I am in my second season of doing triathlons - sprint mainly with an Olympic coming up. I have been riding an '08 C’dale CAAD 8 with a set of aero bars and a good fit from a local bike shop.
Starting to get an itch to move up to a tribike but have this question.
Should I get a tribike(2-2.5K budget) or rather invest the money in a set of carbon wheels?
Any advice will be appreciated!
Yes.
Get a B14/16 if it fits you. They come with good wheels stock and are excellent bikes.
Any tri bike will net you more speed than a set of wheels. You will have better aerodynamics with the tribike than any set of wheels can provide.
Realize that aero wheels don’t have to be expensive to get the about same results as the $$$ wheels. You can get a disc cover that’s just as fast as the real McCoy from wheelbuilder.com for $100. and Neuvation has some good 50 carbon fronts in tubs or clinchers at a very good price. This would still leave you money left over to also get an entry level Cervelo as an example (which is probably as aero as many high end $$$ frames).
Shop wisely.
I would go with the Tri bike for sure, especially if your primarily doing tris. Wheels will get you some speed and the bike more aero, but with your budget a tri bike, aero helmet and a good fitting would be much better.
Williams Cycling is also running a pretty good deal on 58mm Full Carbon rims with ceramic bearings for $999. Which Cervelo frame did you have in mind when you said entry-level frame
Which tri-bike were you thinking of that would be inexpensive enough to be able to buy all the other things? Thus far I have been looking at a C’dale Slice 4, Felt B12/14, could look at a speed concept 7.
Already have the helmet. I figured that was going to given me greatest boost/$ spent.
"Which Cervelo frame did you have in mind when you said entry-level frame "
The P1, which is essentially an improved version of my old P2K. The P1 is a lot of bike for “entry level”.
I think Cerveloguy nailed it:
Cervelo P1 = $1,700
Wheelcover = $100
You could then add a deep front wheel and be well within your stated budget and you’d have a bike as fast as most that cost 2-3 times more.
don’t sell short the fact that tri bikes have the geometry they do for a specific reason. aero when riding, ability to run after. factor that into your decision.
Which tri-bike were you thinking of that would be inexpensive enough to be able to buy all the other things? Thus far I have been looking at a C’dale Slice 4, Felt B12/14, could look at a speed concept 7.
Already have the helmet. I figured that was going to given me greatest boost/$ spent.
There are a lot of good tri-bikes in your price range and there are always good deals you can get. The bikes you have been looking at are all good choices. Remember though it is not so much about which bike, but more about which bike fits you the best.
With that money, get the following:
Used, wired PT from Ebay.
Used tri/tt frame. You have some time to be frugal, since it is the end of the year. No sense in spending too much money for one single race coming up.
Used components.
Aero helmet
Used deep dish wheel.
Wheel Cover.
Follow the thread about improving FTP, swim hard a few times per week, and run frequently. You will get really fast.
Forgive me, I don’t understand the “used PT” term.
power tap
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Thanks for the good input, please keep it coming. I was intending to wait till the off-season and see what sales the winter brings along.
Get a sub 2k tri bike, used Hed carbon wheels and a disc cover from wheelbuilder.
Call Steve Dodds www.bicycledoctor.net on Monday morning and see what he can do as far as a bike is concerned.
I am in my second season of doing triathlons - sprint mainly with an Olympic coming up. I have been riding an '08 C’dale CAAD 8 with a set of aero bars and a good fit from a local bike shop.
Starting to get an itch to move up to a tribike but have this question.
Should I get a tribike(2-2.5K budget) or rather invest the money in a set of carbon wheels?
Any advice will be appreciated!
It really behooves to shop around. I was able to buy a used, fully equipped Cervelo P2SL w/~500 miles on it (Same as present-day P1) for ~$1200; I just recently bought a Mavic Open Pro rear wheel and a disc cover, and am now looking at a used deep-dish front wheel. After starting from square one with tools and the like, a training helmet, and shoes, and looking forward to an eventual wired PT purchase, a computer that effectively capitalizes on the data, and an aero helmet, I’ll be out less than your $2,500 budget.
Get the wheels (since they will follow you from bike to bike). Also, a good set of wheels saves more time than an aero frame (I used to race on a round tube 'dale back in the day).
That being said, the fastest setup you can buy for your $$ (assuming it fits) is a Trek Speed concept 2.0 ($2k), a wheel cover for the back ($100) and a used J6 or Carbone for the front ($200-250). Still under $2.5k and faster than 95% of what’s out there.
When you get some more $$ next season upgrade the rear deraileur and cranks on the SC and get a used Renn disc (~$300).