Beginners triathlon bike suggestions.
Discussion
Runner looking to try my hand at triathlons.
Can any one suggest a half decent entry level bike that won't break the bank new or second hand that I could start training on? It really doesn't need to be all singing all dancing at this stage as I would look to upgrade at a later date if I felt that this is a sport I want to persue.
Suggestions on what to look for second hand would be aprieciated.
Can any one suggest a half decent entry level bike that won't break the bank new or second hand that I could start training on? It really doesn't need to be all singing all dancing at this stage as I would look to upgrade at a later date if I felt that this is a sport I want to persue.
Suggestions on what to look for second hand would be aprieciated.
I've been looking in this area recently and for the most bike for money it's this http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSPRIV3/planet-x-s...
However a friend did a dualathlon at the weekend and most people were on shopping bikes, mountain bikes and very basic road bikes. If your just starting out either use a bike you have and if you don't have one get a budget road bike.
However a friend did a dualathlon at the weekend and most people were on shopping bikes, mountain bikes and very basic road bikes. If your just starting out either use a bike you have and if you don't have one get a budget road bike.
If you're really undecided over whether you will pursue tris, it makes little sense to splash out on a tri-bike, even second hand, because it is a one trick pony that is happy in time trials and tris.
A better option would be an aero road bike onto which you could clip some aerobars. You won't get as aerodynamically efficient position out of it as you would a tri bike, but you will have a road bike that you can use for road biking - ie you'll get more use out of it.
It is also worth getting sized properly so you know reasonably well what frame size to aim for - it's a variant on "measure twice, cut once", with "pay" subbed in for "cut".
A better option would be an aero road bike onto which you could clip some aerobars. You won't get as aerodynamically efficient position out of it as you would a tri bike, but you will have a road bike that you can use for road biking - ie you'll get more use out of it.
It is also worth getting sized properly so you know reasonably well what frame size to aim for - it's a variant on "measure twice, cut once", with "pay" subbed in for "cut".
ecsrobin said:
I've been looking in this area recently and for the most bike for money it's this http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSPRIV3/planet-x-s...
However a friend did a dualathlon at the weekend and most people were on shopping bikes, mountain bikes and very basic road bikes. If your just starting out either use a bike you have and if you don't have one get a budget road bike.
I am considering converting my mountain bike over to road bike for the time being.However a friend did a dualathlon at the weekend and most people were on shopping bikes, mountain bikes and very basic road bikes. If your just starting out either use a bike you have and if you don't have one get a budget road bike.
As it stands it amazes me the energy i seem to loose through the suspension forks.
Thinking swap the suspension forks for rigid, thiner wheels and road tyres and some bar ends should do as a temp measure.
Greg66 said:
If you're really undecided over whether you will pursue tris, it makes little sense to splash out on a tri-bike, even second hand, because it is a one trick pony that is happy in time trials and tris.
A better option would be an aero road bike onto which you could clip some aerobars. You won't get as aerodynamically efficient position out of it as you would a tri bike, but you will have a road bike that you can use for road biking - ie you'll get more use out of it.
It is also worth getting sized properly so you know reasonably well what frame size to aim for - it's a variant on "measure twice, cut once", with "pay" subbed in for "cut".
Thanks Greg, good adviseA better option would be an aero road bike onto which you could clip some aerobars. You won't get as aerodynamically efficient position out of it as you would a tri bike, but you will have a road bike that you can use for road biking - ie you'll get more use out of it.
It is also worth getting sized properly so you know reasonably well what frame size to aim for - it's a variant on "measure twice, cut once", with "pay" subbed in for "cut".
Some of my pals did a time trial at the weekend
The report was whilst there was a nice selection of shiny bikes to drool over there was an equally broad spread of more mundane machinery
They used their regular bikes with clip on tri bars and normal helmets - aero gear was out in force but not universal
The ubiquitous Decathlon road bike for 300 notes plus a set of clip on bars should see you right for starters
Much, much more expensive stuff is just a click away though
I honestly wouldnt bother with clip on aerobars. I've done loads of duathlons on a regular road bike and you just have to get your head down, your hands on the drops and push. I guarantee you will be more aerodynamic on a regular* road bike, on the drops than on the same road bike with some aerobars fitted and the geo will be all to pot.
Pick up a Specliased Allez, Trek 1.1 or a Giant Defy secondhand and then see how you get on. There are loads of 2012/13 bikes for sale now as people who bought them during teh olympics have given up cycling or upgraded. Most will have done a couple of hundred dry miles at most so wont be worn out. Either that or the BTwin Triban.
Sure there are shiny bikes at these events but as there is so much potential to lose time on the run, swim or transition, getting all worked up about having a shiny bike and aerobars is utterly pointless.
Pick up a Specliased Allez, Trek 1.1 or a Giant Defy secondhand and then see how you get on. There are loads of 2012/13 bikes for sale now as people who bought them during teh olympics have given up cycling or upgraded. Most will have done a couple of hundred dry miles at most so wont be worn out. Either that or the BTwin Triban.
Sure there are shiny bikes at these events but as there is so much potential to lose time on the run, swim or transition, getting all worked up about having a shiny bike and aerobars is utterly pointless.
- A regular road bike these days has sportive-esque geo, long headtubes and sloping top tubes which automatically pitch you up a bit more than a traditional road bike with shorter head tubes and greater head tube angles. Therefore putting aerobars on a regular road bike these days only serves to pitch you up higher still, sure you are a little bit further stretched out but becuase the top tubes are longer, you are too stretched and the position will be awful, not what you want to be riding just before going into a run of any distance.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 25th March 08:41
Mashedpotatoes said:
ecsrobin said:
I've been looking in this area recently and for the most bike for money it's this http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSPRIV3/planet-x-s...
However a friend did a dualathlon at the weekend and most people were on shopping bikes, mountain bikes and very basic road bikes. If your just starting out either use a bike you have and if you don't have one get a budget road bike.
I am considering converting my mountain bike over to road bike for the time being.However a friend did a dualathlon at the weekend and most people were on shopping bikes, mountain bikes and very basic road bikes. If your just starting out either use a bike you have and if you don't have one get a budget road bike.
As it stands it amazes me the energy i seem to loose through the suspension forks.
Thinking swap the suspension forks for rigid, thiner wheels and road tyres and some bar ends should do as a temp measure.
Exactly what pablo says (I was typing this as he was posting)
eg Triban 3 for £200 (probs won't fit but a good example)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BTwin-Triban-3-road-bike...
Or anything really from the big names, Giant, Trek, Spesh etc
£200-£400 second hand racing bike, lots of decent makes out there. It will be more than enough to get you though your first Tri. Quicker and maybe even cheaper than converting your MTB. If it works out its not your thing or you trade up to something more exotic you'll get most of your money back or you have a decent winter training mule
Specialized Allez or Giant OCR/SCR/Defy have the kind of compact geometry that you need - although I wouldn't bother with the clip-on aerobars if the race(s) you are planning to enter allow drafting, Olympic-style - and in the event that you do decide that you like the sport and want to do more, then you'll have a ready-made winter bike, so you won't have wasted your money.
Mashedpotatoes said:
Runner looking to try my hand at triathlons.
Can any one suggest a half decent entry level bike that won't break the bank new or second hand that I could start training on? It really doesn't need to be all singing all dancing at this stage as I would look to upgrade at a later date if I felt that this is a sport I want to persue.
Suggestions on what to look for second hand would be aprieciated.
I would just go and get a cheap road bike and clip on some aero bars, but the latter isn't going to guarantee epic speed Can any one suggest a half decent entry level bike that won't break the bank new or second hand that I could start training on? It really doesn't need to be all singing all dancing at this stage as I would look to upgrade at a later date if I felt that this is a sport I want to persue.
Suggestions on what to look for second hand would be aprieciated.
I would certainly go with clipless pedals and remember you will need a helmet. You say you are a runner. Have you done any open water swimming before? If you hadn't I would try and get a lot of practice in and worry more about that than the bike bit.
The London tri usuaklly has a huge range of people on various bikes, even mountain bikes and tourers.
pablo said:
I honestly wouldnt bother with clip on aerobars. I've done loads of duathlons on a regular road bike and you just have to get your head down, your hands on the drops and push. I guarantee you will be more aerodynamic on a regular* road bike, on the drops than on the same road bike with some aerobars fitted and the geo will be all to pot.
Pick up a Specliased Allez, Trek 1.1 or a Giant Defy secondhand and then see how you get on. There are loads of 2012/13 bikes for sale now as people who bought them during teh olympics have given up cycling or upgraded. Most will have done a couple of hundred dry miles at most so wont be worn out. Either that or the BTwin Triban.
Sure there are shiny bikes at these events but as there is so much potential to lose time on the run, swim or transition, getting all worked up about having a shiny bike and aerobars is utterly pointless.
Not sure I agree in regards to the speed difference. And you could say the same about the cycle, why get worked up about the run if you're going to give away 3 mins because you're bolt upright on a roadbike? And the answer is to simply buy a slightly more race geo roadbike not some bolt upright thing.Pick up a Specliased Allez, Trek 1.1 or a Giant Defy secondhand and then see how you get on. There are loads of 2012/13 bikes for sale now as people who bought them during teh olympics have given up cycling or upgraded. Most will have done a couple of hundred dry miles at most so wont be worn out. Either that or the BTwin Triban.
Sure there are shiny bikes at these events but as there is so much potential to lose time on the run, swim or transition, getting all worked up about having a shiny bike and aerobars is utterly pointless.
- A regular road bike these days has sportive-esque geo, long headtubes and sloping top tubes which automatically pitch you up a bit more than a traditional road bike with shorter head tubes and greater head tube angles. Therefore putting aerobars on a regular road bike these days only serves to pitch you up higher still, sure you are a little bit further stretched out but because the top tubes are longer, you are too stretched and the position will be awful, not what you want to be riding just before going into a run of any distance.
Edited by pablo on Wednesday 25th March 08:41
Nearly everyone I have known including myself went significantly faster with clip ons than the drops, which isn't even the most aero position you can get into on a standard road bike.
But as said above, if they allow drafting then all the above doesn't matter. Drafting tri is quite a strange concept to me.
I did 83 miles this weekend on a tri-bike with 4500ft of climbing which worked very well so it is possible. A road bike will be more comfortable I'd imagine and certainly more suited for steep descents as your body weight is further back on the bike. Thats the point I tend to crap myself in fear.
Yeah I realised I was sort of arguing many different variables in one sentance! I just think too many people make the assumption that you need aerobars for these sort of events and they are guaranteed to improve performance regardless of the bike you clip them to, which they are of course not.
All the duathlons I have done have been strictly non-drafting which is enforced by marshals out on the course.
In terms of "most aerodynamic position not being on the drops, what do you suggest, something like this? I tried it once and almost killed myself! Is there a trade off between efficiency and aerodynamics at play here?
All the duathlons I have done have been strictly non-drafting which is enforced by marshals out on the course.
In terms of "most aerodynamic position not being on the drops, what do you suggest, something like this? I tried it once and almost killed myself! Is there a trade off between efficiency and aerodynamics at play here?
bakerstreet said:
Mashedpotatoes said:
Runner looking to try my hand at triathlons.
Can any one suggest a half decent entry level bike that won't break the bank new or second hand that I could start training on? It really doesn't need to be all singing all dancing at this stage as I would look to upgrade at a later date if I felt that this is a sport I want to persue.
Suggestions on what to look for second hand would be aprieciated.
I would just go and get a cheap road bike and clip on some aero bars, but the latter isn't going to guarantee epic speed Can any one suggest a half decent entry level bike that won't break the bank new or second hand that I could start training on? It really doesn't need to be all singing all dancing at this stage as I would look to upgrade at a later date if I felt that this is a sport I want to persue.
Suggestions on what to look for second hand would be aprieciated.
I would certainly go with clipless pedals and remember you will need a helmet. You say you are a runner. Have you done any open water swimming before? If you hadn't I would try and get a lot of practice in and worry more about that than the bike bit.
The London tri usuaklly has a huge range of people on various bikes, even mountain bikes and tourers.
That is exactly what I used for the bike leg of the London Tri (did relay) but I was on a cervelo s2 with aerobars, it worked really well, in fact I was the fastest bike of the day, but I didn't have to run after, but I don't think there would have been a massive issue with the position for running really. It did take some time to practice with the aerobars and riding with them, but really they should be quicker straight away as they are taking you down out of the wind by a lot of margin!
No, the fastest legal position is arms bent down on the hoods..
No, the fastest legal position is arms bent down on the hoods..
IroningMan said:
Specialized Allez or Giant OCR/SCR/Defy have the kind of compact geometry that you need - although I wouldn't bother with the clip-on aerobars if the race(s) you are planning to enter allow drafting, Olympic-style - and in the event that you do decide that you like the sport and want to do more, then you'll have a ready-made winter bike, so you won't have wasted your money.
It's going back a bit, now, but around 2009, when I was still in the army, our Regiment's triathlon team got a bit of an injection of enthusiasm when some new officers/seniors were posted in. They were competitive chaps, who tried to drum up interest from an overwhelmingly fit bunch, and they found that "lack of a bike, Sir" was what prevented most soldiers from entering triathlon/duathlon competitions.Their solution was to use the Regiment's (non-public
) sports fund to buy in a modest fleet of Giant SCR3 road bikes in a spread of sizes. No aero bars, though. The triathlon team's sports officer didn't think them a good idea for guys just starting out. As a member of the Quartermaster's department, and a keen cyclist, I managed to wangle the use of one for a good while, and I helped to look after the rest of the fleet, too. It was my first move 'up the ladder' from a heavy old steel tourer, before I bought my Merida Road Race 905. The Giant really was a lot of bike for the money, and the current crop of road bikes from Giant looks pretty good too. In all seriousness, though, almost anything from near the bottom of the big players' road bike ranges will be far better for what you need than converting a MTB to road use. The biggest issue doing that will be gearing, and once you start to think about swapping in rigid forks and road biased gearing, you might as well start over with a road bike. Making a MTB comfortable for commuting and pootling can be done by swapping out knobbly tyres for semi-slicks, but as soon as you decide that outright speed is a priority, converting a MTB swiftly becomes an expensive folly. At any given price point, a road bike will be lighter, and more suitably 'geared' for your needs.pablo said:
So in terms of pros I can visualise riding, you favour Contador's "attack" position rather than Millar's "hands clasped together over the stem and grind it out"?
You are not meant to ride like Millar above, you'll get in s
t if you do as you're not in full control of the bike, obviously the world tour boys can seemingly get away with whatever, but in BC races you'll get a talking to if you do it, maybe even a DQ. Below is generally regarded as the most aero while still being legal as it were.
Ah, ok, didnt appreciate the legalities of the position. I can see how it is regulated and why though.
The BTU are an overtly officous mob, I was given a good verbal bking for touching my bike before putting on my helmet in transition once which is fair enough, thems the rules but it didnt need the full Sergeant Major approach.
The BTU are an overtly officous mob, I was given a good verbal b
king for touching my bike before putting on my helmet in transition once which is fair enough, thems the rules but it didnt need the full Sergeant Major approach.Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff