding…
Hope that helps, and ask any other questions you want.
Mike
No matter what bike you get your seat will be too high! And don’t even bother to try a shoes mounted on the bike transition because Mr. Tri-god has indicated it’s not worth the risk. You may also want to reconsider any notion of using behind the seat water bottle launchers. Plus if you use a wetsuit you can’t be a real swimmer.
It has gotten even tougher to be a beginner these days!
I just had my first Tri (San Diego International),and i’m totally hooked.I started with my roadbike to get the endurance,the feel for the road etc.Once or twice a month I rent a tri bike for tempo-funand will do the same for the races.I’m in the same boat,can’t afford both right now.I agree with everyone so far,that you should start out with a roadbike.Have fun…
I’m having a blast.