Which bike for 1st triathlon?

joyo

Hi all

I have signed up for my first 2 triathlons (Sprint and Olympic) and would appreciate some advice on which road bike to get. I have done a fair bit of mountain biking in the past but am a complete road novice.

I don't want to get a triathlon-specific bike as I would like to use the bike to do some standard road cycling and possibly to commute to work. At the same time, I would like to use aero-bars for the events and would therefore prefer a bike where the riding position is suited to aero bars.

I know the standard advice is to try a few bikes and pick the one that feels right but I would like to know which models come highly recommended as a starting point.

Budget is around the 500 pounds mark. Either a new or second-hand bike is fine.

Many Thanks

hammerite

Are you confident that you are going to like triathlon or road biking? If not it might be worth trying to do the sprint on your mtb, you would't be the only one.

If you are confident that you will enjoy it then there are lots of entry level bikes around the £500 mark.

I started racing tri about 18 months ago and love it. I went out and bought a Trek Pilot (no longer available) for £500, I can use it for commuting for work, it can take mud guards and panniers. I have tri bars on in the summer too, so it's versatile and does the job.

Trouble is I now want to upgrade, and wish I'd perhaps done my first couple on my mtb and then bought a better bike in the first place!

sherrip

Hi JoJo,

I did a novice tri a couple of years ago, and just used my rather basic raleigh racer.

I did see quite variety of bikes, including mtbs, tourers. So don't worry about not having a state of the art tri bike , though there were a few of those too, in the main race.

Perhaps you might want to just put slick tyres on your mtb, until you know you do actually enjoy tri's.

Good luck!

Mister W

I did my first tri on an MTB. You can do a few things to make it as quick as possible without spending much money. Slick road tyres are worth having and will make a huge difference. You should also remove anything you don't need for the race. I see people at bigger events with lights, racks, mudguards and even a heavy U lock on their bikes. Then make sure the riding position is good. Check the saddle height and if you're comfortable dropping the bars a bit then that will help.

Once you've done your first race and fallen in love with triathlon you can buy a road bike. A year later you'll want a better one, then new wheels a year later and before you know it you'll have a bike that costs more than your car

hammerite

Mister W wrote:

Once you've done your first race and fallen in love with triathlon you can buy a road bike. A year later you'll want a better one, then new wheels a year later and before you know it you'll have a bike that costs more than your car

Or you think "I'll ditch the car and get a campervan - bike carrier, overnight accommodation for those early race starts and a changing room all rolled into one!"

FSR_XC

I've done 3 Sprint tri's now over the last 18 mths.

For my first I borrowed a road bike from a mate. I then bought a Specialized Allez Elite(clearance model). Luckily, having had the bike for nearly a year now, I have no desire to change it.

For a Sprint, I can't see any point in using tri-bars. Your fitness and riding ability is what will make any real difference to your time. Looking around transition you'll see a large variety of bikes, from MTB to full on £5k tri bikes. There aren't many tri bikes at a Sprint though, most being normal road bikes.

If you haven't done so already, I would recommend watching a tri before competing. Particularly what people wear and how they prepare & change in transition.

Triathlons are fun. So above all enjoy it.

hammerite

FSR_XC wrote:

For a Sprint, I can't see any point in using tri-bars. Your fitness and riding ability is what will make any real difference to your time.

If you haven't done so already, I would recommend watching a tri before competing. Particularly what people wear and how they prepare & change in transition.

Triathlons are fun. So above all enjoy it.

Agree with all that.

Joyo what races have you entered?

joyo

Thanks for all the advice - I'll prob do the first one on my MTB and see how it goes

I have entered the Nokia event in Windsor (Sprint) in June followed by the London one (Olympic) in Aug. It's something I've always wanted to try but never had the time as I was working 13-hr days. But I lost my job in mid-Dec, so it's now or never...