Hello,
I did my first triathlon this summer and now i am addicted. It was a 1000meter swim, 18mile bike, and 5.5 mile run. I did the training and race on my mountain bike and now i am ready to invest in a tri or road bike. I am willing to spend about 800 dollars, give or take a little. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of places to look or what brand or any other helpful advice.
Thank You,
Abigators
check craig's list frequently. I got my 2005 trek road bike for $500. They sold the same bike at the bike shop for $950
Hey abigators,
I have a Giant OCR3, it is a pretty nice bike. The shimano shifters and derailers work well. The thing I like most about the bike is that it has two sets of brakes, the ones on the curve of the handlebars (also the shifters), but also a set on the middle part like a mountainbike. Its nice when you are tired. The OCR3 is an aluminum frame (i think), so a little heavy, and overall I would grade it a B+ to a A-, not being a cycle expert. I paid about 675 for mine a couple years ago at a bike shop, I would recommend Craig's list also and local classified ads. I enjoy my bike and you can meet your budget goal, which is a very important thing now-a-days. good luck. I am doing my first tri tomorrow. I am pumped. later..
The first thing I would do assuming you dont know much about road bikes is go to your local bike shop and test ride a few different types of bikes. see what you like. Also while you are there get them to size you. You wont get an exact size unless you are wearing your riding shoes but it will get you in the ball park of what size frame to look for. If it is your first bike I would recommend getting a road bike and fitting it with aero bars. You might get lucky and find a good used bike already with aero bars attached. If you do that then you have options in regards to your riding postion. Then later on down the road if you like the TT or Tri riding position then you can upgrade your handle bars and seatpost to a more aero postion. I also recommend craigslist that is where I bought my 1999 specialized allez and love it... Good luck
I was in your same spot last month.
I think craig's list is best if you already know a lot about bikes, so you know if it is a good deal. I would recommend finding a good bike shop in your area, one that focuses on tri/multisports is even better.
I took my brother/coach with me to help. We ended up buying something at a "big box" shop and the people there were NOT helpful or even had a clue about bikes it seemed. But the price was good and it was a known brand. Plus my trips to the other stores, test rides and advice from trisports experts allowed me to buy off the rack without their help.
Good luck!
I work at a local bike shop, and personally with all the bikes I've ridden I think that Felt or Scott will give you the best bang for the buck if getting a new bike. I would recommend getting it at a shop though so that you can be properly fit for one. There are a few sites that can get you pretty close though. I personally think that these are some of the better ones:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/bikefit.htm
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO
If you find I good deal on a bike else where, I would still recommend that you go to a reputable dealer to have him/her fine tune your fit.
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