Bike for Duathalon around £1000?
Mark909
Posts: 456
Hello, my mountain biking has fallen by the wayside for the last few months as I've been training to run a 10k. Now I can do this I'm thinking of entering an offroad duathalon. Does anyone have any experience of these events. I've got a trail hardtail but i think it might be a bit too heavy for the xc stage. I think i'd want to lighter bike. Maybe even a 29er. I cant imagine the routes being too technical and imagine a fair bit of bridleways as opposed to singletrack. I might be pleasently suprised though. So guess suggestions for a lightweight xc bike around £1000. Thanks for any help!
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Hi, very timely post, as we're just in the throes of organising such an event here. Sorry cant help with bike choice, the market is so flooded with choice! But, one major tip I can give you is practice going hard on the bike then going straight in to the (2nd) run. Have funFinished0
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if it's a trail hardtail, then it'll probably be fine. Are you entering with the aim to be an outright winner, or just to compete and have fun?0
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No i doubt id ever get to the stage of winning an event! More of a mid pack finish i think!
My bikes got a pretty slack head angle and although it's great for my current riding I think it could be a pain for going flat out for 20-30k along bridleways, etc.0 -
Mark909 wrote:Hello, my mountain biking has fallen by the wayside for the last few months as I've been training to run a 10k. Now I can do this I'm thinking of entering an offroad duathalon. Does anyone have any experience of these events. I've got a trail hardtail but i think it might be a bit too heavy for the xc stage. I think i'd want to lighter bike. Maybe even a 29er. I cant imagine the routes being too technical and imagine a fair bit of bridleways as opposed to singletrack. I might be pleasently suprised though. So guess suggestions for a lightweight xc bike around £1000. Thanks for any help!
Where I used to live the bridleways were singletrack but aside from that, if its a race it almost certainly wont be on bridleways as you arent allowed to use them for timed race events. Probably be on private land and therefore could be anything from a taped field to natural singletrack.
You didnt say what your existing bike is but assuming its a 100-120mm hardtail I'd use that for a first event and see how you do. Why throw a grand at a lightweight xc racer you might not use more than once?
Runnings great - all you need is a pair of half decent trainers - 100 quid - duathlons drift into more expensive territories!Closet jockey wheel pimp whore.0 -
My bikes a 2009 Marin Rocky Ridge. It's got 140mm forks. You're probably right. I'd probably be better off getting comfortable riding it for 20-30km at speed. I guess if I do decide to buy an xc racer later my time will improve from not having to lug a tank around the course with me! ;P0
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You'll probably be fine. I've done a few enduro events on an AM machine. Mountain bikes are all pretty capable machines.0
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I race a lot of these through the winter and the technicality of the bike courses does vary quite a lot but is never massively hard.. which one are you thinking of entering.. some, such as the Evil Sheriff at Sherwood Pines are completely non-technical (I race it on a cross bike) and others, such as Whinlatter, Fearless at Llandegla and Grizedale use red graded trails. I race most of them on a Giant XTC 29'er and am normally at the sharp end of the field... last season almost all the top 10 at most races were on XC 29'ers... I'd be looking for something light and fast, do plenty of bike to run sessions and practice your transitions.0
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Few options here...
http://bikemagic.com/gear/800-1100-29er ... -best.html
my pick would probably be the Spesh..0 -
Are you actually going to get a much lighter and more race orientated bike for that type of money? Might be better off upgrading your wheels to drop some weight? Depends how into the event type you get, you might decide after the first it's definitely worth dropping a load of cash on a specific bike.
Personally I'd tweak the current bike and see how it goes.0 -
Maybe a lockable fork to get rid of unwanted bounce from the 140mm on a climb but then you can unlock for decents and benefit? And lighter wheels/tyres to get up to speed easier.Closet jockey wheel pimp whore.0
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Chinley Churner wrote:I race a lot of these through the winter and the technicality of the bike courses does vary quite a lot but is never massively hard.. which one are you thinking of entering.. some, such as the Evil Sheriff at Sherwood Pines are completely non-technical (I race it on a cross bike) and others, such as Whinlatter, Fearless at Llandegla and Grizedale use red graded trails. I race most of them on a Giant XTC 29'er and am normally at the sharp end of the field... last season almost all the top 10 at most races were on XC 29'ers... I'd be looking for something light and fast, do plenty of bike to run sessions and practice your transitions.
Thanks for the advice chinley! Do you know of any training plans I can follow? I've only really got into running over the last 3 months but miss mountain biking so a duathalon sounds like an ideal event for me!0