What would you choose?
Not a dream bike either. Doing my first triathlon next year, using the wattbike for now to build fitness but will be looking at a half decent bike that I can train on and race on until budget allows for a triathlon bike.
Thinking a lightweight aero bike better suited to climbing as it’s hilly where I live and the event is hilly too.
Looking at specilized tarmac, giant tcr or propel, canyon aeroad, trek madone or cervelo s3.
Any thoughts?
I think the Giant TCR (or canyon, but there are some things I don’t like about canyon, especially weirdly sized stems) is the best value.
Yeah the tcr is probably one of my favourites. Ticks a lot of boxes and higher models come with a Power meter too.
What would you choose?
Not a dream bike either. Doing my first triathlon next year, using the wattbike for now to build fitness but will be looking at a half decent bike that I can train on and race on until budget allows for a triathlon bike.
Thinking a lightweight aero bike better suited to climbing as it’s hilly where I live and the event is hilly too.
Looking at specilized tarmac, giant tcr or propel, canyon aeroad, trek madone or cervelo s3.
Any thoughts?
Do you fit the geometry of any of those bikes?
What kind of distance are you looking to ride / train / race?
(if you want to race an olympic and you do a century every weekend… i will advice to pick a bike for those century)
How competitive do you want to be?
(if you only objective is to qualify for Kona… you should pick a bike that is optimized for that… and not for fun gravel with friends)
Personal if i was limited to 2 bikes… TT + gravel (with multiple set of wheels)… i can’t imagine life with a single bike 
Cervelo Caledonia so I could run wider tyres if required and cover a greater range of terrain including gravel.
Cervelo Caledonia so I could run wider tyres if required and cover a greater range of terrain including gravel.
https://www.cervelo.com/en/caledonia-5
https://www.cervelo.com/en/caledonia
I think all brands are moving in that direction (check out the new Orba or the Tarmac).
Merida Reacto V4 (30 mm clearance)Orbea Orca OMR (35 mm clearance)
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I’d buy a tri bike
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HT 29er is probably the most versatile bike, I’d go with that if I could only have one. A gravel bike would be a good option too but would really limit my trail riding to easier trails. I don’t like riding pavement and won’t ride inside so my opinion is probably in the minority here.
OP, since you have intentions on purchasing a TT bike in the future I would not go with an aero road bike. Get something more comfortable, clip-on aero bars for your tri will be fine for now if you are looking to buy some speed.
Aero road bike with clip ons if you plan to do sprints or oly distance tris. Such as a Venge or Madone. If you are planning on longer distances I would buy a tri specific bike.
If I could only have one bike, I would get the best road bike I could afford. Start there. There is so much road riding to do and a road bike can be used for Triathlons (get some jammers if you wish https://www.amazon.com/Profile-Designs-Jammer-GT-Aerobars/dp/B07CJS5BWS). I would rather a bike that is the best at what is is designed for than a bike that can do a lot of things decently. When you can afford it, get a TT bike. If you want to do more mountain biking, get a mountain bike. And when ready to play, get a good gravel bike. Soon you will have a justification and reason to have a stable of bikes and you will be happy with your bikes. Of course you may be divorced or loathed by your significant other.
Trek has a madone that is built for aerobars.
This thread is illogical, in a “N + 1” kinda way
Even if you only have one bike, you’re gonna want another one, no matter what
That being said, mine wouldn’t be a road bike, or something for triathlon, that’s for sure. I’d go with something completely useless
As I posted in the “Dream Bike” thread, I’d love to have a hi-wheeler, just to fuck with people
Or a certified/low serial number 1968 Schwinn Orange or Apple Krate or Lemon Peeler
Aero road bike with clip ons if you plan to do sprints or oly distance tris. Such as a Venge or Madone. If you are planning on longer distances I would buy a tri specific bike.
yep, i’d go this way too.
i’ve been riding a cervelo soloist for road and tri for many years now - it’s versatile and tough and fine for anything up to and including a half ironman, for me. if i were taking a crack at IM, ok, i’d get a full-aero sled. similarly, if i were racing crits or long road races i’d maybe get a more ‘proper’ road bike, but i’ve found aero road to be the oatmeal that’s just right for me.
(important note, the soloist has a reversible seatpost, so i can get a somewhat steeper seat angle. that’s a less common feature on many aero road bikes these days…)
I’d just keep my Synapse. It’s 7 or 8 years old but I can do all the work on it myself. I did a full and a half on it before I bought my tt bike.
I’m answering “If I could only keep one bikeâ€
My road bike. Cannondale CAAD 12. With upgraded wheel set. Light and fast. Have done Sprints and Olympics. Short and long road rides. Climbs great. Run 28’s, and can handle the tight packed gravel in my area to turn road rides into a bigger adventure.
If you only want 1, then IMO this is what you should seek. Many nicer but similar spec’d options for road bikes nowadays.
Lots of personal preference out there regarding brand names. Agree with knowing you fit requirements, and looking to see what best for you. Hard to test ride a bunch. I love Geometrygeeks to compare sizing (stack/reach, etc) of various models. Can do side by side comparisons.
I’d get my Parlee Rz7 all over again, light, aero, can fit 32s and dead sexy.
My wife has a 2019 S3 Disc as her road bike. Doing Nice last year she wanted to ride it as she climbs and descends better on it. We were also doing a cycling vacation after and she wanted her road bike for that. Put Enve clip on aero bars and swapped the seat post (zero offset) to mimic her tri position. It wasn’t perfect but pretty close.
It was a good option and only required a seat post, saddle and clip on aero bars, so minimal investment. Having seat post and saddle set makes swapping simple.
Have and love the Felt AR. Disc version out now which is supposed to be even better…
The Defy Advanced Pro 0. The Defy is such a comfortable ride and the Advanced Pro 0 comes with SRAM AXS Red groupset. Yeah, that would be nice. If I only had the $8K to drop for that beauty…