Beginner triathlete needs bike help

Triathlon Forum
1

I am hoping to do my first triathlon this summer. That being said, I don’t have a bike of any kind. I have done a ton of research over the last 3 months, talked to every triathlete and/or biker that will give me the time of day, visted local bike shops, etc. And here is where I am at: I wanted to keep my spending around $500, so the local bike shop recommended either a Fuji League ($418) or Fuji Ace ($570). I don’t like the League because the shifters are on the frame. And ofcourse, I’d want to add aerobars to either of these and would need some adjustments probably.

Then I found a dealer who is liquidating bikes for another shop who can get me a 2003 Quintana Roo Kilo for $700 - brand new. So I thought, well, for $700 I can a Tri specific bike, that sounds awesome. Some people say the QR is a great bike, but another bike shop told me they were too steep and uncomfortable and I wouldn’t like it. Nobody around here has any in stock so I can’t try it out.

But now I have wondered if I should just get a Trek 1000 ($629). How will that do for triathlons? Will it be easy to add aero bars to and adjust as necessary?

I am also concerned about the double instead of triple chainrings on the QR. Are hills going to be real hard on me with the double? Or is it just a little harder?

I hope somebody can help me - my self given deadline for buying a bike was Apr. 1st and I still don’t know which one I need!

Thanks in advance!

2

I would go with the Kil as long as it was a 700c wheel size bike. The website say’s 76.5 for 2003 with 700c wheels is not too steep! It is very nice bike and depending where your seat is located on the rails (and a few other factors) you may be riding anywhere between 74 - 78.

Just make sure they have your size and don’t try dump some bike that is close too your size! If you don’t trust the shop to size you correctly, go too someone and pay them for a fitting first and bring the bike spec with to the fitting.

http://www.rooworld.com/2003/bikes/kilo.html

3

Well, actually, the size I am getting is the 49 cm (If i get it) and it is the 650 wheels. I am a 5’5 female. Why do you suggest the 700 wheels?

4

Are you positive that you are only going to be doing tris, no road races or big group rides? Then get the QR. Great bike, and it’ll be fast. If you think you might get into cycling (some races, etc.), then I’d go with the Trek. I had the trek 1000 as my first bike. Very good purchase, I rode it about 10,000 miles before upgrading. When I had it it had a Sora drivetrain. Not great, not special, but it did the job. Get a nice pair of adjustable aero-bars and stick them on. Make sure you get a set that is very adjustable, because you’ll be putting them on a bike that is not optimized for tri riding, so you might need to move them around quite a bit to get the right fit.

I wouldn’t worry about the double vs. triple unless you live somewhere very hilly. After a few months I stopped ever using the little ring on my 1000, and now I couldn’t imagine having one. Also, remember that the middle ring on a triple is most likely a 42, while the small ring on a double is probably a 39, so it’s not just like they are removing the inside ring.

-Colin

5

CCF,

Well to answer your question, no I am not positive that I won’t be doing any group or century rides. I probably would like to do some of those, but only very few…the main purpose of the bike will be triathlons. If I go with the QR, will I hate it for a group or century ride?

Thanks a million for your help…I REALLY appreciate it!

6

No no no, that wasn’t my point! It’ll probably (I’ve never ridden one, so I can’t say for sure!) be a great bike for a century. It’s just that in road races, and at a lot of (well organized) group rides, they won’t let you ride with aero-bar a lot of the time. The aero-bars make the bike a bit twitchy on the handling side of things, which is not a good thing when riding in a tight pack of 50 people! But if most of the time you are going to ride alone and train for tris, I say go with the QR! I’ve never heard of an organized century ride that doesn’t allow tri bikes.

-Colin

7

Get the Kilo. If you are doing triathlons, and you are new to cycling…get a triathlon bike! I have the 2003 QR Tequilo for my triathlon bike and I love it. The price you found is great and it is a nice bike, especially at that price. The seat angle won’t matter, because you are going to have to get used to cycling. So…getting used to a 78 degree angle or a 73 degree angle won’t matter because you are new and you won’t know any different.

----->Trent

8

I don’t think I would like to ride a tri-specific bike on a century ride…

9

I think you need to find someone that lives near you with lots of experience and that is very honest. Have you made friends/contacts in your local tri/cycling community? You are going to get a lot of ‘off-the-cuff’ recommendations here, but really to make the best recommendation for YOU, we would need to know a lot more about you. Where do you live? Maybe someone can suggest a contact for you. You are doing the right thing by doing your research. Good luck and welcome to the club : )!

Andy

10

Kernman,

What are the reasons you wouldn’t want to ride a tribike on a century ride? And would it be better to ride a road bike (trek 1000) in triathlons that to occasionally ride a tri bike (QR) in a century?

Andy,

I live in Middle Tennessee. I’ve talked to several people, but most have different opinions.

11

I operate a tri shop in New York that does not sell bikes. For that reason, we get a lot of people who ask us about what bike to buy because we’re not just trying to sell them something that we have sitting on the shop floor. Also, the vast majority of our customers are in their first or second year of triathlons.

Having heard this question about a gazillion times, we have come up with some definitive answers that may help you with your dilema. To people on slowtwitch these might sound dogmatic, because of course every person deserves different answers. Nonetheless, I think these answers apply to 95% of first year triathletes.

1)You should not buy a Tri specific bike in your first year of triathlons unless you already have several years of road cycling experience. If you buy a Tri specific bike it should not be your only bike – every cyclist needs a road bike, but not every cyclist needs a tri bike.

2)You can get a good first bike for $500-$1000. You don’t have to buy a new bike, there are plenty of good bikes on ebay that are only 1-2 years old. Don’t spend much more than that, because within 12 months you will either a)abandon the sport because you aren’t enjoying it, or b)upgrade your entire bike for something in the $2000-$3500 range, or c)buy a second, tri-specific bike in the $1000-$2500 range. Either way, it’s not smart to invest too much in your first bike.

3)Most people who do not have at least a year of cycling background will want a triple on the front. That extra granny gear makes a HUGE difference when you inevitably overreach and try to ride too far, or go down one too many hills forgetting that you have to come back up. Over time you’ll develop the strength to climb with the ratios available in a double, but to start with a triple is better.

3a)Shifting on a triple is a little tricky, especially if you’re new to cycling. Most bikes in this price range come with Shimano components from the Tiagra and/or Sora group. If you can get front and rear deraileurs from the shimano 105 group you will have a much easier time getting into the gears you want.

3b)If by some completely bizarre chance you find someone selling a double with a set of compact cranks, get that instead of a triple; you’ll still have good ratios for climbing but the shifting will be a lot easier.

4)If you’re planning to get aerobars, you should look at road bikes that have a “compact” geometry. Adding aerobars to a road bikes makes for a bike that doesn’t handle very well, but compact geometry bikes handle better in that configuration than classic road bikes do. Do not get your aerobars immediately; ride the bike for at least 6-8 weeks first to go through your initial adaptation to it.

Although it isn’t in my standard recommendations, if you ever plan to put aerobars on the bike you want the shifters to be integrated with the brakes on the handlebars. You absolutely do not want downtube shifters. Riding in aerobars is tricky enough for a new rider, downtube shifters make it a sure recipe for a crash.

Enjoy your first year!

Lee Silverman
JackRabbit Sports
Park Slope, Brooklyn

12

What are the reasons you wouldn’t want to ride a tribike on a century ride? And would it be better to ride a road bike (trek 1000) in triathlons that to occasionally ride a tri bike (QR) in a century?

Tri-bikes really don’t have a good position for leisurely riding. I find the aero position not very comfortable when noodling along. And if I ride the base bar, there’s more pressure on my hands from being steeper/lower than my road position. So when riding easy, I take the road bike.

13

Well, I was going to chime in with some sort of helpful response but I just read lee silverman’s post and that pretty well spells out your options exactly. Therefore, feel free to ignore the following rambling digression.

I also spent a lot of time trying to decide what to buy: tri or road. I finally threw up my hands and ended up with a well fitted mid-price road bike. As others have said, you can always by a more specialized bike later.

Triple or double: At the time of purchase, I replaced my triple with a double and haven’t really noticed any difficulties but then I don’t live in the mountains.

Steep or slack: The bike to run transition has never really been a problem. I am not sure if a steep bike would improve my times since my run splits usually match my projected pace. Maybe if you are a faster runner you might think about the advantages of a steep angle bike more.

Clip on bars: It is sometimes hard to get the right aerobars without compromising handling too much. I put Profile Jammers on which helped but required a bit of a compromise in elbow pad placement (I have long arms and a 60 cm frame). It’s fine for Olympic distance but might be more of a problem for longer distances.

Handling for group rides: If you are an experienced cyclist you can probably get away with riding a tri bike out of the aerobars on a group ride. The people I ride with all seem to.

In conclusion, I am glad I bought the road bike but that QR Kilo sure looks like a great deal.

14

Hey

I agree with most of what you are saying…except on one thing. I can see no reason why a compact geometry road bike would handle any better on aerobars. Compact geometry only means a sloping top tube and has very little effect on handleing.
Are you sure you don’t mean a road bike with short chainstays (which admitedly quite a few compact frame manufacturers do use). Short chainstays can help the front rear weight balance, but this isn’t a feature of being a compact frame.

Just curious is it the short chainstays you were refering to?

15

what gonzo said and your really limited in hand positions…Its not a good idea to ride on the areobars in a group century since they can be very twitchy and you could cause an accident…I’ve added clip-ons to my specialized road bike, flipped the stem and moved my seat forward and it works fine…if your just doing a sprint tri…the comfort issue won’t be huge.

~kern~

16

I can see no reason why a compact geometry road bike would handle any better on aerobars…Just curious is it the short chainstays you were refering to?

First, I didn’t mention any specific frame features because I assume that someone in their first year of cycling wouldn’t really know how to identify those features. If s/he went into a bike shop and asked for short chainstays (for example) they’re likely to be taken for a ride, pun intended.

Actually I was more focused on two features that the sloping top tube gets you: a longer seatpost to give you more range to raise & lower the saddle, and a shorter cockpit. Most (admitedly not all) compact geometry road bikes are meant to be ridden a little more upright than standard geometry road bikes. However, the shorter cockpit means a fitter can put shorty aerobars on it and she’ll still be able to achieve an aero position without being too stretched out. I was most focused on that – getting her elbows tucked under when she’s aero – and not as much on handling. The wheels will still be in the wrong place (even with shorter chainstays on a compact frame), but at least she’ll have a reasonably comfortable aerobar position.

Lee Silverman
JackRabbit Sports
Park Slope, Brooklyn

17

Isilverman,

I agree with you and your recomendations. Like triguynz, I don’t understand why compact geometry has any bearing on handling. I think this is a misunderstanding of just what compact geometry is.

My bias is that I am a roadie first. If this is your first bike, GET A ROAD BIKE.

You are an entry level beginner in this sport. There is a significant learning curve. You have three sports to learn, swimming, biking and running.

To get wrapped up in getting a tri bike as a first bike and that that bike is going to make the difference in your advancement in triathlon is to totally miss the point. It is more likely that it will lead to your ultimate dropping the sport than advance you within the sport.

Your enjoyment of the sport and your advancement in biking will be far more enhanced by purchasing a road bike first vs a tri bike first. You need to learn how to ride a bike first! There will be those who will say I am misinformed, but a good bike handler knows how to ride a road bike well. Good bike handling skills are nearly impossible to develop by learning how to ride a bike by only riding a tri bike. There are many more within the tri community who will second my opinion. The leaders in all age groups and levels almost without exception, ride with groups as a part of their training and ride road bikes when they do. They are good to great bike handlers and that is a part of their success within the sport. Do not discount what they have learned and know.

A road bike has for more utility than a tri specific bike has. Your biking ability and handling skills will be far more advanced with a road bike and joining a bike club and riding with others, not so much because you will learn group riding skills, you will and these will benefit you, but because riding with others will challenge you to ride farther, faster, longer than you will by riding by yourself.

For the money, you should be able to always get more road bike for the same dollars than you will get in a tri specific bike.

Just my 2 cents FWIW.

Welcome to the sport and good luck.

18

I would be very cautious buying a tri-bike from a dealer liquidating bikes, if I was in your position. Your position being that you are new and have no real reference point on the appropriate size, position, etc…

It certainly is a good deal to get a Kilo for $700, as that is a great bike, but if it doesn’t fit you, it’s $700 dollars wasted. I’ve experienced first hand shops putting people on bikes that were the “right size”, when really they were just trying to move inventory (Maybe the shop you’re talking about is different, but it would be the exception rather than the rule). It’s just a lot harder to get comfortable on a tribike than a road bike, and there’s less room for error on a tri bike, in my opinion. The whole too steep comment by one of the shops you mentioned is crap, I would seriously question ever buying a bike from them. They obviously have either no clue, or their own personal interests in mind.

I agree with many of lsilverman’s points. You have much less chance to go wrong on a road bike than you do with a tri bike. And you likely will want to either upgrade or get out of riding in a little while anyways.

If you do decide to go with a tri bike, which I think is perfectly fine as a first and/or only bike, then maybe a place like www.chucksbikes.com would work. Actually, I think he sells both road and tri bikes. I have zero affiliation with this guy, have never bought a bike from him, but have seen on this forum and others that he has good deals and seems to do good work, he’s worth checking out.

And remember, if it doesn’t work out, there’s always Ebay. You’ll take a loss, but things sell very well on there, and you can make back a good percentage of your costs. Good luck with everything,

Jack

19

I know that the $700 Kilo is a really good deal, and it’s a cool bike, and it is supposed to make you faster, and it’s cool, and it’s got good components, and it’s cool, but I agree with the rest of the road bike crowd.

I just bought my first bike (that wasn’t a MTB) and had the same trouble. Like you I wanted every advantage that I could and did not like the prospect of investing in a road bike to find that I will want a Tri bike in the next few years. That said I got the road bike for one simple reason. If I am not training, or racing I can always use a quality road bike to take rides with freinds or family for the rest of time. I will own my road bike for these purposes forever and I can get a Tri bike when I “deserve” one.

Good luck.

20

Go with the road bike. I love my 3 hour recovery rides long slow and comfortable. (Thanks to cerveloguy for some good direction and this forum for the technical information) my old road bike (not me) is as fast as my son’s new trek. I am a firm believer in supporting my LBS as well so that might factor in to a decision. I think that ALL of the new bikes are good they are just a little different from each other. (my wife now has my sons old road bike and loves how easy it is to ride)

Rick