Help

[possum]

I signed up for a 1/2 mile swim, 11 mile bike, 5k run in June.
1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.2 run in August.

I am 195 lbs. need to be 170, 43 years old.

I have not rode a bike since high school.
After a couple of beers I jump off the boat to swim/pee.
Did 13.1 run 2 years ago in 1:52 not much running the last year.

Joined the YMCA about 2 weeks ago and started swiming without the beers. My muscles hurt but no hang overs.

I need a bike. There are about 15,000 kinds of road and tri bikes. Should I buy a bike at wal-mart for 100 bucks ride it for a couple of months then buy a bike for under 2000 or just buy a nice bike now? What is a good brand? Carbon? tri? road? gears? saddle? peddles? What is a tri-suit?

I will drink a couple of beer and wait for some help, be nice and thanks for the help.

[svpatel]

try looking at some 2005 models, i'm sure you can get good prices on them, if there are any left

[MHR]

Everything comes down to budget $$$, opinion and the level of riding/racing you intend to do. Most who start out use a good mid-range road bike with clip-on areo bars. If you choose a Road bike, you compromise your body position for Tris. If you choose a Tri-specific bike you really can’t use it for riding in your local bike club unless you have clip-on’s and stay off the aero bars. It’s just not safe riding in a pack of riders with aero bars as you don't have the brake levers at your hands. So you need to choose what side of the fence you want to be on Road or Tri/TT. Your Bike fit/body position will need to be specific to match your intend use. So which Bike? The one that "fit's your body and specific use the best". When you purchase a bike "Fit" needs to be your main concern and it should be the thing you discuss with your local bike shop.

But - if you want a Tri-specific bike your body position will Tri/TT specific which can really only be used for one thing, an aero position for racing. The advantage is that it is faster and more comfortable (at least from my point of view - but as with anything it takes a while to get used to the position). When I first started racing Tris in the 1980's I did so with a $300.00 Schwinn, good Mavic wheels and an aero bar from Profile. I still consistantly finished in the top 1/3 on the bike in most all of the Olympic distance events I entered. Looking at that bike in my garage now I can't believe I even rode it...but believe me I paid my dues riding crap for years. Now over 20-years later, I have become quite spoiled with my Trek-TT which has set me back over $12k and is the fastest bike I have ever ridden. It is my weapon of choice at Ironman distance events.

If you just extend your budget to the $2,500 range you can move into a good very nice Tri-bike from Cannondale in the Ironman 2, Slice SI which is the same frame as the Ironman 1 SI SRM. The Ironman 2 uses Ultegra which is where you want to be as a basic entry (road or Tri) - don't select a bike with 105 as it is just too low end IMHO. With this bike after a season if you like racing Tris you can upgrade your wheels to a Zipp deep dish.

I also have an Ironman-5000 Slice Aero which was their Dura Ace version in 2004 and pretty much the same frame as the Ironman 1 and 2. This frame with its 78 degree seat tube has been proven at IM Hawaii to be one of the fastest frames out there and it is built in the USA with high quality. I love this bike, it is stiff, fast and handles awesome. I have set up as my short course bike with an aggressive forward TT position. I use it for TT's, Olympic distance and 1/2 Ironman events.

[thomps]

Now is a great time to pick up a clearance priced bike. Get yourself a road bike that you can tweak a little bit for the longer triathlon. Since your goal is likely to just finish with out a trip to medical tent, you really don't need the aerodynamics of the tri geometry.

The other option is to look at the Cervelo Dual. It has a reversible seat post that can convert your road setup to a tri setup when you're ready.

[auto208562]

I think you should borrow a bike for your first tri if you don't have one. I rode a MTB for my first two tris because I didn't want to spend any money on this sport if I wasn't going to do it long term. After my first two, I ended up buying a tri bike. I picked up a cervelo dual 10, a previous year's model, for a $400 discount.

Good bike brand: I like Cervelo but Felt is a good entry level bike brand for road/tri. Good price points and pretty good inventory (compared with Cervelo).
Pedals: I recommend LOOK. Get something with float.
Tri-suit: A suit which can be worn for all three disciplines. For the swim, under the wetsuit. For the bike and run, you just wear the tri-suit.
Saddle: I didn't like the one that came with my Cervelo. I ride a Serfas MTB saddle for my MTB and a Serfas Road saddle for my tri bike.

[merlinextraligh]

A lot depends on how much you want to spend, and how you see yourself using the bike. A decent road bike can be used for a lot of things (triathlons, group rides, training, long rides like centuries, knocking around the neighborhood).
A traithlon specific bike is really good for one thing, doing a triathlon.
For a sprint distance triathlon, the difference between a decent road bike and a full on tri bike will be not be terribly significant (unless you're goal is to win, and seconds count). Personally i'd buy a decent name brand road bike from a good local shop. $1000 is a good break point, and try to get a bike that has Shimano 105 componets. Below 105, there are some performance trade offs. Above $1000 and Shimano 105, you're paying lots of dollars for rapidly diminishing returnns.

[possum]

I will go the bike shop today. Thanks for the help.

[SesameCrunch]

Don't forget to look for used bikes. I find good deals on Craigslist all the time. It's a good way to get into a good quality bike without paying full price.

[CycleAloha]

I always recommend Performance Bike, they have some Scattante 05's at great deals. I am training for a Sprint Tri and ride the R550 (w/added aero bars) and it does great.The downside is it's an online retailer and I couldn't ride it b/f buying so you are taking the chance that it won't suck once you get it. We just bought my wife a Giant FCR4 and she loves it but she rode everything from Trek to Bianchi b/f deciding on that one. She does a different kind of riding than I do too. I always recommend that site but again for every one good customer you may find two who hate it. Everything is about what works for you...one bike in one size will be totally different to you from one by a different manufacturer that is the same size. I did not shop used bikes but that was just personal preference. Good luck!!!!