nxtpre

I just won a triathlon and I got $25 dollars to a bike shop about 40 minutes from my house. I have another $40 to the same place that I acquired over a couple years by doing the same triathlon as part of a relay team. Now I want to upgrade a bit. There are 3 things I want to get....

Clipless (I want to use it on my road and mountain bike)
Road helmet (I find myself straining my neck on my road bike because of the visor)
Bike shorts (I have a pair of those mountain bike ones with those cargo shorts over. I want some of the classic style spandex shorts for the road)

Which do you think I should get from that store? I understand that $65 won't cover the clipless. I was also thinking it might be better to get the clipless at my LBS instead in case I have problems. Any of these you think I should get online in order to save $$$?

Thanks

UmneyDurak

Clipless probably will be the safest choice. For shorts and helmets it's nice to be able to try them and see how they fit.

BlastRadius

$65 won't cover clipless pedals and shoes if you don't have them already.
It should get you a decent pair of shorts though.

For the helmet, just remove the visor if you're riding road.

cjbruin

This is a great thread!!! Here's a guy WINNING triathlons and he doesn't even have clipless pedals or road apparel. Way to go.

In my younger days I used to ride Cat 2 and I always trained in baggy t-shirts. I used to pull up next to Cat 3 & 4 guys at stop lights and they would give me funny looks. Of course once the light changed, they were only looking at the back of me.

Anyway...based on the info you provided in your question, I would go for the helmet or the shorts (consider a pair of bib shorts).

samp02

If you don't have shoes the shoes/pedal combination will cost some $$$$. Is the visor on the helmet removable?? You can start with short and helmet and get some ideas on the pedals.

nxtpre

It was a mountain bike triathlon... but thanks.

So it sounds like I should go for the shorts or the helmet. I checked my helmet, and the visor is not supposed to be removed. I'm sure it will come off, but I don't want to break it. I guess I'll just go to the store and check things out. Thanks for your help.

ggg300

go clipless it is worth it. none of the other stuff will really help you go faster.

climbo

can't you just pull the visor off your helmet? Most of them are removeable these days. Clipless is a big upgrade and will almost certainly make you faster.

nxtpre

Ahh... yes, the visor does come off. It looked like it wasn't supposed to be removed, but it came off alright.

Everyone says clipless... Is there any benefit to getting the clipless at my LBS as opposed to the one about 40 minutes away from me? I don't want to have to go back if I have problems. Thanks.

sparknote_s

If you aren't riding clipless already, but you ARE winning triathlons...

consider your transition to clipless an investment, not just a purchase.

If you want to save money use performancebike. 20% almost all during spring/summer (that includes already on-sale items) plus, you can exchange or refund items that don't meet your expectations for any reason. Best customer service I have had with an online retailer. Their own warranty on products they sell is even better than the manufacturers warranty on that product in most cases.