BT Forum

Are you sure you want a tri/TT bike or maybe just an entry level road bike?  You are probably best off with a road bike based on what you are saying.

What's your price range?  If you want a decent entry level ROAD bike you are looking at approx 1000 bucks.

I know all the local bike shops and they are ok but if you want a TT/Tri specific bike, rather than a road bike, the knowledge base is not as good.

Let me know the answer to the two questions above and I can give you some suggestions.

If cost is a major issue, Performance Bike in Paoli often has good prices, but the knowledge base of their sales folks is highly variable.

Well, I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for I suppose.  I'm considering a tri bike just based off of what I've read so far.  I don't anticipate doing any bike specific races or taking up cycling outside of training for a triathlon specifically.  From what I've read it sounds like a tri bike helps a bit by keeping the legs a little more fresh for the running part but I have zero experience with this.  I'm looking to keep the price below $1500 ideally.  I was leaning towards one of the internet deals for the component aspect but I have no experience with road/tri bike setups and I'm just going off what others have said as far as comparing SRAM/105/Ultegra/etc.  I've had some pretty good mountain bikes over the years and am a little leary of getting lower end components as I've had a number of breaks, some by running into things but at times by just regular wear and/or while under heavy load.  It looks to me from a few forums that adding aero bars to a road bike vs. buying a tri bike is a pretty polar topic with very different opinions.  I figure since I have no experience with either I may as well start with a tri bike rather than decide I should switch down the road.  Again, thank you for your help, I really do appreciate it.

Beaux, in your price range you could get a very decent road bike OR tt/tri bike.

I am a road cyclist so what I say might be biased in favor of road over tt/tri.  You should probably check with several sources.  You should also go to all the LBSs (Performance, Bike Line, West Chester Cycles, and Bean's) and try some for test rides.

My feeling is that if you ONLY want a bike to do tri's then a tri/tt bike is ok.

However if you want a bike that you can ride in a group (we have a very active cycling club in WC, check the website http://www.wccyclingclub.com/), and if you are going to be doing any group rides or overall fitness rides a road bike will trump a TT bike.

I think if you ask any of the "serious" tri folks here I suspect they would say they prefer to ride their road bike over their tri bike except for when racing or maybe preparing for a race.

Good luck in your quest!  Remember, the proper fit is most important and although you may have to pay a little extra you might do better at a shop over getting something from an internet source that doesn't fit quite right.

I got into cycling from training for triathlons, and I have a mountain bike background as well.  I started with a road bike myself.  I had read that a TT/tri bike, while better for the actual race, wasn't good as a day in-day out trainer for the roads.  And I think I understand why, after getting a tri-specific bike back in the fall; they just don't handle well at low speeds, the brakes can be questionable (especially if you go full carbon wheels) and they don't climb too well.

You also have more options as far as local deals go, with a road vs tri bike. 

For component level, road bikes don't see nearly what mountain bikes see for abuse, especially in the drive train, so lower end components don't break easier, in general they just weigh more, or may not have some features that the higher end lines will have.

If I was starting over with bikes, I'd still get the road bike first.  I wouldn't look at this as either/or, if you really get into multisport, you'll end up with multiple bikes eventually.

You know the ideal number of bikes you should have?  It is n+1, where n is the number you currently own.

For local shops, I go to Cycle Fit of Delaware County, in Wallingford.  They are Trek and Fuji dealers, and tend to specialize in discounted/year end models.  They can do basic fitting, but are limited in triathlon fitting.  I recently got a pro fit at High Road Cycles in Wayne.  I was pretty close before, but we did change a couple things.  Only one ride so far on the new fit, but nothing really hurt afterward.

Well, I'm convinced.  This makes amazingly good sense to me.  You guys bring up some really good points, thank you for that.  I'll start looking into a road bike this week, I'll be sure to stop by Cycle Fit as well.  The majority of riding I'll be doing won't be in a race so it would be nice to have some versatility too, I could even strap one of those bike trailers on and take the kid out for some fresh air without feeling guilty about training. 

Would you recommend clip on aerobars?  Is that something that will help my speed or save my legs a little?  I'm also considering getting a bike trainer for training indoors.  Ideally I'd rather be outside but with a baby on the way in the next couple weeks I have a feeling I won't be very mobile for a little while.  Is there anything I should be looking for in a trainer or can I just go by the reviews?

I'll be trying my hand at a sprint distance triathlon in early August and likely an olympic distance around September.  I'm confident I can cover the distances although I'm sure my times will be rather sad.  I figure I'll need about a year or more of solid training before I'd feel comfortable attempting anything like a half or full Ironman, I'm confident I couldn't finish a full and likely not a half without logging some serious miles first.  A nice entry level road bike sounds like it would be fine for the training and the shorter races.  I'll worry about upgrading or a tri bike as I get some experience and begin worrying about covering much longer races.  Again, thanks for all the help, I really do appreciate it.

Start with a road bike and regular drop bars.

As you gain comfort and stability you could consider or  try clip-ons.   They may help your speed a little bit but are not as maneuverable as regular bars so I would hold off.

On the other hand, clip-IN pedals/shoes ARE a worthwhile investment, a reasonable pair of shoes and pedals will cost approx $200 so make sure you budget for that too.

You probably have spd-based pedals.  They are fine.  You could even swap out your current MTB pedals and shoes for a start.

Helmet, shorts, water bottle/cage, floor pump, saddle bag with spare tube and/or patch kit, frame pump/mini pump and/or co2...that's probably enough to get you started!

Enjoy!

Based on all of the advice I picked up a road bike today.  Got a good deal at Cycle Fit, very pleased with the price.  Carbon frame, 105 components, seems to fit really well.  They changed out the stem and gave me a decent discount on new pedals and shoes.  It moves a lot faster than I'm used to.  The guy at the shop did the fit with the seat in the middle and didn't drop the handle bars too much.  He told me as I get some more experience it'll give me the option of adjusting the bike to get more aggressive down the road.  I'll be looking forward to taking it out for a while after work tomorrow.  Thanks again for all the help.

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