Triathlon - Which Bike For Me?

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incufan1
03-05-10, 05:47 PM
I am going to buy a bike finally, I hope. I would like some input/opinions if you all would please be so inclined to offer me some.
Here’s my background: 2009 was my first year of any kind of biking since childhood. I did the Jordanelle Sprint Triathlon and the Alta Canyon Rec Center’s I-Can-Tri mini sprint in Sandy, UT. I loved doing both of them. I trained on an 80’s Reflex mtn bike with road tires on it, and used a friends’ Cervelo road bike for the races.
For 2010 I would like to do the Jordanelle Olympic distance tri AND the Xterra Off-Road Tri in Ogden, UT. I have only been mountain biking one time, but I LOVED it, more than road biking even.
My dilemma is that I don’t know what kind of bike to get; road or mtn? I think I will get more overall out of a mtn bike because I don’t like training on busy roads, BUT I don’t know if I would want to ride a mtn bike [with road tires] in an Olympic distance tri. My budget is low, less than $500. So what do you think? Thanks in advance!!!

StanSeven
03-06-10, 08:16 AM
Consider a cyclocross bike - essentially a road/touring frame that can accomodate wider road tires with knobby threads. You probably can find a used one on-line because the cyclocross racing season ends about this time of year.
gus6464
03-06-10, 11:07 PM
I am using a cyclocross bike right now to train and will be using it on my first tri in a couple of months. The position is not as aero as a TT/Tri bike but since you are going to be a doing an off-road tri it would be perfect. You can just have a set of 700x32 tires for off-road and a set of 700x23 tires for road.

The only problem is that the cheapest cyclocross bike starts at around $800 for the Kona Jake. I got lucky and got a 2009 Fuji Cross Comp on clearance which normally sells for $1400 for $800 but if you look around you might be able to get a deal like that. Check out a performance bike if you have one near you to see if they got any 09's left. Also check out their in house brand Scattante for the X-560.

travelmama
03-07-10, 08:14 PM
I am going to buy a bike finally, I hope. I would like some input/opinions if you all would please be so inclined to offer me some.
Here’s my background: 2009 was my first year of any kind of biking since childhood. I did the Jordanelle Sprint Triathlon and the Alta Canyon Rec Center’s I-Can-Tri mini sprint in Sandy, UT. I loved doing both of them. I trained on an 80’s Reflex mtn bike with road tires on it, and used a friends’ Cervelo road bike for the races.
For 2010 I would like to do the Jordanelle Olympic distance tri AND the Xterra Off-Road Tri in Ogden, UT. I have only been mountain biking one time, but I LOVED it, more than road biking even.
My dilemma is that I don’t know what kind of bike to get; road or mtn? I think I will get more overall out of a mtn bike because I don’t like training on busy roads, BUT I don’t know if I would want to ride a mtn bike [with road tires] in an Olympic distance tri. My budget is low, less than $500. So what do you think? Thanks in advance!!!
Check out REI. There are cheap mountain bikes on the outlet page. I think you can use the 20% off coupon too.