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Budget control

Hi all,

I am on a tight budget and have about £1000 to spend on upgrading my road bike, (Cube peleton pro) or buy a tri bike. I am looking at theFelt B16. I was advised to upgrade my bike wheels as I would get more bang for my buck compared to just buying a tri bike as I already have clip on bars and an aero helmet. My advisor is a biker. I was wondering from a tri point of view which would be the better choice? I do up to iron distance races

Thanks

 

Dicey

 

 

Comments

  • Andrew4Andrew4 Posts: 190

    Dicey... I think there are two questions to ask... apart from the wheels are you happy with your current bike? If you have a decent groupset on it and decent shifts and the only obvious upgrade is the wheels then question whether big gains would be made by spending more on the bike. I have upgraded a Bianchi Nirone (loved the frame but the group was rubbish) and its now fantastic but its easy to get a significant improvements on an old Sora groupset.

    The questions I would ask is simply... how comfortable can you get on your current bike. With a TT bike it is likely that you will be able to get the saddle further forward and find a more comfortable position on the aero bars which might be appreciated. An ironman is, as you know a long old slog and, with a steeper seat tube angle your legs will, generally feel better when you jump off the bike and start running. Additionally if you can get more comfortable in an equally or more aero position on a TT bike this is likely to have a significant positive impact over a slightly compromised position on a road bike... I have this problem on my bike meaning that it is great for sprints and Olympics but the idea of getting on the aero bars for 112 miles terrifies me (and indeed is why my IM dreams are suspended until I have the space and funds to buy a dedicated race bike).

    In short... you may way get a more comfortable, and more aero, position on a TT bike which will save you far more time than a shiny set deep section wheels or pretty much anything else. Setting up a road bike with aero bars for IM will always be more of a compromise than a frame with geometry more tailored to triathlons.

  • DiceyDicey Posts: 3

    Hi Andrew,

    Thanks for the comments much appreciated, soem good food for thought

     

    Dicey

     

  • Andrew4Andrew4 Posts: 190

    Sorry I couldn't give you a more definitive answer.

    One more point I should probably add whilst I remember - if you get a decent TT frame even if you have to compromise of components it is worth mentioning that you do always have the option to upgrade the components, i.e. wheels, groupset etc as and when funding allows so it might prove to be a better long term option.

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