Best Option For first triathalon

[WeAreMarshall]

Hey,

So, I have 4 bikes - and I have no clue which one would work best for my first triathlon next fall.

First
A Schwinn Mountain bike with Chromolly Frame, 18 speed, 26 inch. Hard tail. Its a really decent bike, in pretty good shape.

Second is an old Western Flyer, I'm pretty sure its a crap bike but it was good for the last city I lived in since it has the fat road tires (hybrid?). Its a 10 speed with friction shifters (on the handlbars) and dropbars. Nothing special about that.

I also have two older road bikes, a falcon monaco and Schwinn traveler, both are ridable but need a serious tune up and *maybe* a new chain and wires. 10 speed and 12 speed respectively, each have friction shifters on the dropbar. 700cc thin road tires.

Basically I'd just like to know, which option would be best for my first tri? I'm going to be training this summer and would like to train on the bike I ride.

Thanks,
Carl

[FormerFF]

I did my first sprint tri last summer on an old 12 speed road bike. I can't tell you how many people I passed on hybrids. Get one of the roadies in shape and use it.

One thing that's important is that you have enough gears for your terrain, and older bikes don't always have them.

[triathlonnoob]

im doing my first one in july on a vintage 12 speed so i would go with the roadies

[Yukon37]

Looking at your other post the Monaco looks to be the better bike. The Schwinn looks rough. 700C tires definitely seal the deal. You have time to work it into shape and get accustomed to it, heck if you can score a deal on ebay slap an aero bar on it. What distance are you doing and what is the terrain like?