Newbie look for good tri bike

[email hidden] (NBodem) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am going to do my very first triathlon this summer and will start training this week. I have
been looking at several different types of tri bikes. My favorite so far is the Trek Equinox 7,
mainly because it is around my price range. Can anyway give me some insight as to what I should be
looking for? Does anyone have this style?

Thanks Nicole

This a good question, but to expand a little more I would like to know if there are more people
riding road bike converted to Tri/TT setup or out of factory tri bikes?

This a good question, but to expand a little more I would like to know if there are more people
riding road bike converted to Tri/TT setup or out of factory tri bikes? [/B][/QUOTE]

Like a lot of tri and duathletes I use a road bike set-up not converted to tri/TT. However my bike is multi geometry. The seat post can adjust my angle for 73-76 degrees which of course puts me more forward. With a road bike set up you need to be careful using standard aero bars as they may stretch you out too far unless you can shorten up your cockpit with the seat post head or the seat post itself like my Cervelo. I use road bars and have not changed to pursuit bars and do not use aero bars. I ride them low and always in the drops for my steepest position. It makes a difference as well if you are a short course racer or long course. When converting to a tri set up be careful with the aero bar you clip on. Profile Jammer and Syntace xxs are a couple of good shorties for road bars. Depending on your weight distribution on your bike you may change to pursuit bars or just keep adjusting your handlebars to get the most comfortable, aero, and steepest position you can use safely and effectively (if you like a steep position). The standard roadie keeps about 60% of his/her body weight on the rear wheel whereas a steep riding tri bike might have only 45% of the weight on the rear wheel (once again only if steep is the way you like to ride). Steep and aero are two different things. Steep denotes a high [censored] with low down shoulders. So when you are bent down racing in the drops a ball placed on your butt would roll down to your head. Aero simply means tucked in nice and compact in an attempt to reduce the amount of surface(s) catching the wind. You don't have to be steep to be aero. You might be flat, with your seat height relatively equal to your bar height. My bike is set up so that my hands are below my headset when I'm in the drops. I should point out that I'm a short course racer on a compact multi geometry frame. I use 30mm aero wheels on my bike which is a Cervelo Soloist. The wheels are Campagnolo Zonda G3s and I have changed my gearing to be a little more hill and knee friendly: 50/39 and 12/26. I ride on what I consider to be the best saddle out there; Koobi Xenon.
So it's a road bike for me with the ability to shorten the cockpit, adjust the steepness and then away we go.

This a good question, but to expand a little more I would like to know if there are more people
riding road bike converted to Tri/TT setup or out of factory tri bikes? [/B][/QUOTE]

Like a lot of tri and duathletes I use a road bike set-up not converted to tri/TT so I'll be talking mostly about the road bike aspect of multi sport. However my bike is multi geometry. The seat post can adjust my angle for 73-76 degrees which of course puts me more forward. With a road bike set up you need to be careful using standard aero bars as they may stretch you out too far unless you can shorten up your cockpit with the seat post head or the seat post itself like my Cervelo. I use road bars and have not changed to pursuit bars and do not use aero bars. I ride them low and always in the drops for my steepest position. It makes a difference as well if you are a short course racer or long course. When converting to a tri set up be careful with the aero bar you clip on. Profile Jammer and Syntace xxs are a couple of good shorties for road bars. Depending on your weight distribution on your bike you may change to pursuit bars or just keep adjusting your handlebars to get the most comfortable, aero, and steepest position you can use safely and effectively (if you like a steep position). The standard roadie keeps about 60% of his/her body weight on the rear wheel whereas a steep riding tri bike might have only 45% of the weight on the rear wheel (once again only if steep is the way you like to ride). Steep and aero are two different things. Steep denotes a high [censored] with low down shoulders. So when you are bent down racing in the drops a ball placed on your butt would roll down to your head. Aero simply means tucked in nice and compact in an attempt to reduce the amount of surface(s) catching the wind. You don't have to be steep to be aero. You might be flat, with your seat height relatively equal to your bar height. My bike is set up so that my hands are below my headset when I'm in the drops. I should point out that I'm a short course racer on a compact multi geometry frame. I use 30mm aero wheels on my bike which is a Cervelo Soloist. The wheels are Campagnolo Zonda G3s and I have changed my gearing to be a little more hill and knee friendly: 50/39 and 12/26. I ride on what I consider to be the best saddle out there; Koobi Xenon.
So it's a road bike for me with the ability to shorten the cockpit, adjust the steepness and then away we go.

This a good question, but to expand a little more I would like to know if there are more people
riding road bike converted to Tri/TT setup or out of factory tri bikes? [/B][/QUOTE]

Like a lot of tri and duathletes I use a road bike set-up not converted to tri/TT so I'll be talking mostly about the road bike aspect of multi sport. However my bike is multi geometry. The seat post can adjust my angle for 73-76 degrees which of course puts me more forward. With a road bike set up you need to be careful using standard aero bars as they may stretch you out too far unless you can shorten up your cockpit with the seat post head or the seat post itself like my Cervelo. I use road bars and have not changed to pursuit bars and do not use aero bars. I ride them low and always in the drops for my steepest position. It makes a difference as well if you are a short course racer or long course. When converting to a tri set up be careful with the aero bar you clip on. Profile Jammer and Syntace xxs are a couple of good shorties for road bars. Depending on your weight distribution on your bike you may change to pursuit bars or just keep adjusting your handlebars to get the most comfortable, aero, and steepest position you can use safely and effectively (if you like a steep position). The standard roadie keeps about 60% of his/her body weight on the rear wheel whereas a steep riding tri bike might have only 45% of the weight on the rear wheel (once again only if steep is the way you like to ride). Steep and aero are two different things. Steep denotes a high [censored] with low down shoulders. So when you are bent down racing in the drops a ball placed on your butt would roll down to your head. Aero simply means tucked in nice and compact in an attempt to reduce the amount of surface(s) catching the wind. You don't have to be steep to be aero. You might be flat, with your seat height relatively equal to your bar height. My bike is set up so that my hands are below my headset when I'm in the drops. I should point out that I'm a short course racer on a compact multi geometry frame. I use 30mm aero wheels on my bike which is a Cervelo Soloist. The wheels are Campagnolo Zonda G3s and I have changed my gearing to be a little more hill and knee friendly: 50/39 and 12/26. I ride on what I consider to be the best saddle out there; Koobi Xenon.
So it's a road bike for me with the ability to shorten the cockpit, adjust the steepness and then away we go and put it all back to road set up for long rides or riding with a group!!!!

With each bike you own, you learn a little more about what you want from a bike. Its kind of like
dating. The kind of bikes I ride now bear little resemblance to the ones I first had when starting
out in triathlon. I say that only so you don't go through buyer's paralysis. Do some research, buy a
bike. Know that it won't be perfect, no matter what you do, and that within a year you'll probably
find things on that bike that you'd want different in your next bike. This will happen with every
bike you buy, even custom made ones. Each time you'll get closer to your ideal, but you'll never
really get there.

For your first bicycle to be used for triathlons, as opposed to your first tri-bike, you would do
well to consider comfort over absolute speed factors. There are super duper fast aero bikes that are
also comfortable, but I'd bet more people than not haven't found that bike in their search. Those
aero bikes that are super comfy are also super expensive. You need to be comfortable to enjoy
riding, so that you'll look forward to it and do it more and more. What I looked for in my first tri
bike was a bike that looked like it was fast. It was, but it was terribly uncomfortable, and these
days I know that if I want to race on a bike like that, fine, but to train, I'd better have a comfy
road bike. So that is what I have.

There are way too many factors involved in the bike buying process to discuss in one message; fit,
materials, geometry, gearing, etc... If you have a budget in mind, find the bikes that fit in that
budget. Look at what your friends are riding, compare them, ride them if you are able. Roadies ride
road bikes for a reason, they're fast and comfortable for long training rides. Almost 100% of your
riding time will be training on roads, probably. A road bike can be adapted to racing in triathlons
just fine.

I'm no speed demon, but here are a few personal examples that might help. My first Ironman, was on a
Softride tri bike. My second was not, it was on a road bike, a Calfee. I was 90 minutes faster off
of the bike. Sure there were other factors, but none so clear to me as I was climbing those
mountains as that road bike was. Later that year I had the fastest bike split in my AG and one of
the top 10 splits at a sprint race of 1000 people on that same bike. I'd done that race before on
that Softride and on a Litespeed Blade but never had a faster bike split (24mph). I give you these
examples just to let you know that its OK to ride a road bike, and to not get bogged down in "tri-
geometry".

Find a comfortable, reputable, durable bike in your price range. Stick with brand names for entry
level bikes, they will be built best, IMO. If you make the wrong choice in gears, handlebars,
stems...it can all be dealt with for minimal expense.

I'd say, in a nutshell - don't worry about looking like a triathlete, talk to your friends, go to
local bike shops, find other tri folk in your area, and see what they're riding. If you stay with
the sport, in a few years that bike you worry about now will be a distant memory. I can recall what
my first one looked like but not the name!

Hi Nicole,

Congrats on committing to doing your first Tri!! I did my first Tri last summer and loved it. Since
it was my first, I didn't want to drop a lot of $$ on a new bike, just in case I realised this
wasn't my thing. But I didn't want to end up riding some shoddy bike either. I started researching
used bikes and looked for some middle range components (Shimano 105's). I ended up finding my
current ride off of Ebay. A Cannondale R600 from 1999. Full 105 component set. And cost
1/2 as much as a new one. I put on the aero bars and a racing seat, SPD pedals, and thats pretty
much it. Worked like a charm...

If you do choose to go the Ebay route, ask the seller a lot of questions and request pictures, if
they are not already on their item page. Also, insist on having it professionally packed, even if it
costs a bit more. You don't want to have it damaged during shipping. I didn't have this problem, but
have heard stories of people who have.

Good Luck.

Joel

[email hidden] (NBodem) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am going to do my very first triathlon this summer and will start training this week. I have
been looking at several different types of tri bikes. My favorite so far is the Trek Equinox 7,
mainly because it is around my price range. Can anyway give me some insight as to what I should be
looking for? Does anyone have this style?

Thanks Nicole

Thank you for the information!

mrs dalloway <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

This a good question, but to expand a little more I would like to know if there are more people
riding road bike converted to Tri/TT setup or out of factory tri bikes?

Like a lot of tri and duathletes I use a road bike set-up not converted to tri/TT. However my bike
is multi geometry. The seat post can adjust my angle for 73-76 degrees which of course puts me
more forward. With a road bike set up you need to be careful using standard aero bars as they may
stretch you out too far unless you can shorten up your cockpit with the seat post head or the seat
post itself like my Cervelo. I use road bars and have not changed to pursuit bars and do not use
aero bars. I ride them low and always in the drops for my steepest position. It makes a difference
as well if you are a short course racer or long course. When converting to a tri set up be careful
with the aero bar you clip on. Profile Jammer and Syntace xxs are a couple of good shorties for
road bars. Depending on your weight distribution on your bike you may change to pursuit bars or
just keep adjusting your handlebars to get the most comfortable, aero, and steepest position you
can use safely and effectively (if you like a steep position). The standard roadie keeps about 60%
of his/her body weight on the rear wheel whereas a steep riding tri bike might have only 45% of
the weight on the rear wheel (once again only if steep is the way you like to ride). Steep and
aero are two different things. Steep denotes a high [censored] with low down shoulders. So when you are
bent down racing in the drops a ball placed on your butt would roll down to your head. Aero simply
means tucked in nice and compact in an attempt to reduce the amount of surface(s) catching the
wind. You don't have to be steep to be aero. You might be flat, with your seat height relatively
equal to your bar height. My bike is set up so that my hands are below my headset when I'm in the
drops. I should point out that I'm a short course racer on a compact multi geometry frame. I use
30mm aero wheels on my bike which is a Cervelo Soloist. The wheels are Campagnolo Zonda G3s and I
have changed my gearing to be a little more hill and knee friendly: 50/39 and 12/26. I ride on
what I consider to be the best saddle out there; Koobi Xenon. So it's a road bike for me with the
ability to shorten the cockpit, adjust the steepness and then away we go.

--

[email hidden] (Old Timer) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

With each bike you own, you learn a little more about what you want from a bike. Its kind of
like dating.

Hmmmm...

Bike selection is like dating because:

- Get the wrong one and you can end up with a sore crotch.
- Even when you're tired of an old one, they can be hard to get rid of.
- You always end up spending a lot more on them over time than you thought you would.
- Just when you think you've found the perfect one, your buddy shows up with one you'd rather have.
- Just because one was fast for someone else doesn't mean it will be for you.

If buying a road bike for Tri purposes is the way to go for a beginner, what type of aero bars would
you recommend?

[email hidden] (Joel Markovitz) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi Nicole,

Congrats on committing to doing your first Tri!! I did my first Tri last summer and loved it.
Since it was my first, I didn't want to drop a lot of $$ on a new bike, just in case I realised
this wasn't my thing. But I didn't want to end up riding some shoddy bike either. I started
researching used bikes and looked for some middle range components (Shimano 105's). I ended up
finding my current ride off of Ebay. A Cannondale R600 from 1999. Full 105 component set. And cost
1/2 as much as a new one. I put on the aero bars and a racing seat, SPD pedals, and thats pretty
much it. Worked like a charm...

If you do choose to go the Ebay route, ask the seller a lot of questions and request pictures, if
they are not already on their item page. Also, insist on having it professionally packed, even if
it costs a bit more. You don't want to have it damaged during shipping. I didn't have this
problem, but have heard stories of people who have.

Good Luck.

Joel

[email hidden] (NBodem) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am going to do my very first triathlon this summer and will start training this week. I have
been looking at several different types of tri bikes. My favorite so far is the Trek Equinox 7,
mainly because it is around my price range. Can anyway give me some insight as to what I should
be looking for? Does anyone have this style?

Thanks Nicole