New Bike? Tri or Road?
mickwood
Posts: 93
in General Chat
OK...after a year of having my first bike I'm enjoying riding (biggest ride in the day 60 miles but 'average' 20-30?) but am convinced that the bike I was sold was too big! So I've almost come to the conclusion that I should get another, smaller framed, bike. Currently I have a trek 1.2 09 and I'm happy with it, with the exception of the size! (60 frame and I'm 6' with 33 inside leg). I've entered my first tri in March and plan to do one a month for this season. My question is should I stick to getting a road bike or should I use it as an opportunity to get a tri? If I get a tri could I still ride out on long rides? Are there any disadvantages of getting a tri? I've seen this one which could be a contender...http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/quintana-roo-tequilo-road-bike-id37261.html
ANY advice welcomed...I'm confuddled....
ANY advice welcomed...I'm confuddled....
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Comments
a tt bike should be able to do all the stuff a road bike does, but it probably isn't suited to urban riding/commuting so well, and might not be great in close-formed group rides.
personally, i think i would get some tri's out of the way and then consider what you want to do next - you might decide that you want to get a 'better' road bike that is a good fit and allows you to develop and get stronger.
Are you getting more for your money by going down the road bike route?
A tt bike is a pretty narrow specialism of bike, when you are starting out a good road bike with an aggressive geometry and clip on bars will cover 90% of the same ground. A tt bike won't really be a replacement for the road bike, either because they are geared for different jobs, so you will still be using that maybe-too-big trek a fair bit.
The main benefit of tt is aero positioning that has access to gear shifters but not brakes (they are on separate side bars) , and while the riding on tri bars isn't twitchy once you are used to it I wouldn't want to be managing roundabouts on them
You can get the 2008 version here http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/107553.html for just over £1300.
A tri bike WILL make you faster over non drafting, non mountainous races; providing you train on it AND it fits correctly. Road bikes are designed for comfort (you can vary your riding position more than a tt bike, reducing strain on things like shoulders and your back); they're also designed for riding in groups. But a good fitting tt bike can be very comfortable, even over Ironman distance.
An advantage of road bikes is the ability to change gear whilst on the hoods or drops, for a tt bike this isn't so easy. For example, if you're on a tt bike riding a route with steep climbs and you're on the base bars, ie not aero, you would need to reach for the aero bars to change gear. Not a massive problem, but roads bikes have a massive advantage here bvfdh`
I'd suggest for your commute, a tt bike is fine, if encoutering traffic, select a gear and go onto the base bars, it'll be as stable as a road rike at pretty much any speed.
There are a few TT bike for less than, or around the £1000 mark, if this is your budget: Carrerra, Tiger Frog, 2009 Focus from Wiggle, PLUS OTHERS i'M SURE.
Playing devils advocate, surely you should WANT to ride the thing. And if that involved buying a TT bike then the benefits are 2 fold