Triathlon - Is there such a thing as a CHEAP tri bike?

You see the title. Is there such a thing? I am a 45 year old with a very limited budget with a wife and two daughters in school. Two in college and one in high school.

I haven't even talked to the LBS' in the area, because I know I can't afford a new JAMIS from the only LBS that I have purchased bikes from when I had a good job before it was sent to Mexico. I do have my road bike with Sora components and it works great, but I can definitely see the benfits of being setup on a true TT / Tri bike.

I am 6'3", so I am sure there aren't as many of those great deals in my size.

The cheapest true Tri bikes you will find new is on www.bikesdirect.com (http://www.bikesdirect.com) however you may be able to find a used one in the classifieds here or on www.slowtwitch.com as well. The cheapest true Tri bike on bikesdirect is the Motobecane Nemisis for $995.

Aero bars + extensions
Fast-forward seat post
Tune brakes/derailleurs for the new cables

...and you're done

If you're looking for a completely new bike, it can be done on a budget, but right now is the hot season for bikes and parts and prices are pretty much at their peak. Winter is when you find the steals. You can certainly build a bike on a very limited budget, but it'll take a little longer.

Check craigslist. I always see a number of 4-6 year old tri bikes for under $500.

Here´s an example of what you can do with a ´standard´ road bike

Cervelo P1, set up for the road:

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/Cervelo-S1/sm/S280.jpg

And set up with new bars, shifters, etc for a tri:

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/Cervelo-S1/sm/S130.jpg

No need really to go with the race wheels, bullhorns, barend shifters etc. as on the photo. Get a fast forward seatpost, drop the bars a bit (flip the stem), whack on some cheapy aero bars and you´re good to go.

Bear in mind that the FF seatposts enjoy healthy demand on eBay, so no problems selling it on afterwards. The Nitto 66 is another similar product.

I have checked craigslist in my area for a long time and I have only seen one and it was for a much shorter person.

I am not looking for a bike at this exact moment, but it is something I am looking for.

First of all, do you have a target price? Cause cheap is broad and relative to he person. I just finisehd my build and it came i at 5100 but if I paid full price for everything it would be closer to 7000-8000 and thats cheap to me.

But frame wise Leader makes tri/tt frame
http://www.leaderbikestore.com/pd_ld-720tr.cfm
http://www.leaderbikestore.com/pd_ld-720tr.cfm

x-labe has this http://www.xlab-usa.com/mach_3.html

there are three cheaper options. you could just swap all your parts over to a new frame and get aero bars to add on.

OK, cheap is definitely relative. I keep hearing about $500.00 TT bikes on craigslist, etc... I might be able to swing one of those, but not at this time. I am currently just using a road bike, and that is my plan for at least another year. Hopefully by then my wife will be full time RN, and the money should be a lot better for our family.

I will keep watching craigslist and see what comes my way. I would think about something from Bikes Direct, but even there cheapy is way out of my price range.

OK, cheap is definitely relative. I keep hearing about $500.00 TT bikes on craigslist, etc... I might be able to swing one of those, but not at this time. I am currently just using a road bike, and that is my plan for at least another year. Hopefully by then my wife will be full time RN, and the money should be a lot better for our family.

I will keep watching craigslist and see what comes my way. I would think about something from Bikes Direct, but even there cheapy is way out of my price range.

Use what you got with clip on aerobars and a forward seatpost, maybe a wheel disc cover from wheelbuilder.com everything will set you back $300 TOPS.... Next year you can likely sell most on ebay for almost what you paid, and buy yourself the Tri bike you want....

They can be, you just have to catch the right deal. Too bad you are not 5'1-5'5, I've got a new old stock Javelin (2006) still in the box with 9 speed 105 and compact cranks (okay, this is a plug :) ) I'm selling for $550, but that doesn't really help you. I ride a 60cm road bike, and when I was looking for frames I found the most plentiful were those larger than 58cm and smaller than 51cm, in other words the less common sizes.

You might also keep an eye on this site:

http://www.usedtriathlonbikes.com/

I found a great Tri bike setup with 105 and dura-ace shifters for $950 CDN from a bike store in Toronto called Endurosport. The brand is called Nineteen (yes, the wetsuit company) and the frame was built by the same guys that build most canadian brands like Jamis. I havent had time to pick it up yet but I'm looking forward to getting it in a few weeks when I get back from vacation.

Performance Bike also has the Schwinn Prologue for $899 (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=25853&subcategory_ID=3040), which got a decent review in Road Bike Action (http://http://www.roadbikeaction.com/fly.aspx?layout=content&taxid=84&cid=50). Personally I like the look of it more than the Motobecane Nemesis, plus (although it's a minor detail) it's got an aero seatpost, but the component spec is higher on the Nemesis for not too much more money

I ended up adding a Oval Concept Road bar with a under only stem cap on my road bike, which allowed me to remove my extensions on demand.

Sort of described here: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Are_we_ready_to_Get_Shorty__435.html

Worked great for the Silverman HIM.

Bonktown (www.bonktown.com) irregulary carries tri bikes, and lately has had the Quintana Roo Caliente with a mix of DA/Ultegra/105 parts on it (odd mix, yes) for close to $1000. Not sure which sizes it has had, though.

I bought a leader frame on E-Bay, and switched over my road components. I'm 6'1" 200+ lbs. I really like the frame. Also check out "Hi-Tech Bikes"in San Diego, CA. great prices.

Bonktown (www.bonktown.com) irregulary carries tri bikes, and lately has had the Quintana Roo Caliente with a mix of DA/Ultegra/105 parts on it (odd mix, yes) for close to $1000. Not sure which sizes it has had, though.
Quintana Roo search results on Bonktown (http://bonk.gearattack.com/search?q=quintana&commit=Search). I consider pretty much all the QR deals on Bonktown to be really good buys. I mean, where else will you find a full carbon Tri Bike for $1425...

The tri bikes on Bikesdirect are pretty good deals as well, although given what the OP said earlier, probably out of his price range.