Tax return = Tri Bike
I just got my return and it's enough for a new ride. I have zero experience in buying a tri bike. Any tips are appreciated.
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I just got my return and it's enough for a new ride. I have zero experience in buying a tri bike. Any tips are appreciated.
Comments
If you want a used bike, Craigslist has a lot of options. If you want something new, wait until November-January for your LBS to close out its previous year's inventory. I bought my Cervelo P1 at the end of the year brand new for half the retail price.
Hire a better accountant to do your taxes and planning so you don't get a refund. The federal government thanks you for the free loan.
Best tip you'll get on this thread.
Todd at TTbikefit is awesome. Highly recommended and you'll learn a ton.
I'd do the tour of bike shops just to sit on a bunch of different models. You can get a bunch of advice from the store employees and they may be able to point out bargains, deals and other good stuff.
You can read the various bike magazines to see what's new, but I think they are pretty useless for picking a bike. I don't think I've ever read a bad review on a bike.
If you feel comfortable tweaking your bike, used is a good option. If you fairly new to the process, I think buying from a LBS and developing a good relationship is well worth the extra money and stress of buying used.
Enrique,
I scouted out my local LBS's, two shops and they had 4 different tri bikes. I then went to Todd at TTbikefit and mentioned those frames but that I wasn't committed to any of them if I needed to travel to get a better fit. He recommended one based on my video and data I walked in and order it with confidece.
Other considerations which I'm sure Todd or the forums here would have suggestions on but I never thought about. Does the LBS allow you to swap out any of the extra's; aerobars (adustabilty), compact vs regular cranks, crank length. I'm not sure that the shop will allow this but if you don't ask thats quite a few extras that you have to sell.
Gordon
Not sure how picky you want to be when it comes to components, but you'll almost definitely want to buy a new saddle. Bike manufacturers are legally obliged to put a saddle on every bike they make to call it a complete bike, and often they'll put on the cheapest thing they can find. As soon as I bought my Cervelo, I got rid of the stock San Marco seat and replaced it with a comfy Specialized saddle. HUGE difference.
Also, I think it's worth looking into adjustable aerobars if you want to have a really good fit. The stock aerobars that came with my tri bike weren't adjustable, and I still had a *lot* of discomfort staying aero (even after having my bike fit!) because I couldn't adjust the position of the elbow pads
. Recently, I bought a pair of Profile Design T1+ aerobars, and it made an enormous difference in comfort and how long I could stay locked in aero without getting tired.
My new QR came with an Adamo saddle, BTW. Not cheap and very nice!
I would highly recommend riding as many bikes as you can, depending on what's available in your area. I just bought a new tri bike and I drove over 100 miles just to go and ride bikes, since the only store in my town that carries tri bikes just had Specialized and Cannondale. This is what I've done with the last two bikes I bought and interestingly, the bike I had in mind as "The One" going into the process was not the bike I ended up buying either time. What looks best on paper and in pictures is not always the bike that feels best when you ride it. Both times I have ridden 5 or 6 bikes for at least a half an hour each, on flats and on hills and some winding road for cornering.
You can read about my recent experience here:
http://ironmom.blogspot.com/2012/04/tri-bike-face-off-argon-scott-bmc-felt.html
I looked at, read reviews on, obsessed over, and in most cases rode for at least half an hour the following bikes:
For me, it ended up coming down to the BMC, the Shiv, and the QR CD01. The BMC was probably the nicest bike I rode overall, but in my price range it came with a lower component gruppo. The Shiv was awesome, but it didn't fit me as well and it is not nearly as adjustable as the QR. I ended up with the Quintana Roo and I love it!
Every bike has its own feel and fit, so if you can get on them, you'll really get a feeling for which bike speaks to you and fits you best.
And yeah, haha, I should have adjusted my W4 allowances when my wife quit her job, but I was too busy training for my first IM! One good thing about it is that I wasn't expecting to buy a tri bike till next year.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the warranty. You can probably buy more bike for the buck by going used, but you probably won't get the support.
Most of these bikes are such an investment that you get a lifetime warranty if you buy new.
I'm dealing with this right now on my S2. Carbon's cracked. All3sports expects that Cervelo won't have any prob sending me a new frame. No questions asked.
Enjoy the shopping.
I started with a Cervelo P3 because it is just so iconic, ridiculously common and been in service for years. Plus, i loved the lines, but i am a slave to asthetics, go figure. Then you take that shiny new bike and start making changes - new crank, new stem, new cockpit, new wheels. It can get expensive, but is a fun journey, if you are so inclined. I only bring this up as you may want to budget for or negotiate for these fit issues and other upgrades/ swaps.
Congrats on the new ride!
Ok. Here's my bike. It's a Scott Plasma 10 with Dura Ace 7900 gruppo. Thanks to John W for his assistance in getting this one off of eBay. I've got to make a few adjustments as it was set up for a 6 ft 1 dude. I'm 5'10". But I'm pumped about riding this in my 1st HIM in August!
@ John, Haha! Absolutely!! I'm working hard on that!
That's a gorgeous ride, enjoy every mile!!