Triathlon - Race bike, Serotta

I'm always dreaming about my next bike. I think I'll go for a bike specifically for racing next. I'm picky about fit, and would like a custom bike. I'm curious why I rarely see Serotta bikes at triathlons?

For one I'm not leaving my Serotta in any transition area. I use another bike for my tri's just in case. I also hate dripping salt water on it. They are great bikes.

Really?! That wasn't the answer I expected! You use your Serotta for training - with a conventional set up and seat post angle, I assume, and then another bike for racing - what kind of bike? I have a Trek for training, I put some aerobars on, and I'm using it for racing, too, but I was thinking about having 2 different set ups. I would assume you would want a really good bike for racing, especially if you are doing the longer tris (half and full ironman). Tell me more about your thinking on this.

I'm always dreaming about my next bike. I think I'll go for a bike specifically for racing next. I'm picky about fit, and would like a custom bike. I'm curious why I rarely see Serotta bikes at triathlons?

Probably do not see many of them because there is no point in getting a Serotta if you are not going to have it built for you (the whole idea behind the company's fit system). I doubt most people have the time (for fitting) or money (they are somewhat expensive) to get such a bike.
People i've talked to that have Serottas built for them speak very highly of them.

I have a Serotta bike that I was trying to sell it is an older model early 90's coor light racing team bike . I am 5'11" my inseam is 34" Just fyi there are alot on ebay to choose from in the used market if its a serotta you want there available just have to find the right size..my opinion

I'll bet you're right, EarlT. My interest in Serotta is because of the custom fit. I am very sensitive to fit and injury prone, so my fit has to be excellent. I don't think I can afford one for racing, and one for training, so I'm not sure what to do.

I have a Serotta bike that I was trying to sell it is an older model early 90's coor light racing team bike . I am 5'11" my inseam is 34" Just fyi there are alot on ebay to choose from in the used market if its a serotta you want there available just have to find the right size..my opinion

No doubt there are used ones for sale, and you could probably find one that is as good a fit as any other stock bike. But if that is what you wanted, why not buy a stock bike?
A custom bicycle is based on more than inseem.
Serotta fitters look at pedal stroke efficiency at various seat tube angles, cadences, positions (bar height relative to seat height), any discrepancies in leg length, what sort of riding will be done on the bike (triathlon, road race, recreational, touring, etc.) etc.
Difficult for average rider to get all this right - especially in the used market. Could happen, though.

For me, Serotta was the only way to go. I had tried to purchase a stock bike, but something was not right when I rode. I finally walked into a LBS that knew what they doing and I found out why. I cannot buy my clothes off the rack and cannot get my bikes that way either.

I am 6'5 with a very long torso. Once the LBS began to take other measurements (such as knee to ankle and hip to knee) it became obvious that custom was the way to go for me. The fit cycle that a Serotta certified tech uses is an excellent way to learn a lot about your fit and needs regardless if you buy a Serotta or not.

As far as cost, I was able to purchase a bike that was a perfect fit for me at only slightly more than the cost I had set for my price range.

There are other builders who also do custom work, (Independent Fabrication, Gunner, Seven etc.) but I found Serotta to be the superior choice for me.

I ride, train and will race with my bike. Good luck.

Well my opinion is if you need to get all the mechanics right to be a good rider then your really not gonna be a good rider no matter what you ride! Rember its not about the bike. What sense does it make to worry about a few grams of bike weight when your carrying afew extras on your arse.......

No pain, no gain, huh mountbr? Why get a bike that fits when you can SUFFER? That's real riding. Sounds like a recipe for quitting to me. A good fit enables a person to go longer and faster because it makes for good RIDER mechanics - the ability to engage appropriate muscles for the most power and efficiency. Not to mention it is more fun, less painful, and less likely to cause injury. It has nothing whatsoever to do with bike weight. Not that I'm arguing that I couldn't gets some pounds off my arse (and that's EXACTLY where it is!)

No pain here just the truth if you can ride it don't matter what you ride as long as you ride. Took a nice ride on the Fiore tandem today thing weighs about 44 #'s can't wait to lose some arse pounds myself....

No pain here just the truth if you can ride it don't matter what you ride as long as you ride. Took a nice ride on the Fiore tandem today thing weighs about 44 #'s can't wait to lose some arse pounds myself....

That may be effective for leisurely rides and occasional harder efforts. However, for anything serious you are simply kidding yourself. Proper mechanics are cruical, though you do not necessarily need a custom bike to attain such a fit. Mechanics and bike weight are not the same thing. A heavy bike can fit properly.

Failing to get fit properly is like when people try to loose weight by riding yet never figure out how to ride in the correct heart rate zone. A lot of effort and little results. No thanks.

I dont think you get it, getting fit for a bike properly is one of the most important parts of racing. You can destroy your back, knees, any of the joints on your body you use for riding with out a proper fit.

About the comment about sacving some weight wont make a difference, I would put moeny that my P3 would be faster, then your 40# bike

I'm always dreaming about my next bike. I think I'll go for a bike specifically for racing next. I'm picky about fit, and would like a custom bike. I'm curious why I rarely see Serotta bikes at triathlons?

The Serotta frame is not as "Aero" or as low in weight as the many other choices out there - Serotta also made their name in the road bike scene (back in the Team 7-11 days) and not on the Qween-K. Serotta continues to make a great name for themselves with models like the Ottrott. A friend of mine (and former pro rider) rides the Ottrott ST and loves it. One poster noted that they would not leave a Serotta in a transition area.....Sure Serotta's do cost more on average due in part to the custom fit approach - but I have over 8k into my Trek-TT, 12k if I am running my Zipp Z999 wheel set and I have no fear of leaving it in a transition area. Once you get to a certain level of races (like many of the Kona qualifiers or at Kona) you will note that having a bike in the 8 - 12k range is not as rare as you might think.