Brand New to Tris...
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319 days
jsk85 posted 42 weeks ago.
Welcome to the wonderful world of triathlon. I personally would suggest a road bike initially. I have been doing triathlons for just over three years now and I still use my road bike. I mostly only do sprint/oly, but have completed 2 1/2 IMs in that period. Granted, I am a recent college grad, and haven't had the money to seriously consider a tri-bike yet.
If you are just getting into the sport, I wouldn't invest in such a specific tool like a tri-bike until I was sure I was getting into the sport for the long haul. Also, I don't believe it's necessarily a good thing to do all your training on a tri-bike, but I could be wrong about that. Get a decent road bike and some clip-on aerobars and your set for a start. Then you can either upgrade the bike later to make it more time-trial friendly, or get a tri-bike later.
Welcome again and good luck
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2426 days
Tribro posted 42 weeks ago.
Firstly, welcome to the site. Glad to have you on board.
I road a rode bike for my first 8 years, with aerobars. A road bike is going to be more comfortable and better for overall training. I'd go with a road for sprints and make sure you enjoy the sport before dropping cash for a tri bike. A tri bike makes a difference, but for sprints it would be nominal if you get aerobars on it.
Felt's are good bikes, and the road bikes are inexpensive. Tell them you plan to do tris on it so they fit you accordingly, shorter top tube, seat forward type of stuff. Hopefully that helps.
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RGoolsby posted 42 weeks ago.
wow..that didnt take long at all thank you both. I think I am going to start look for road bikes with aero bars.. that seems to be a solid consensus ... anything else I should pay attention to or focus on when training or shopping for bikes?
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RGoolsby posted 42 weeks ago.
It would have to be somewhere around 52cm. I am around 5 10". What do you have?
*it might be easier to email me at rgoolsby (at) gmail (dot) com
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2426 days
Tribro posted 42 weeks ago.
Double check your fitting at a local bike shop. I'm 5'11" and ride a 56. 52 sounds small unless you have a short inseam and long torso...
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Tri4thlete posted 42 weeks ago.
ya i'm 5'4 and I ride a 52 cm and my training partner is 5'11 and he rides a 56cm bike but as Tribro said you might have a different build. But to add, I would borrow a bike if it's your very first tri just to see if you like it. Then I would buy a decent road bike or triathlon bike if you have the money, but road bikes will be cheaper.
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JDB posted 42 weeks ago.
I am sure everyone will agree that the most important thing is getting a bike that fits well, especially if you're new to the sport. Beware: triathlon is addictive and expensive.
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RGoolsby posted 42 weeks ago.
I went to a bike shop last night and he was suggesting 54 and the few that I road seemed to dit well. Now I just have to find a decent bike and a decent price....
Yeah, I know ..when I first started running it became very addictive... I can only imagine how this is gonna be...
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RGoolsby posted 42 weeks ago.
Haha.. i used to be a somewhat decent swimmer back a few years ago, but I have since joined a different gym that has a pool...and yes it currently is not my strong point!!
Let me also ask... is 850 a good price for a Felt s32 '06 in pretty good shape? It on craigslist in my area, should I keep looking? talk him down? Your thoughts are appreciated...
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tbs_craig posted 41 weeks ago.
it seems you may have already decided on a road bike, but i thought i'd add this point... if you think you might be interested in joining up with a group ride around town, tri bikes aren't generally welcome, they aren't as stable and are dangerous in groups. same goes for aero bars if you get them for your road bike, leave them at home when riding in a group.
that being said i really like felt bikes, we sell them at the shop i work at and people love them. looking at numbers and stuff will only give you a rough idea, you need to go get sized up, and test ride. Comfort is more important than what is supposed to be right.
craigslist is good, but the advantage of buying new from a shop is they will fit you, and most shops have incentives like a free tune up, free adjustments, discounts and what not.
good luck
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299 days
RGoolsby posted 41 weeks ago.
Thanks to everyone... just thought that I would let you all know that i went to a few more shops and finally decided on a Trek 2100. Got a pretty good deal on it and I will see you guys out there!
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Iron Dan posted 41 weeks ago.
I am glad to hear that you got a bike, enjoy getting out there and riding around.
Let me start by saying I have been reading these forums for a few weeks now and it seems like a great place for information.
I have never ran a tri and I haven't even thought about it until about two weeks ago. I run 5ks and 10k races on a regular basis and I tried out a friends road bike one sunday afternoon and nearly fell in love. It was such an amazing feeling.
Anyway, I want to start training and compete in my first spring tri sometime this summer. (An extremely reasonable goal I would think.) However, I have been reading about the differences between road and tri bikes and I understand the differences between the two but I don't know which direction should i take.
My primary goal would be to compete several sprint triathlons a season and work my way up to larger distances. I am not going to buy two separate bikes one to train and one to race. I am also leaning towards used bike due to I am new to the sport and dont want to drop a ton of cash. Would it be better to start with a road and just use it for tris? or to get a solid tri bike and just train on it as well.
Also suggests for bike types? I road on a felt and it was very nice.
Thanks in advance.