so i’m looking to buy a new tri bike this fall to replace my 6 year old cannondale ms 2000. do i just put my trust into my lbs? have i been brainwashed by tom into over-thinking this whole process? i know fit is important but there are no tom-like fitters that i know of in this area (rochester, ny).
anyone?
do i just put my trust into my lbs?
never put your total trust in anyone else. no one knows better than you. but to be able to know this, you must take responsibility to truly and fully educate yourself.
read excellent books written by fast and cunning athletes (not just lame, fluffy articles in various industry mag.s), learn directly from racers and athletes far faster and far more experienced than you.
learn from shops. if they EARN your trust, use their services and learn from what they do. and the more you devour all this info, and the more you ride, train, and race, the faster you wil learn and be able to know what decision is best for you. a simple answer, but not an easy answer…
Set your spending limit.
Look at every bike under that limit.
Discard bikes you don’t like.
Agonize over remaining bikes.
If you cannot get fit by a pro, I think that this is te best way to shop. I know how important fit is, but if you don’t have the resource at hand, you should be able to get pretty close by yourself.
I couldn’t find an LBS that I felt comfortable with when I bought my last road bike, so here’s what I did, FWIW:
I narrowed the selection down to a few choices. I got fitted by Paul Levine in Central Valley, NY - that’s what 4-5 hours away from you? I travelled just over two hours to see him. He gave me his recommendation for the frame/components out of my “choices.” This recommendation was based upon which frame put me closest to a target postition that he had calculated/measured for me. He also gave me a spreadsheet with all pertinent data, stem length/rise angle, crank arm length, etc; and a schematic drawing indicating all important distances for the build, i.e., reach, seat height, etc.
I then ordered my bike online, to my (his) exact specifications. I saved several hundred dollars over the local prices, and the fitting wound up paying for itself.
I went to a LBS with a good selection of the bikes I liked on paper. One evening I went with my pedals, shoes and good bike shorts and rode every one in my price range. R5000, Roubaux, Soloist, R2.5. I eventually dropped the ones I didn’t like and bought the one that felt best (Soloist-Centaur w Easton EC90 Fork Upgrade). No regrets. I think the main part was riding the crap out of all of them (3 hours?). I bet I rode the Soloist 5x before deciding on it. Turns out it was the cheapest as well so I had a bit of cash to upgrade the fork. The stock one was fine but when I picked up the all carbon EC90 it was like a piece of paper…
tryemdad, i was retro fit on my cannondale by paul 2 years ago. i just finished an email conversation with him and he suggested exactly what you did. i think that’s probably my best bet. thanks.
Good luck…and let me know if you need a rec. on a good online seller…
well… since you asked. who’s the online seller?
Like real estate “location location location”
Bike buying is
Sizing, sizing, sizing it doesn’t matter what it cost, how cool it looks, or what you saved if it doesn’t fit! at any price point
I wouldn’t buy online unless you knew your bike measurements
Have fun
Not to speak for Tom, but I don’t think he overthinks any of this. He spoke brilliantly on the subject not too long ago. I paraphrase:
Find a fitter you trust.
Ask his advice.
Take his advice.
Buy a bike.
Wear a helmet.
Have fun.
It really is that simple. The trust is the thing. I hear all the time “your trying to sell me something” Well Duh,
that’s how I make my living. More accurately I make my living by selling you things over a period of days, weeks and hopefully years.
Selling you something that doesn’t fit, or you don’t like isn’t going to make that very likely.
Good luck.
Yup, it really is this simple:
Find a fitter you trust.
Ask his advice.
Take his advice.
Buy a bike.
Wear a helmet.
Have fun.
I make it simple. You make it complex.
for many people, i think the first step is not so easy…
I think that the opinion of your (future) coach is very important when deciding 
.
sac has an opinion? shocking what say you, future coach?
I got a very competitive price on a Litespeed from Competitive Cyclist. Most importantly though, Brendan Quirk there was willing to spec. the bike just as I wanted - no local LBS here was willing to be as flexible, as the model I was after was sold only as a complete bike - a policy it seems that Litespeed is now thankfully relaxing a bit.
Give them a try if they supply the frame you’re after…good luck!