I’ve been looking for a tri-bike. I am overwhelmed. I want it to fit right, but the stores around here just want to sell me a bike, not the perfect bike for me. I keep hoping that I will have a “harry-potter-finds-his-wand” moment when I sit on my bike. Are my expectations too high? How did you choose which bike was right for you?
If you want to make suggestions, I am 5’ 11", reasonably flexible, with a 32 inch inseam. My torso is probably a little long. I will be in Colorado this summer, so I can make the hijj to Boulder/Fort Collins to a better tri-bike stores if you have suggestions
You seem to have little to no confidence in the shops that are fitting you. I recently purchased a tri bike and did not have any reference for shops in my area to do a tri fit. I used Todd at www.TTbikefit.com. I gave him the 4 bikes I had access to locally and stated that I would be willing to travel if none of those were a good fit.
You just need to send Todd an email stating that you are looking for a recommendation on a new bike. He asked for several measurements and a video of my current bike set up. All which took less than 30 minutes of my time. In a short period I had a recommendation with a close second. There was a third and a very distant 4th bike.
I went with the 1st choice a specialized comp transition and have been very happy. I am currently working some of the spacers off the stem and will go back to Todd for a full bike fit shortly.
For the small fee that I spent on the recommendation this was well worth the peace of mind as I walked in to the shop.
I have no affiliation with ttbikefit.com I just used them on recommendation from others at endurance nation.
If you’re going to be in the northern CO area, go to Colorado Multisport in Boulder. $300 fit, but if you buy the bike from them it’s free. Great store, and guaranteed to get it right.
Absolutely agree. I bought my P2 on year end clearance from Excel Sports and the fit was horrendous and there was no chance I was going back to them. Ryan at Colorado Multisport got me dialed in and comfortable (luckily my bike fit well).
If I had it all to do over again I would have gone in for the $300 fit and then picked a bike. If you don’t feel comfortable with a shop turn around and walk away, you’re handing over a large chunk of money and should be confident you are getting what you want.
Several years ago I went through the same problem, only I was attempting to find the right Used bike because my budget was tiny and i couldn’t afford any of the offereings from the local Tri shop.
This site is full of great information that Dan and his minions (no offense guys) have authored and collected over the years. Add that to the knowlege base of the collective and you can get yourself setup pretty darn close without ever setting foot inside a bike shop. This of course assumes you are a little mechanically inclined, willing to endure decorating tips when you post pics of your fit, and have a sense of humor about the whole thing.
I second getting in touch with Todd at TTBikeFit.com. I go to him for my bike fittings and they are awesome, never a problem. Not to mention the guy has a PhD and is an engineering whiz, he knows his shit. Drop him an email and see if he can point you in the right direction. My $0.02. …oh, did I mention he’s fit quite a few Ironman pro’s and some Olympians?