I am planning to do my first tri this year, of what I hope will be more in the future. To date, I have been riding my rather hefty Trek mountain bike on the road, waiting until I got better at swimming before rewarding myself with a new bike. I’m now either more confident in my swimming or just tired of waiting, but I’m now going to get that bike.
My question is whether I should get a tri bike or just a road bike. I don’t ever plan on doing any significant amount, if any, of group riding or racing. Most of what I’ve read, including Tom D’s opinion, says that if I just plan on doing triathlons or duathlons and solo training rides, I should get a tri bike. So I head to the LBS, thinking of a Cervelo Dual or P2K, or possibly a QR Tequilo. and the guy recommends that I’d be better off with a road bike like the Soloist. He said if I only did a few tris a year, that I would be better off with a road bike, which he says would be more versatile and offer more hand position options, plus would be better at hill climbing, too. A friend of mine who’s done a couple of tris also said I should get a road bike.
What do you good folk of ST recommend? I am new to all this and would appreciate your thoughts and opinions!
(For the record, the guy at Helen’s brought out a Soloist, which was indeed sweet-looking and -riding, but since it was a Soloist Team at $3K, it bugged me that I go in looking at a $1700 bike and he brings this out).
I am of the opinion that if you only have one bike, it should be a roadie. Having said that however, if you have your mind made up on a tri bike then the guy should respect that. It’s cool for him to suggest a roadie initially, but if you said “no dude - I want a tri bike” then he should be bringing out a damn tri bike. If he doesn’t… well… there must be other LBS’ in your area.
from what i found is, the opinions vary with the shop your in, if your in a shop that supports tri stuff you will get told get a tri bike, if your in mostly an LBS your going to hear get a road bike.
it comes down to you, ride both and make the decision based on whats more comfortable, since your going to be spending alot of time on the bike.
if you don’t want to spend more than your absolute set limit don’t ride a bike over that limit. its only teasing and you might not like what you end up with having tasted something better.
just my oppinion it took me 4 months to buy a bike. i settled on a litespeed tachyon, from nytro. If you can make it down to SD, B&L and nytro are both great shops with great people there that know their stuff and they carry both tri and road bikes.
all this is just my oppinion take it for whats its worth.
If you are not planning on doing any group rides or road races then get a tri bike. And that is coming from a roadie!
I initially started doing tri’s on a road bike, but wish I had started on a tri bike, it just works better for that purpose. I also think its bunkum that road bikes climb better, climbing is a matter of weight and power and if you cant generate power on your tri bike it is probably set up wrong. I think they had the Soloist team sitting in the shop for a while and wanted to unload it on you.
He said, without being specific, that there was a Soloist at a lower price range, but he wasn’t specific. Now that I’m home, I see online the $1900 to $1999 price range for the Centaur. But then I’d also have to spring for aerobars. A more important question – How do the Centaur components compare to the Ultegra?
Thanks. I think that you’re right about whatever they had in inventory – they didn’t have any Cervelo tri bikes that were big enough (I’m about 6’4") so he then brings out the Soloist Team that is a “60” he says (although I now see according to Cervelo it must have been a 61)
As for climbing, it’s not like I’m going to be headed toward the Alps, or even much into the Santa Monica mountains.
I guess I feel that I’m still at a stage where I expect the guy in the shop to have more knowledge about what would be best, but you’re right, they try to sell what they have. Which is why I knew I wouldn’t be buying anything today from a guy who brought out a bike that much over the range I’d been looking at.
I did my first couple of tris on an entry level road bike, then sprung two weeks ago for a tri bike. Like you, I expected to do very little group riding and no road racing. Man, what a difference the tri bike makes! Comfort, speed, etc. (By the way, I bought a Cervelo P2 SL – amazing ride, worth every nickel and then some.)
Thanks everyone. your posts are very helpful (confusing, too, but still helpful).
Cerveloguy, can you elaborate on why you say buy a roadbike first? Thanks.
What I don’t really want to do is end up a few months later buying yet another bike, or wishing that I had, which does sound like a common pattern (see Matt’s post).
Comparisons of the P2SL and the Soloist Centaur? Not asking for spec comparisons, but opinion comparisons of which you like better…
I think anyone who is going to be doing a significant amount of riding should have a decent road bike. It’s easier to handle on causal rides with friends, century tours and training in areas that have a lot of car traffic and or beaten up roads.
I remember a post from Tom Demerly, when addressing the question of favorite or best piece of training equipment, he said his road bike. I love doing long rides early in the season on my road bike and as racing season nears, spend more time on my tri bike.
Any friend of mine looking to get into triathlon and starting from nothing, I would reccomend getting a moderatly priced (maybe around $1000) road bike. You’ll always need it, always like it. If you sour on triathlon, you won’t need a tri bike.
The good thing about the Soloist is that you can make it a Tri bike (sort of) if you want, but still end up having a very good road bike.
This is a good starting point for a beginner, gives you more options, a more versatile bike. You can always get a specific Tri bike in a few years time (and keep your soloist for training rides) when and if you get more “serious” with Triathlon racing.
You may end up really liking riding and will want to do group rides as well (it’s more fun and social). Then you won’t regret getting the Soloist.
"Cerveloguy, can you elaborate on why you say buy a roadbike first? Thanks. "
A number of reasons.
First I’m a very big believer that most triathletes would benefit enormously by riding with a roadie group and develop the paceline, etc riding skills. This would transfer over to race safety on the triathlon course.
Second, it seems that many triathletes new to the sport have very limited cycling experience. Tribikes are highly specialized bikes that are really only good for tris or TT’s. Road bikes are much more versatile. They handle better, climb better, decend safer and add clip-on aero bars and you can do a tri or TT. It’s better to learn and develop cycling skills on a road bike and get a tri bike later as a second bike if you really like tris IMO. If I had to get rid of one of my bikes, the tri bike would go first just because of the versatility of the road bike.
Third, you’re new to tri. What happens if you don’t like it and are stuck with a tri bike. At least with the road bike you can use it for regular riding.
As a dual purpose bike you can’t beat the Cervelo Soloist. It does most anything a Dual or P2K can do in the TT position and then a lot more as a road bike. Simon Lessing won IMLP last year on a Soloist. I have a road bike and a P2K, but firmly believe that the same thing could be done with a Soloist as with these two bikes. In fact a friend of mine sold his P2K and road bike and replaced them both with a Soloist. He road group rides but also does sprint to IM length tris. He can do all of this with just one bike.
Here is some good info on the soloist for Tom D http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/soloist.shtml . I case you had not figured out there is a strong cervelo bias on Slowtwitch. Probably well earned, it is a good product and other than product shortages it is a great company with great people.
Anyway, I agree with the “buy a roadbike first” approach unless you are very sure that you want to be dedicated to Tri’s. Personally I enjoy triathlon but I get tired of staring at my front wheel through my aerobars. I like my road bike for training rides, fast group rides or just ripping around. I’ve got a Soloist and when I make the leap to IM I am sure it will be up to the task.
I was in a similar situation last year. I’d done several O-distance races on an entry level Bianchi road bike, and decided to make a substantial upgrade. Like you, I played the tri vs. road bike ping-pong match for some time. I decided on road just because I wanted to have the ability to do some road racing if I so desired. Having made that decision, I figured the Soloist would be the best bet. After consulting a few LBS’s about, I ended up getting a Giant TCR Composite (which I suppose is neither here nor there).
I guess the conclusion is, if you’re new to the sport, get a road bike; it gives you the capacity to assumme multiple identities (roadie and tri) and its far more social!
Thanks for the explanations and opinions, everybody. Sounds like I might indeed be better off with a Soloist (or other road bike). I’ll head back out this weekend searching and riding different ones. There’s still that nagging thought echoed by many that I’ll wish I had a dedicated one later, but I can see the argument about versatility, and it sounds like the Soloist does a very job of trying to serve two masters. Plus, it’s not like I’m planning on becoming a FOP (for now), all I want to do is complete the first one and then start improving. Probably be awhile before I would notice a difference between one or the other types.
Any suggestions for aero bars to add on?
And yes, I’ve noticed the Cervelo bias on ST, but in many respects, it seems to be justified.
Thanks again for everyone’s advice, whether in favor of a road bike or a tri bike. It’s always helpful to get insight from those who have gone before and know much more…