My husband just bought a new Cannondale. I am doing the California 70.3 (my first long tri). Should I use my Trek that I have been training on or take the time to have his bike fit for me and use it? Just looking at cost and components - his is about a $5k bike, mine is a $2k bike. Just because it costs more - is it a better bike for me to ride??? I am not “racing” anyone, I’m hoping for a 6:15 to a 6:30 finish with hopefully about 3.5 hours on the bike.
It really depends on 2 things.
- how long until your race?
- is it the right size?
If you have enough time to get acclimated to the bike and if it can be made to fit you well then it seems like a no-brainer to ride the ‘better’ bike…but those are big IFs.
Since you’ve only got about a week and a half until the race, I’d recommend you go with the bike you’ve been using and are comfortable with (ie. the trek). Especially if your goal is not to race but to finish and have a good time. You just don’t really have enough time to adjust to a new bike before the race, IMO.
To give some perspective, I’ll be doing that race as well (my first half also), and I’ve been training on my race bike for a few months now so I could get used to it.
If there is only a week and a half left I would agree with the previous post, any advantages the bike may offer can easily be defeated by a change in position or discomfort that could occur. If the other bike has nicer wheels you may want to swap them over…
I rode my Orbea road bike all winter and just pulled out my Transition this week, there is a considerable difference in my position/seat angle and it will take me a few weeks to get used to it again.