My options for a bike...this isn't looking pretty

Just run the trek.  I'm a student, I ride a Motobecane Vent Noir with an aluminum frame.  I have the money in the bank to buy a wicked fast carbon bike, but I am saving my money for extenuating circumstances.

I mean maybe you're rich and can just blow the money and if so then it's cool.

The only reason I bought my bike is because I did not have a road bike and my10 year old Marin Hardtail mt bike wasn't cutting it for training and tri's.

Diddo to Gonzo!  I run an 08' Trek 1.2 with clip on aero's....  Only reason I bought her was my MTB wasn't cutting it with slicks....Ol 1.2's just fine for the time being.    Here's a plus, I passed about 7 or 8 dudes last year on crazy cool $2000+ bikes.....  hahahahahahaha......jokes on them, I only spent $600 on ol'Treky!!!!!   Makes me want to ride a sprint or two on my old 82 Huffy just for laughs.

If you got the money, go for it.....if not don't sweat it at all!

Run the Trek.  I did NOLA this year as my first 70.3 and used my 1998 QR Tequilo with a wheel cover.  It wasn't that windy (compared to River Road in Baton Rouge it was down right calm).  Save your money for a better bike.  FYI, at one point I heard that Capital City Cyclery in Lafayette had a new P1 for $1100.

You're doing fine. Very true that it's not the bike--it's the engine. As others said, slap some aerobars on, learn how to ride on them and you'll be right as rain. Save the ducats for a sweeter ride on down the road ... then you'll have a great road bike AND tri bike!

This was the bike I rode straight through my first HIM. I lived.

BOSS!! I guess I'll try to do that. I have a crap pair of aerobars on there now but I appreciate the advice everybody.  I'll ride the trek, try to pick up some nicer aerobars and get a fitting since I haven't had one in a while.   Think it's worth it to rent wheels for the race? I told myself I was going to just try and finish but speed is addictive!

(thanks, by the way, heh)

Nope! Calculate how many hours you'd have to work to pay for wheel rental. Spend those hours cycling. Guaranteed you'll be faster than if you rented the wheels.

I've seen some serious speed demons on ratty old downtube-shifter beaters.

Edited by TriAya 2010-12-25 1:34 PM

X2 on all counts.

Maybe splurge on a good fitting with the aerobars, and the difference between your time with that setup and what you could accomplish on a brand new bike isn't even worth worrying about.

This user's post has been ignored.

I've been riding for 3 years on a $500 Mercier Aero TT that I bought on ebay.  I've been fitted twice by one of the best in my area, and I've been very happy with it.  I even used it for my first IM.  FWIW, my LBS guy told me that the bike will serve me well, and suggested race wheels before a new bike.  This year, I added some Cosmic Carbone's that cost more than double what my bike did.

Honestly if you enter the wonderful world of bang/buck aerodynamics you can use your current bike, spend a bit of the money, and be as fast or faster in your tri than you would be with a bare bones TT rig.  Start by reading here and here and here, for starters. 

If I were you, I'd buy the following, in this order: Clip on aerobars and a forward seatpost.  Biggest bang/buck as you can get yourself into a decent position.  Then an aero helmet.  After that head over to wheelbuilder and get a rear disc cover.  The first three you might be able to get used, the last probably new.  Total outlay is $300 or so. 

If you can borrow a deep front wheel that may be an option, but if you do buy here that will be $300 minimum, even used.  I'd save that for a future bike purchase (IMO). 

Sorry, though, I have no spare Ordus sitting in the basement.

Edited by sand101 2010-12-25 7:24 PM

Good stuff on the links, thanks.  The second two are the same but whatever, I think I understand.  I will get better aerobars, check out the seatpost (have never heard of this) and just checked out wheelbuilder.   The helmet and disc cover make sense because I feel like I can use them on my next bike even if I get something nice.  I don't want to spend more than $100 on aerobars because pouring money in to this bike doesn't feel great.  I am really excited about this, though!

+1 Ride your old bike.  Be patient.  Save your money.  Delayed gratification is sweeter.  You'll know a lot more about what new bike you want in 6 or 8 months.  

If you wait until after your HIM, then when you are selling your old bike to a newbie you can say 'yes, this bike was good enough to get me through my HIM race'.

70.3 NOLA in April is very soon.  When you get a true tri bike you'll need more than a couple of months of riding on it to really fine tune your fit and get your body comfortable for 2-3 hours on the aerobars.  

^{I'll stick with your trusty little} road bike as well.  I am in the same boat as you.  I will also most likely stick with my trusty little Leader bike with Ultegra and DA components up until the HIM distance.  Come July 2011, I will most likely purchase a P2 because the full distance is a different monster and boy does the bike look good!!!

I definitely ain't sellin the old one!  I still wanna hang on and ride it occasionally...gonna start a collection!

Why not?  Lots of athletes race all distances on road bikes without issue.  Get your position dialed in; if your aerobars are adjustable then you should be all set but if they are not, you may want to invest in a new set of aerobars (either shorty ITU style bars or very adjustable clipons).

If you take the time to get yourself into a good road position and adjust the aerobars so that you have a good aero option, you should be able to have a fast position on the bike.  It will not be as aero as a perfectly dialed in fit on a tribike but you can likely have a much better position than many of the athletes who will be on tribikes.



IIWY I would save your money and use the Trek; however, I would not use that as an excuse and not care about your time.  As for the rest, I would say that 3 and 4 are not worth it but if you happen to stumble across a great deal for a bike that fits and you will be happy with, then go for it.



If you had a P1, there is no reason why aero wheels wouldn't be a good choice.  As far as upgradinging components, in general this is going to do nothing to make you faster and regardless of the bike, I wouldn't bother upgrading components unless they needed to be replaced.

Further, the P1 is more aerodynamic than many of the carbon TT bikes available; just because a bike is made of carbon and/or looks aero, doesn't mean that it actually is.



You have a bike which is fine for racing.  There will almost always be someone slower than you on a nicer bike and someone faster than you on a cheaper bike.

Shane

IMHO, upgrading components is a dumb idea - a costly affair with very little payback.  It's remarkably expensive unless you can get the upgraded components cheaply (not retail) and do the labor yourself (not the LBS).  Even so, there will essentially no payback in speed for doing so.  And after an upgrade, you'll have a pile of nearly worthless used, lower-end components that you bought with good money.  Most people are better off just buying the bike with their desired groupset from the dealer, and leaving it the heck alone after that.

Aero wheels are a much better cost-benefit ratio.  They don't have to be exensive, they will make you faster, and you can always use your original wheels on the trainer or as winter wheels or whatever.



This is a great comment.  You should do the same calculation for any bike purchase. 

Your Trek is perfectly fine for racing even an Ironman, and certainly a HIM.  The bicycle "arms race" in triathlon has fooled many people into thinking an average road bike is not capable, and yet it is.  Really.  You wouldn't want to do 56 mile race on a mountain bike or a hybrid, but pretty much any non-crap road bike will do just fine.

My first road bike was a Trek 2000 that I bought it in 2001 and it was the previous year's model.  It was a perfectly fine road machine with Tiagra components all around.  I rode that bike for several thousand miles including training for an Olympic distance triathlon.

Your current bike meets your needs just fine.  Given your financial situation, I think your best approach is to ensure that bike is well tuned - spend your money replacing worn-out cassettes and chains, perhaps new cables, that sort of thing.  If you want to upgrade, ensure you have a saddle you really like.

Wait a while and then get the P2 when you're able to afford it. You'll be a lot happier with it.

That is kick girl!!!  I used to ride around my neighborhood on my $70 Schwinn from Target, and threw a big stink that I had to have a road bike for triathlons.  So I spent all this money on my Specialized Allez, and wouldn't you freaking know, at my first tri I got passed  by a girl on the exact same model $70 Target Schwinn! HA!  It was a humbling moment to say the least

+ whatever on the old bike.

I've done all my tris on a 2002 Schwinn Fastback Comp I got on eBay in 2004 for $400.

I suck at cycling, and I have passed more than a few carbon tri bikes.  You will be fine on the Trek.

I am a bit surprised no one referred you to this.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/nemesis_pro_xi.htm
I bought the older version of this bike a few years ago and upgraded the frame last year with all the high end components,