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Bike advice

Hi I'm looking at getting my first Triathlon bike and would like to see what peoples thoughts are on the following bikes, pros/cons and suitability for a novice to road bikes. Any suggestions on other bikes would be much appreciated.

Thanks 

Fuji Norcom 2.5 Merida Warp Tri 3000 

 

Specialized Shiv Elite  Trek Speed Concept 7.0 S Cervelo P2 105 

 

Comments

  • risris Posts: 1,002

    i am sure any of those would make an excellent bike for your first tri, and probably quite a few beyond!  with bikes the best advice (and this goes for £500 entry-level bikes as much as £2k tri-bikes) is to try them out, ideally in a bike shop that will take some time with you to get a frame and geometry that is right for your body shape any how you ride. 

    the general guidance online, or in books, will take you so far, but nothing is better than someone actually looking at how you ride and asking you about what you want to achieve to get the set up correct.  

  • Andrew4Andrew4 Posts: 190

    +1 to that - as a novice its especially important to sit on a bike, see how you ride and get some outside input.

    All other things being equal I would go for the Shiv - in my view its a better frame than the others.

    For the Cervelo they are a really pain to maintain and its not unheard of for people to have hugely expensive Cervelo bikes being completely unrideable because of something as silly as a broken clamp on the seat tube being on back order and "stock parts" not really working properly. You're also rather paying for the Cervelo badge an I just don't think its worth it.

    Finally the Shiv benefits from more integration of hydration and aero tool box, so IMHO looks cleaner and nicer when in race day trim.

  • If you can try and get a bike fit - quite a few shops will discount what you pay for bike fit off the bike cost. Most important thing is to have a bike that fits - when I had a bike fit had only 2 frames to choose from due to being short and having proportionally short legs - so only had Specialized Shiv, or a small Felt bike that would fit properly.

    I went for the Shiv, and have found it to be great - there are usually some well discounted older frames (i ended up with a 2013 frame for 1/3rd of the price) - but the best bike won't be great for you unless it fits.

  • I have had a bike fit and ended up with a Scott Plasma 30. Not a bike I had looked at but is a good fit (and was discounted as well which is a bonus). 

    Thanks for all the advice. 

  • A lovely bike... i have the Plasma 20!

  • Hi Earl, I'm in the same position as you. I too am just about to buy my first tri-bike. It certainly is a somewhat daunting task.

    What the other guys say is definitely true though. I've been a weekend cyclist for years and buying from a shop that properly fits you for a bike is worth every penny. my first road bike I ever bought, back in 2007, I bought straight off the shelf, rode it round the block a few times. It felt alright so I bought it. After 70 miles or so my back was in bits.

    i originally put this down to bad posture, so did gym work to help with posture, flexibility etc.

    My second bike was a Condor where they not only properly measure you but it's fully customisable. Handle bar width, stem length as measured and picked to suit your exact measurements. It is an expensive option, don't get me wrong, and there's no bike to try out as they are obviously made to order. However when I picked my bike up and rode it for the first time. It was perfect.

    Getting fitted for a bike is definitely worth it but so is getting a bike that looks cool. A lot of the fun of buying new toys is the aesthetic value, sometimes magazines overlook this I feel. It might not be as important but it is still important. Buying a bit of kit that you love using will make you want to use it more.

    Good luck with getting your bike. Hope you enjoy many a happy mile together.

     

  • I would recommend actually going to a shop where they either fit you on the bike, or you can test out bikes yourself and find what is comfortable to you.  Everyone is different and a bike someone else says is amazing might be the worse bike you have ever ridden on to you.  So I would just find a place to test some out/get fitted and go with what feels right to you.

  • Hi im thinking of buying a blue triad SL tt bike could anyone give me an unbiased review of this bike. They don't seem to show up on the regular sites.

    Thanks
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