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Road Bike or Triathlon Bike?
Stephen Beszant
Posts: 1
Hi All,
I'm sure this is a topic many people have seen before however I'm looking to invest in a new bike with a budget of between £1500-£2000.
I usually compete in around 3 triathlons a year and have had my road bike now for a few years but feel now is the time to upgrade.
Based on other peoples experience would you recommend investing in a new road bike or a Triathlon bike? I'm open to buying a road bike and installing some tri bars but keen to get other peoples thoughts as to what might be the best option.
Thanks,
Steve
0
Comments
I'd strongly suggest upgrading the wheels on your existing bike to something like Shamals or Ksyriums. These will make a big difference. Really. Make sure the wheel can take the cassette from your existing bike as well as a 10 and 11 speed one to future proof them. Spend you ??1500 to ??2000 on a new bike and you'll most likely need to upgrade the wheels get get a step up in performance anyway
This will leave over a grand left to buy something like a Boardman Team TT. And of course you can use above road race wheels on it. The difference between a ??1k and a ??3k bike is generally negligible.
I'd agree wheels first, but also depends on the type of tri's your doing. Hills or flats? I prefer a road bike on hills, and a tri on flats. Just a thought.
My background is in time trialling from 10miles to 12hr. It's about the terrain, TT bikes are best for flat or rolling courses. Road bikes are more compliant, TT bikes are designed to go quickly in a straight line. If they are technical courses then you may loose more time than you gain from the aero frame if you're not confident or the weather isn't good.
It also depends on the distance. The benefit will be greater the longer the bike leg. Typically a carbon TT bike will be marginally heavier than a road bike and are not the best climbers.