Hi. I’m brand new here on this forum, and first wanted to introduce myself. I’ve been doing olympic distance for a couple of years and am going to start moving up the chain. I’ve been riding a Giant TCR with road bars\shifters and shorty clipons so far. As I’ve now convinced myself that I’m not going to drop this addiction too quickly :), I’m planning to invest in a tri bike.
I’m test riding a couple of bikes, but one question I have while looking is whether to buy a spec bike with a saddle, bars, wheels, etc., or to buy a frameset and then put the components, bars, saddle, and wheels that I want straight away? Obviously the latter will be more expensive off the bat, but it could end up cheaper in the long run as I would be more likely to be comfortable in the parts I pick rather than removing and replacing the spec parts later. However, one usually gets a pretty good deal on a spec setup, so it could be worth it.
So I guess that brings me back to question. Would you reccomend buying a spec bike and using the stock parts for a while to figure out what I’m comfortable with (and hopefully keeps some or most of them), or build up from a frame in the first place? Thanks for the help and I can’t wait for the season to start!
Good question, just really depends on your budget and what kind of bike you want. Get the best deal you can, will probably be the speck bike to start. Then use it to see what you like, and if needed then upgrade. You don’t want to spend a bunch of money on stuff you “think” is good only to discover that the one the bike came with is preferable. Personally I would suggest upgrading to some race wheels and a proper race helmet, that will give you more gains then fancy breaks and such. Have fun!
Thanks for the feedback. That’s the direction that I’m leaning as well, unless I can get a good deal on a used frame and build it up for the same price anyway. I missed a 2008 58cm P2C frame that went on Ebay for ~$1000, but I haven’t gotten a chance to test ride it, so I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger. At that price, I could build it up for less than the retail price anyway.
Also, just to clarify as there may have been some confusion, my TCR is going to stay my road bike and I’m planning to get a tri bike as a second bike. I’m leaning toward the P2C right now if it fits well (especially if I can get a good deal on either last year’s model or a used bike in most likely 58cm size, but maybe a 56cm).
Building piece by piece is much cheaper than OEM build if you do super closeouts and used. If you think that you are going to buy OEM and then end up swapping out saddles, wheels, tires, aerobars, bartape, etc in the short term, then it can really add up.
Personally, if you know exactly what frame size and type you want, then you can go there used. Otherwise, IMO the best place to buy new is in the frame and the wheels.
I’d say it really depends on how picky you are with the components you want to end up with. For example, if you’re the type of guy who knows he wants a campy crank with red shifters/derailleurs, Zero G brakes, HED cockpit, KMC chain, Nokon cables, etc, etc, etc, you should probably build it from scratch.
On the other hand, if your desires are more ‘matching’-- i.e. ultegra group, rival group-- then go with a stock bike. You can up-spec a component or two at the lbs without re-designing the entire thing. Also, most (all?) shops will give you store credit on the take-off parts to put toward the stuff you want to put on.
On the third hand, if you just plain aren’t sure what you want, go with a stock bike. You can upgrade from there if something doesn’t feel right.