I have a friend who has a growing interest in Tri’s and is interested in buying a new bike, having outgrown the $75 vintage trek with downtube shifters and toe clips. She’s set a budget of $3k and would like to include an indoor trainer. She has a bit of talent with a couple of marathons at 3:30 flat (including boston), and a ton of focus and will likely improve rapidly on the bike.
While she’s thinking dedicated tri-bike I’m somewhat inclined to suggest something along the lines of a Soloist with clip-ons so she can be a little safer in the group rides she seems to like, a Kurt Kinetic or 1-Up USA and better shoes/helmet/kit.
suggestions?
remember, shopping list has a hard ceiling of $3k and must include tax, shipping, pedals, etc.
If she’s comfortable riding that roadie with downtube shifters, she’s probably a better bike handler than most triathletes.
Tell her to keep the roadie and get a tri bike that fits well. She can easily get a solid bike for $1500-2k, which leaves lots in the budget for a trainer and other accessories.
Nice wheels previously mentioned is a great idea. You can still find Ultegra P2SL’s for about $1200. I think I saw it at Excelsports yesterday. Use the wheels off the Trek to train on and buy nice race wheels.
Because fit is so critical to tri, a bike that does road and tri will probably not do tri all that well.
I really would also consider Leader. It’s a great frame, and you get to actually pick the parts. Want a complete 105 grouppo, for example, which is what the above bikes SHOULD come with (instead of crapping around with ultegra this and POS that)? You can get that with Leader.
I think Leader makes a decent frame as well … it’s just there’s no ability “go out and look at it” … you’re restricted to an online order. also i tend to feel like Leader is really more of a “for someone else” solution.
Tell her to break the ceiling a little bit and jump the 2100-2200 price point on the bike. A P2 ultegra can be had for under 2700, and she can probably talk the LBS into throwing on a set of pedals at no charge. A viable trainer will be sub-200. Throw in a minimal computer then tax and maybe you’re a couple hundred bucks over the limit. If she’s going to put in the time and money, it’s worth it.
Not to completely dismiss her credentials, but there are a lot of people (specifically women) in the community with mountains of focus, talent, and sub-3:30 marathons that get by on much less than what $3k can buy. Rather than setting a limit, maybe she should find what works for her, then determine if the price is right. Satisfaction is more likely.
www.bicycleoutfittersindy.com has some Kurt Kinetic Road Machines labled DEMO from the factory for $300 (minus 15% = $255 with free shipping). I got one and love it to death. Can’t tell it was “demo” or anything like that.
Kestrel Talon SL - if she fits the 52 cm or 48 cm left. You can’t find a better full carbon aero Tri bike for less:
I talked a friend into buying one who was on a slightly smaller budget and the Cervelo P2’s we found we $500 more for essentially the same quality. And unless your a pro , there is no difference among those frames. Buy some used race wheels and an aero helmet and she’s set. I personally ride a LEADER 735 TT and love it as well.
**Frame** 800k Carbon Fiber - Structurally optimized one-piece modular Monocoque main triangle, Reinforced bottom bracket and chainstays for power transfer, 2xH2O bottle mounts, replaceable derailleur hanger,Frame weight = 1.2kg*
Fork Kestrel Fluid Design Dedicated Carbon Fiber fork with 1.125 inch aluminum steerer tube, co-engineered with the frame for balanced handling feel and precision Crankset FSA Carbon SLK-Lite w/ Hollow Integrated Spindle, 7075 CNC 39/53T Chainring Bottom Bracket FSA MegaEXO exterior bearing system Pedals None Front Derailleur Shimano Ultegra SL 6600G, Braze-on Rear Derailleur Shimano Ultegra SL 6600G Shifters Shimano DuraAce, SL-BS78 20-speed Cassette/Freewheel Shimano Ultegra SL, 10-speed, 12-23T Chain Shimano Ultegra 6600, 10-Speed **Front Hub ** Mavic Aksium Race Sealed Cartridge Bearing Rear Hub Mavic Aksium Race Sealed Cartridge Bearing Spokes Bladed Stainless steel, 14g Rims Mavic Aksium Race, Black w/ CNC sidewalls Tires Continental ULTRASport, 700x23c with Ultralite presta tubes Brake Set Cane Creek SC 3 w/Cartridge Pads Brake Levers Profile QS Carbon for Aero Bars Headset FSA Road Sealed Cartridge Bearing Threadless 1 1/8" Handlebar Profile Cobra Wing Carbon Bar with Profile Cobra T2 Carbon Clip-on Aero bars Stem Profile ARIS Aluminum threadless Tape/Grip Kestrel Custom cork wrap Saddle San Marco Ponza Power with Cro-Mo rails Seat Post Kestrel Fluid Design Carbon Aero Seat Clamp Kestrel bolt
What about the Kuota or QR that have been on BonkTown lately? I think the Seduza is about a grand and the Lucero frameset is about the same. Either of those, if you can get the right size, will definitely be the best bike for the money. Plus, they have some legitimate aero tubing and the build can easily be customized with the remaining $2k.
