If you only want to have one bike, and you're sole purpose isn't triathlons, buy a road bike and put aero bars on it. A road bike with aero bars will do well for triathlon. The only thing you're really giving up is the more up right geometry (which makes it easier to get an aero position, with less bend at the hips). Conversely, however, a dedicated tri bike doesn't make a good general purpose road bike. It's not nearly as comfortable for long rides. It handles more skittishly (particularly cornering and descending.) It's not well suited for group rides (you may even be somewhat shunned riding it on group rides) And you can use the road bike to race in a bicycle race if you ever decide to try that. So if you're going with one bike, make it a road bike, and put aero bars and aero wheels on it when you want to use it in a triathlon.

I agree with Merlin. If you are only going to have one bike for now I'd make it a road bike. You'll find that it's more versatile, more comfortable and will serve you well racing tri's.

Go road bike...Much more versatile. Tri bikes take some getting used to,for some folks. Unless you are a flexible older age grouper...road is more comfortable. I have both and spend most of my time on my road bike.
Good luck!

Road would be my choice. Upgrade the wheels if you have any extra money.

I am one of those who doesn't know too much about bikes, so keep that in mind :-) I have one bike to ride on roads, and it is a tri one. I ride it on long rides, short rides, flat rides, hilly rides and in different weather (heck the IM was going to cover all that and be on that bike anyways). I find the bike comfortable (but it could be that it is all I have known).

Why did I pick this bike? Well, I knew I was looking at doing tris. I'm not very interested in just road riding. I also got a wonderful deal on it. A lady's husband gave it to her, she trained on it, rode it in a single tri, and told him "thanks, I'm done". When he brought it back to the bike shop, they knew I was looking so although they don't sell used bikes they got me in touch with him and were able to look it over and work the deal between us. Oh and my other reason? It's pretty :)

I'm not really sure what my point is here, as the others who answered know more about bikes. However, I'm still thrilled with the decision I made, so though I'd share the experience.

I am also a member of the tri biek only club... for now... I do intend to get a roadie at some point when the $$ allows me to get soemthing I want instead of something I settle for. All my road riding is for tris, and I dont plan on doing any races or commuting on my tri bike, so I'm all good there. I have a moutnain bike and love riding it for the variety.

That said, I wouldnt NOT recommend a properly set up road biek for tris if you DO plan on commuting, riding on busy roads, etc. I also follow the "more bikes is better" philosophy. I LOVE bikes!

OK,

Try this one on... Buy a bike with triathlon geometry, and road handlebars!
I have a full tri bike (mine came with road handlebars and STI shifters) but I had to modify it to get it that way. This will give you the best of both worlds. You will have the steeper seat tube angle (to save your hamstrings for the run) and you will have the precious "hoods" position for your hands.
try these:

QR Trueno
Cannondale Ironman 600
Giant TCR Aero 1 (or Aero 2)
Softride Solo(lite)

The sprint distances aren't really going to be long enough to justify a "full on" tri bike especially since most of the courses you will be on will have several hills and turns (which cut down the efficiency and the benefit of a more aerodynamic set-up).

THEN, When you are ready to step up to the olympic or half ironman distance - you are about $200 away from a bullhorn base bar, aerobars and bar end shifters. (and you will already have the correct frame geometry to make it all work +/-76-78 degrees )

Hope this helps...

pm or email me if you have any further quesitons...

rr

Thanks, Triguy - I was actually looking for that article (i read it back in Jan/Feb and couldn't remember where)

If that is the line you are referring too, this would be my response:

This is known by the bike manufacturers - that is why they don't put drop bars on a bike who's seat angle is more than about 77 degrees. Through utilizing a seat tube angle that falls between the shallow and the steep angle ranges referenced in the Article, and while using a longer stem, you can achieve safe distances for your hand positions. This is why my cannondale came with a stem that was approximately 130mm. When I added the base bar and the bar end shifters, the new hand positions left me quite extended. The solution is to use a shorter stem which will bring the aerobars closer and give a "closer to" compact riding position. There is no doubt that the riding position on a "full aero" tri bike is shorter and more compact (read: more aggressive) than the position created by the modification of my bike, however, that is the price paid for only spending approximately $1100 on my tri bike instead of spending over $2000.

Everything (every single aspect) has a trade off when you address the differences between road and tri bikes - the KEY is to find where YOU are comfortable...

softride.com

And when you do that, you break form. Not a big deal for us youngsters, but for an older guy, it might be a little more difficult to get back into it. And I've ridden some courses and roads where I would LOVE to have a softride. And my ride is a lot more comfy than my old all alum road bike.