is there such a thing as an intro tri-bike?
71
Member
785 days
bgreinke posted 19 weeks ago.
I think you have to weigh the pluses and minuses of each route. Getting a tri-bike now will help you finish the bike quicker with fresher legs. I would apply that criteria to the race distances you are doing now and what you plan to be doing in the future. If you're going shorter now and not barely missing the podium, you may better off with aero-bars on the road bike while saving for a mid-range tri-bike. If on the other hand you're doing longer races where having fresh legs will make a bigger difference, changing the geometry now may be a bigger deal. The other thing to consider is what can you get for your budget now/sooner vs in year or two (or whatever your saving time frame is). If you know you're going to want to upgrade in the near future if you go intro now, you may want to hold off. Just the thoughts that ran through my mind when you posed the question.
From personnal experience, I stuck with the road bike for two years so I could go mid-level with my first tri-bike. That being said, I only did 1 HIM distance race with the road bike, everything else was sprint/oly.
Braden
230
Member
906 days
fpugsley posted 19 weeks ago.
ditto... If you are having fun and placing where you want, stick with the roadie until you can get what you want. You will always want more, but it will be worse if you get something that your skills will outgrow, or that you (already) think is inferior. If you love your bike, you will of course ride it more.
I also rode my road bike for a while (1 season) just to figure out what i wanted and if i would stick with it. I pulled the trigger on my bike this spring, and ended up building something with a frame that would fit me. Personally, I am glad I waited.
68
Member
373 days
danpatgal posted 19 weeks ago.
I got a Felt S32 after a long time drooling over Cervelo's Dual and P2SL. I just couldn't justify 2K or more for a bike that I wasn't sure I'd like, find more comfortable or was faster. Or, if for some reason I couldn't bike for a while (like if I broke my collar bone - like I did), I'd feel like the investment was squandered. So, I spent just $700 on a S32 (2006 model - but new and unused). I like it and I have adjusted (with a few iterations) to it pretty well. I am not yet as fast as I am on my road bike, but I do feel less stress in my legs after riding it. I also feel less stress in my arms in the aero position. But, even at $700, for the number of tri's I do (maybe 3 in a year, and short ones at that), I still felt kind of wastefull getting a second bike, when my first was serving me pretty well. But, one benefit is that I can ride the older one now in some worse conditions and keep the new one cleaner. Also, people don't laugh at me for not "getting with it" when I tell them I have a 7-speed roadie with downtube shifters.
I've been using my road bike for the last two years for triathlons, but when I tried out one of my friends triathlon bikes, I knew I couldn't go back. Unfortunately, I had to and now I'm wondering if there is a good introductino tri-bike.
Since I'm from WI, Trek is the big name around here (though my road bike is Specialized) and I notice they have their tri bikes (Equinox) divided into two classes; ones with a carbon frame and ones with an aluminum frame.
I don't have the money right now for the bikes with the carbon frame, so is it even worth it to buy a tri bike with an aluminum frame? Or would a better idea be to save up some money (skip an intro tri bike) for a good tri bike and through some aero bars on my road bike for now?