[jon.a.cooper]

I have already competed in a few sprints and am ready to commit to a bike, but not necessarily a tri bike. I did the past sprints on a mtb (and it nearly killed me...)

I am thinking of upgrading to either a road bike (Fuji Newest 4.0 or Jamis Ventura Sport) or a cyclocross bike (Surly Cross Check or Bianchi Axis 2006 or Bianchi Volpe). These choises are based on what they had at my LBS, but I am open to other suggestions in my price range (<$1000).

My big question is whether to go cyclocross or road bike - I need something versatile that I could use for bumming around Philadelphia and for sprint/olympic tris including one off-road tri. Do most people ride cyclocross or MTB in off road tris?

I suppose I could also use my MTB for bumming around Philly, but there is some appeal to the cyclocross bike.

Is there a big performance difference on short tris between cyclocross and road bikes?
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

thanks,
Jon

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[Rahzel]

If you put thin (25mm width or less) and slick tires on the cross bike, it will be basically as fast as a road bike in a short tri. Consider buying some clip-on aerobars to throw on the bike for triathlons, as well.

[Psydotek]

If you put thin (25mm width or less) and slick tires on the cross bike, it will be basically as fast as a road bike in a short tri. Consider buying some clip-on aerobars to throw on the bike for triathlons, as well.

+1

My cyclocross bike (which i use for commuting) is extremely similar to my road bike when i have skinny 700x23 tires on it. :)

[jon.a.cooper]

Thanks guys. Any thought as to the particular cyclocross bike to go with - Surly Cross Check (steel) or Bianchi Axis (Easton Ultralight tubing). The specs for each are here:
Surly: http://www.surlybikes.com/crosscheck_comp.html
Bianchi: http://www.bianchiusa.com/06_axis.html

Going by the way it looks I am leaning towards the Bianchi but that may change once I test ride. Also, any thoughts on steel vs. aluminum? Are there other bikes (jack of all trades) that I am missing out on in that price range?

thanks for all the valuable input so far.