Triathlon - Need helping...looking for a new road bike or Tri bike...

Hello,

I'm looking for either a new road bike that i can add TT bars to when competing in tri's this year, or a dedicated tri bike. The only reason i suggest road bike first is because i like the idea of being able to use the bike all the time rather then simple for the two weeks leading up to a tri and then the tri...

Im thinking that my price range is around 2k and then i will save for upgraded race specific wheels. I dont have much of a preference between aluminum or carbon (although carbon might help me to keep me fresher when entering the run portion)...i would also like full ultegra components as i dont think dura ace is really worth all the extra money...

Thanks! Kieran

Not many options for a bike which can be used for road and also be stable enough to run in a forward seat post position. Only two bikes readily spring to mind -

Kestral Talon which is carbon. $1699 plus an extra $99 for an alloy or $169 Carbon dual post http://www.bicycledoctorusa.com/Kestrel%20Bike's%20&%20Frameset's.htm.

Cervelo Soloist which is alloy and at a few sites for $2000
(http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/soloist.shtml

*All $ US - assumed this to be the budget

I noticed recently the Kuota K-Factor. It's a really nice setup for just over $2,000. Our local dealer said that Kuota just raised the prices, but he has a couple left at the old price, which was $2,100. They are full carbon frame and great looking.

Ask your self this question. Will I be doing Tri's more or riding the road more? A full blown dedicated Tri bike is a great luxury item....If Tri's will be your primary focus a 2K tri bike of any ilk would be great.
If however, like most of us it is a 3-5 times per year thing simply buy a great road bike and slap on some bars....I have used my road bike for years as my tri bike. A strong rider is a strong rider.
You could geven get 2 1K bikes and have both......what brands do you like?

thehammerdog i personally dont have a bike preference...i have only ever rode the Fuji i currently own. i have test road several different bikes, the likes of Cannondale SuperSix 3 and SystemSix3...

but again i dont really have a preference, im willing to look at just about everything...

and truth be told about your question...personally at this point in my life i would say a really great road bike with TT bars, upgrades wheels, and possibly a different seat post for tri days would be the best and smartest buy!

I luv the whole shopping experience, it is the best part of riding is looking at what is out there comparing and seeing whatyou like, for what ever reason.. I say buy a nice fast comforable bike get a good seat aero bars and have at it...
Again let us know what ya get

I just spend about $200 upgrading and retrofitting and old c-dale I have. It was a siz smaller than my current ride. I got aero bars, fast wheels, and a thompson bent post for a better Tri position, seems to work..

good luck

What do you think about the Scott CR1 Pro?

It is a really nice bike. People I know who ride them luv them. HArd to say anything bad. Just get a good price I see they can vary from low to high 2K's:)

well the LBS i got to has it retailed for 2500 and they told me that they would give me a deal being that my uncle was a racer for them and i buy everything from them...

they also told me that with this bike really all i need to change is the head post to be alot shorter (2 inches) so that i can rest easily on the tri bars. other then that they told me that the seat has enough in it to move far enough forward as to allow for the tri style setup to save me legs for the run.

Again, if it is for tri's make sure you have the proper fit. It will never be a full out tri bike top tube is too long, if you go smaller frame for tri purpose it will never make a great road bike....you are myfriend like most of us in that Grey Zone. Not great at either but good enough for me. It is truly a nice bike worthy of any upgrade in the future....A short stem will mae a huge difference for going down onthe aero bars...Ride on dude.
where ya ride ?:):D

i live in NJ, south jersey...how about you?

Not many options for a bike which can be used for road and also be stable enough to run in a forward seat post position.

Cervelo Soloist which is alloy and at a few sites for $2000
(http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/soloist.shtml

Wish I had seen this thread sooner, I already have a Scott road bike, and just this past weekend I bought a used Cervelo P2K from a friend. But at least I only paid $500 for it, including the pedals, water bottle cages and Specialized Turbo Pro computer, so I couldn't pass it up. But the Cervelo Soloist sounds as if it could have been perfect for me, provided it fits...

Wish I had seen this thread sooner, I already have a Scott road bike, and just this past weekend I bought a used Cervelo P2K from a friend. But at least I only paid $500 for it, including the pedals, water bottle cages and Specialized Turbo Pro computer, so I couldn't pass it up. But the Cervelo Soloist sounds as if it could have been perfect for me, provided it fits...


Why are you upset? You have picked up a very good TT/Tri bike for a very good price. It's far better to have two bikes which will be better in their respective roles rather than one which does both well but with some compromise...

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/pk2.shtml

tomorrow i am going to another LBS to look at a few more bikes...including the Cervelo P2C...even though i dont think i want to buy a true tri bike the more i look at them the more i want one haha...

idk...my only problem with buying a true tri bike is the fact that it is suggested not to ride other then the two week before and including the race...personally i would like a little more use out of a bike at this time in my life...now if its ok to ride all the time then i would have no problems getting one...

Many people train exclusively on their Tri bikes. Just with aerobars many organised cycling groups won't let you train with them and a Tri bike doesn't usually climb as well as a road geometry bike...

I ask because it seems you really want the tri bike...I say get it. However, a true dedicated tri bike is good for one thing Tri's.
If you simply want to go fast all the time good, the person who told you to ride it only 2 weeks prior is simply not correct. It is a tool that you will need to ride often to get good on..It is a very different animal than a laid back road bike...and your body will need to adjust. A nice highend road bike will offer more options. But if you have the need for speed dude go nutz.
Buy it and ride it, and know I will be jealous..
50ish today in nj

idk...my only problem with buying a true tri bike is the fact that it is suggested not to ride other then the two week before and including the race

Simply not true at all.

Its sounds like a simple misunderstanding, the sage advice is if you mainly ride your road bike you should at least get out a couple of weeks before a TT or Tri and get some miles in with the different position.

Good TT/Tri riders will ride their bike year round, and if they have both kinds of bikes will ride their TT bikes at least once a week if not more. Their are quite a few very very fast TT'ers in the Road Bike Racing forum and some ride their TT bikes almost exclusively.

Many people train exclusively on their Tri bikes. Just with aerobars many organised cycling groups won't let you train with them and a Tri bike doesn't usually climb as well as a road geometry bike...

My first bike was a tri bike and since I wasn't interested in group rides the first issue wasn't an issue at all. However, I lived in a mountain town (Park City, UT) and while climbing wasn't so much of an issue, being in the bullhors on a climb wasn't all that different then being on the hoods riding flat position wise, descending was no-where near as fun as it is on a road bike. I gave up the tri bike in order to buy a road bike to get into road racing. For three years I missed the feeling of speed and now have a road and a TT bike.

50ish today in nj

Braggert : )

Wish I had seen this thread sooner, I already have a Scott road bike, and just this past weekend I bought a used Cervelo P2K from a friend. But at least I only paid $500 for it, including the pedals, water bottle cages and Specialized Turbo Pro computer, so I couldn't pass it up. But the Cervelo Soloist sounds as if it could have been perfect for me, provided it fits...

The P2K at $500 was a steal and while the soloist comes close to being the TT bike the P2K is when properly set up, changing the seat position, (a pain on Cervelos) and even more so swapping out the bars and re-routing the cables to get switch between a TT bike and road configuration is worth way more than $500.

You have the best of both worlds, rejoice.

That said, if you could only have one, yeah, the Soloist would be my choice.

idk what i want haha...i mean the Tri bikes are sweet, but im just weary of purchasing one. I know that a road bike will give me more in the sence of riding (ie turn, up hills, stop and go)...where as the tri bike will be better for going fast and straight (not so good with turns and stop and go)

well this is how it was explained to me...i think at this time, the best thing for me to do is get an excellent road bike with the addition of TT bars, atleast this way i can use it for anything and everything...

...but please correct me if wrong b/c i know a few of you say you can use a TT bike all the time...

while climbing wasn't so much of an issue, being in the bullhors on a climb wasn't all that different then being on the hoods riding flat position wise.

Interesting... What was the seat post angle?

Interesting... What was the seat post angle?

It was my first "real" bike so fairly shallow, 75 degrees.

idk what i want haha...i mean the Tri bikes are sweet, but im just weary of purchasing one. I know that a road bike will give me more in the sence of riding (ie turn, up hills, stop and go)...where as the tri bike will be better for going fast and straight (not so good with turns and stop and go)

well this is how it was explained to me...i think at this time, the best thing for me to do is get an excellent road bike with the addition of TT bars, atleast this way i can use it for anything and everything...

...but please correct me if wrong b/c i know a few of you say you can use a TT bike all the time...

Its all about what you want to do with it.

To give yourself some more food for thought, you can read one man's view, the often quoted Tom Demerly from Bikesport Michigan. He lays out the differences pretty well.

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/bikes/difference.shtml

that was a really good article bvfrompc...sorta opened my eyes a bit and being that i already have a road bike, and i dont plan to do any road racing or group riding...it possible means that in fact i should be looking at a tri bike...

I think your LBS is right, the steeper STA of the Scott does offer up decent geometry for a set of shorty aerobars. I am a believer that with a 75 degree STA, and some attention to detail a person can have a good road and tri position without moving anything. An average road position will have about 6-10cm of drop, 8cm of drop is enough to have an advantageous position in the aero bars.

Riding steep isn't the end all be all of tri riding. A local fitter to me encouraged me to work towards a more neutral 76 degree STA, instead of my 78. He has worked with people on the Euro Cycling circuit, Pro Triathletes, and a lot of Age group athletes. In his experience STA determines muscle usage, but so does running stride. Only problem? I'm having a hellified time actually moving back.

I've actually become very interested in this issue. If I had time, money and knowledge, it would be the first thing I would study about triathletes. It would require first tracking stride differences, foot striking position, leg muscle usage, foot location on back half of the stride and so forth. Then wattage testing at various STA. The recent fad in triathlon is 78-80 degrees, but I think with proper positioning and studies we would find the bell curve rests at 76-78 degrees.

Long story short, try out the scott, get fitted with a pair of shorty aero bars on it.

i was fairly set to go with a road bike in which i would add TT bars and whatnot, until i read a write up from bikesportsmichigan.com about road vs. tri bikes.

it basically asked what type of riding you currently do and what you plan to do in the future. with that said, i dont plan to do many group rides (and if i do my current road bike is good enough for that), i wont be doing any road races either. About 90-95% of my current riding is alone. I plan to do dualthlons and tris, and i live right on the edge of a rural area with farms and whatnot (so no city type stop and go...for the most part)...we have small rolling hills but no monsters. If anything this area could better help me learn how to properly ride a tri bike.

with all of this being said, im going to get a tri bike. Their doesn't seem to be any reason as to why not. I talked to a guy at bikesportsmichigan today and i told him i was looking in the 2500$ and i wanted the best bang for the buck. He told me that at 2500$ im in that exact place. He suggested the Cervelo P2C, Kuato K-Factor, and felt of some type, and a fourth bike in which i cant remember.

So, can you guys help me find the best tri bike for or around 2500$?

Thanks!

I just got the 2007 model of Felt's S22, which the sale price was $1800. I'm on a college budget so this was at the top end of my price range. I have an older '98 Cannondale R600 that I will use for most of my training\riding.
roadrunner: It depends on what you are looking for. If you want to upgrade wheels right away you might want to look for bikes around the $2K range and use the rest for a set of wheels, otherwise the Cervelo P2C, Kuota K-Factor, or I'm assuming the Felt bike was the B12 which has a lot of frame features that you don't always find on other models at this price range.