Slicster

Hey all,
I just competed in my very first Triathlon SPRINT and am very happy I was able to make it through in 1h38m but disappointed in my Swim and Bike times. The swimming portion I knew I would be one of the last since I have a terrible swimming technique but I really though I would do better on the biking portion. I really don't know much about biking so I thought I wouldn't be so far behind with a decent Hybrid bike. Oh boy was I wrong! I was being passed by everyone as if I was standing still. In fact, the only two bikes I passed on the track were similar bikes to mine. This was very depressing because I was peddling so fast and hard that the veins in my legs were showing. Don't think I could have gone any faster on the bike I was riding. Anyhow, I decided I would invest in a new Road Bike.

Here are my Triathlon times:

SWIM 750m - 25m12s
BIKE 20km - 42m29s
RUN 5km - 23m37s

If I had a decent road bike, I'm sure I would have knocked 10 minutes off my race.

Anyhow,
As I don't plan on biking too much and only use it to sometimes commute to work, once a year for a triathlon(olympique instead of sprint next year) or an occasional bike ride, I don't want to spend pro prices. I have got a budget of 600$CAD but would rather spend under 500$CAD. After much research, which there isn't much out there, I came up with the following possibilities and I'd like to know which would server my purpose?

I'm well aware that many will say spend more and it will be worth the investment but I'm really looking to stick to my budget. Any suggestion or alternatives will be much appreciated.

Thank you.

DaveQ24

You're basically right, you couldn't go any faster on a hybrid. Or, marginally, a mile or so per hour, by swapping out tires, making sure everything is exactly dialed in fit-wise, that sort of thing.

But to pick up speed, yes, you need a road bike.

OK, I actually have a GMC Denali. The same one in fact. Total piece of CRAP. However, I didn't buy it as a bike to ride, I bought it to be wall art, my father was a GM exec and I have a displacy of various GM memorabilia, including a lot of his personal GM items - makes a great focal point for the display. Ride it - rode it once for under a mile, the day I bought it, just for the Hell of it. It's pretty craptastic. I would NOT if I were you. Also, heavier than sin.

I can't really comment about the other 2, no experience with them.

There are a lot of opinions online - what really counts is what feels right for you. If you could test ride either or both it would help, but if you are mail-ordering I guess not?

Good luck, yes, you will definitely do better with a road bike. Your run was pretty good, your swim - practice practice and technique and form. There are a lot of great technique and form videos on Youtube.

CrankyNeck

Of these three, I think the Diadora is the best value.

Slicster

Thanks for the reply. I was planning to buy online but since I might be going for the higher end Diadora, I'll probably go see one in store.

For the swim, I had decided 2 weeks before the triathlon to enter so I really wasn't prepared. I though 750m would be a breeze and that I was a decent swimmer but once I tested myself in a pool, I was really worried. I went a few more times before the race - in a pool twice, in a lake and then at the actual basin we would be swimming and I at least made it through. Going to signup for swimming lessons in the next few days.

DaveQ24

Always better to see, and test ride, in person.

Hey, that's pretty good then, two weeks, no practice, I think you should be pretty proud of yourself. Upgrade the bike, put in some training time, and you'll blow away those stats.

Let us know what you decide on the bike.

Slicster

Hey Dave,
I've been rethinking my purchase and I know that I will probably be using whichever bike I buy more often to get from point A to B rather than racing. I'm thinking that with an expensive bike at 500$+, I will always be worried about having it stolen? That being said, is the GMC really all that bad for this type of riding? Would I not get better results on a crappy bike like that in a race than my hybrid and wouldn't it serve as an OK daily driver? Or perhaps I should throw a Vilano 21 speed bike into the mix as a 350$ in between?

DaveQ24

Hi, well, here is the "conventional wisdom" that you'll find on here: Most people will tell you to stay away from the low end, mass-market bikes - they refer to them condescendingly as bike-shaped-objects. There is truth in that in many ways. OTOH, your experience could be better than the average.

The two problems I have with very low end bikes are that they are all very heavy, and it's a real crapshoot about how well and how long they hold up. Components are pretty poor overall, and assembly is often questionable.

The lowest end Shimano components on the Denali are actually better than no-name components. Also, see if you can get one locally at a Wal-mart or other big box retailer. I paid $160 US for mine at Wal-Mart. Seems cheaper than the online price on Amazon Canada.

I don't overall want to say yes or no to "buy it" ... I've got my own Wal-mart special mountain bike, that I bought basically to be a learning experience in bike repair, and I've put at least 5000 miles on it with virtually no repair, just routine maintenance issues. Held up a lot better than I thought it would. So, who knows? I would be a hypocrite to say "no, don't" when I have done the same. And, I would be a little nervous saying "buy it" and have it turn out to be a bad bike with a lot of problems.

Overall, you probably would do better on any road bike than a hybrid or mt bike in terms of potential speed you can achieve. Mainly because of the tire width, tread, and aero riding position - it's just faster overall. That's my opinion. I'm no expert. The weight thing .. well, 10 lbs weight difference is pretty small in terms of the overall percentage of total weight of bike and rider.

Theft -well, another issue. I personally have never had a problem, I just carry a good lock with me if I'm going to lock the bike outside, but again, I'm in a pretty "nice" suburban area, and I'm really not worried about theft as a big problem. There are a LOT of good lock systems out there that should minimize that risk.

One thing about buying a bike at a big box store like Wal-mart - here in the US, they have a 90 day return policy. If some place near you has that, you could have a while to ride it and see how it feels, and take it back if it's got problems. Just something to consider, I personally would NOT be ashamed to do that. Buy it and ride it hard for a couple of weeks or a month, then decide.

Used could be another good option - you really can get some really great deals. You just have to be wiling to put in the leg work and maybe some elbow grease fixing the bike up a little. Something else to consider.

Slicster

WOW that is a great informative reply. Thank you so much. I was learning heavily towards buying and trying at Walmart but I'm waiting on them to have something decent in stock.