Great Lakes - Looking to get started

I am looking to buy a road/tri bike. I have only road mountain bikes and this is all new to me. I am looking at bikes I found on line. Mercier and a motobecane. The motobecane comes with great components like the shimano Ultegra 6600 and the dura ace shifters. Does anyone have one of these brands and if so what do you think?

A lot of people will tell you they are crap. A lot of other people will tell you that they are great. No-one will argue that it isn't a good deal for the components you get, the frame is the main thing in question (as well as assembly).

I have a Motobecane Immortal Pro, that I have yet to ride. Build quality looks great, parts work smoothly on the trainer, but I can't testify to its real road ride ability yet. I do know that if I don't like it, I can get a new/used frame I do like, and switch over all the components and still be money ahead.

If this is your first road bike, you may not want to go the internet order route. You should probably go to your local bike store and ride a few. See what you like, what you don't like, compare the relaxed geometry of some road bikes to the more aggressive road bikes, or the even-more aggressive tri-bikes. See what size you need. When sizes vary by 2cm, using an internet guide to bike sizing isn't exactly a gaurantee that it will fit.

What is your price range?

If this is your first road bike, you may not want to go the internet order route. You should probably go to your local bike store and ride a few.

+1 on using a LBS for your first bike. Go to a few shops, test ride a few, talk to the employess to get the right bike and a proper fit. If possible pick an LBS that is close to where you live, to make it easier to get adjustments and take care of warranty issues. You may pay a little more by going to the LBS, but will usually have an overall better experience that makes it worth it.