What is a good bike for a beginner?
 

My wife and I are both beginners about to begin training for a triathlon. We are going to stop by a bike shop to look at some and get some questions answered.

Any recommendations for what brands to look for/how much we should spend/what accessories to get, etc?

Thanks

If you already have road bikes that fit you and are comfortable, just spend $80-$100 on some clip-on aerobars to "test the waters." That way, if you decide that triathlon isn't for you in a year or two, you won't have made a $1500-$5000 investment in a bike that's not good for much else than triathlons.

However, if you are *sure* you want a triathlon bike, check out the entry-level bikes ($1500-$2500) in the following brands:

Cervelo (P2 SL, P2C)
Felt (B12, S22, S32)
Trek (Equinox 7)
Quintana Roo (Kilo, Tequilo)
Kuota (K-Factor)
Giant (Trinity Alliance A1, A2)

All of the bikes listed above, with the exception of Trek, are designed around riding at a steep "seat angle", which is optimum for triathlons. This is what sets a tri bike apart from a road bike, other than the funky handlebars and the aero tubing. Again, though, these bikes will only be subtly better than just spending $100 on some clip-on aerobars so really do some soul-searching to decide if you really want to buy another bike :)

Cost
 

Yeah, I'm ready to make that kind of investment yet. Probably looking for a road bike that I could use

My wife is training for her first tri and my road bikes are to large and besides they don't fit her body type the shorter top tube and seat angle of a tri specific bike are just right for her. Any way she found a Javelin Narni with Campi for a good price, anyone have an opinion about this set-up?

P2-SL

Great bike and you will have money left over for race wheels.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3148/...561c53c5_b.jpg

If you're tall this looks like a good deal??

http://bicyclebananas.com/mm5/mercha..._Code=14-Jamis