help me choose my £3.5k bike!

jboy

Hey,

first off i am no world beater, current PB for Oly distance is 2hr 20...in second season of tri and i'm still improving.

secondly, i am one of those ppl dying to be an ironman, but i'm only 24 yrs old and would like maybe 2-3yrs more of training/middle distance tri's behind me to get a decent time and not just finish one, if that makes sense.

Currently I am looking to spend around 3,500 of my hard earned pennies on a bloody bicycle of all things...i dont neccessarily have to spend all of it but thats the upper limit...the idea of spending so much money is beacuse i would like something that would last 5+ yrs of just racing and dry weather training and still be a decent bike. I have been doing some internet searching and have come up with the following and some help would be greatly appreciated before i decide that spending this amount of money is ridiculous

Argon E-112 frame
http://www.primera-bournemouth.co.uk/Template.aspx?prodID=3322

build this up with some mavic carbone SL wheels and Ultegra Group set
--------------------------------------------------------

Specialized Trans Pro
http://www.primera-bournemouth.co.uk/Template.aspx?prodID=4204

------------------------------------------

Specialized Trans Expert
http://www.primera-bournemouth.co.uk/Template.aspx?prodID=4205

seems to be the same bike bar the wheels which i could buy on top of this and be under budget

--------------------------------------------
Ceepo Stinger

[url][http://triuk.com/web/index.php/vmchk/Frame-Sets/Ceepo-Stinger-FRAME/flypage.tpl.html/url]

again build up with Ultegra and mavic carbone SL wheels

------------------------------------------------

Obviously i would need to get headet, bars etc too.

Any suggestions would be great be it on the above or to confuse me even more another bike combo!

cheers guys

bullet

I would think if you are spending that amount that you really need to find somewhere that will let you test drive , before you buy .

I'm sure a certain shop might crop up on here !!!!

Have fun looking anyway .

Firestarter

I would have a look at Cervelo P2C and P3C, also the Planet X stealth (team issue) £2000 and you'll get full Dura Ace, carbon crankset, deep dish (101-82mm respectively) carbon fibre wheelset, carbon this, carbon that.....blah blah blah!! Bassically if it where my money I'd go for the PX, but it aint.........so go with what fits you best. You would be a buffoon not to try these framesets out before parting with that sort of dosh.

Ive ridden both Cervelos and PX TT bikes and the P3C is the best (imo) but the PX KILLS the Cervelo on bang-for-buck.

And with the £1500 change from the PX get a Powertap (powermeter) and some coaching (to justify new bike).................

jboy

yep will def be getting a spin on all of them if i can sont wanna make a rash decision

havent looked at the PX bikes..they do sound like they are value for money from what you say.

I see lots of cervelos out there and wanted something a little more original but then again i know they have been tested to the death and are prob best out there on weight, aerodynamics etc

food for thought i suppose..


thanks anyway

transit

You can get a great Argon E112 build from Royles, checked it out the other day. It didn't fit me, seat tube too long! - Damn it. Just bought a Cannondale Slice Ultegra today from Royles, gonna get some aero wheels next year which will take it to over £3k.

Planet X good option, I know Ribble get poor customer service but seem to have some good deals now. Wiggle doing Focus Izalco Chrono for £3150 or something - only problem is you can't try it!

I live in the North East and have struggled to find places who have bikes built to test that will fit me, especially time trial bikes, because I have short legs (I think they just about qualify as legs) I need the seat post cutting which they're not going to do for a test ride. The seat posts don't go in the 'kinky' seat tubes very far most of the time!!! Hope you live near some good shops!!!

jboy

had a look at those PX bikes and they dont do it for me looks wise..however the wheels look like they are value for money and may consider those over the Mavic SL carbone..although they both seem to have equally good reviews when i had a quick search.

no one seems to be mentioning anything about the specialized bikes?

thanks