pilotzs

I'm looking for advice on purchasing a bike. I want to start training for small sprint triathlons and maybe build up eventually to Olympic distance tris.

I may want to use the bike for commuting also, and wasn't sure if i should start out with a hybrid commuter bike, such as the Trek Valencia (add aero bars), or try to start with a road bike (Specialized Allez or Trek 2.1, maybe). My price range is $1000 to $1100.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Trying to figure out what's best starting out for my purposes...

sirious94

You should definitely start with a road bike, that will allow you to improve and to be ready to race, You do not want to be slugging along on a hybrid during an olympic. Not to mention that if you put aerobars on the Valencia the upright position of the bike would basicly kill the positioning

As far as which one. the Allez, and the 2.1 are fine. A lot of the BF people are for the Cannondale CAAD-9 5. (a little more expensive at $1200-1400, but the CAAD-9 7 goes for 900) Consider that but try to test ride a couple.

Also try Craigslist and you might get a used carbon fiber bike. Try to get a set of clip on aerobars if you have a little left. Clipless pedals are reccommended, but toe clips are a cheaper alternative (less power transfer though).

As a final thought, get it fit well, and you should be fine. Good luck, and remember to tell us what you are going with.

tjspiel

If you plan on doing more than one or two triathlons I'd opt for a road bike over a hybrid. I had a tri this past weekend and you see all kinds of bikes including hybrids, - even on an olympic course. Since you're looking for a new bike anyway I recommend something better suited to the task.

I have a Specialized Allez that I commute and race with. It's not the perfect bike for either one but I enjoy it. It even has eyelets for a rear rack though I don't use one.

Try several bikes. Some will just feel better than others. A bike that fits and is adjusted correctly for you is extremely important for both comfort and performance.

The last thing I will say is that you can drop a lot of $$$$ on equipment. You'll see some very expensive bikes when you do your first tri. Don't let that bother you. Especially in a sprint tri, the difference between $1000 bike and a $5000 bike is a couple minutes in time savings at best. Most beginning triathletes can easily pick up a couple minutes by training better and working on their transitions.

IRONHEAD1

I would say road bike only anyway, a hybrid is very inefficient and i can't see how anyone would want to commute any distance at all on one. I started out on a trek 1000 for commuting and it was great. hybrids are for people who want to ride slow and at an easy pace.