Tri-bike

Bajapat said:

I'm also going to africa in the fall and money is tight(new house big trip) So if i have ot I'll buy a bike but I'd love to get a used one or rent on but I don't know where to start..

Bajapat,

In my humble opinion, and especially if the above monetary constraints are in effect, you don't need a triathlon-specific bike for your first triathlon (dare I say for your first ten or so triathlons). I have quite a number of Olympic and Half-Ironman triathlons under my belt, definitely including some challenging ones like Wildflower Long Course and I still haven't bailed on my very middle-of-the-road Trek 1500 to take a plunge into the world of triathlon bikes. And no, I don't think my equipment is holding back my competitiveness or enjoyment. Undoubtedly I'd get some improvements in my bike split with a more aero setup and reap the benefits of an easier bike-to-run transition if I had a tri-specific geometry, but I still haven't felt enough of an urge to plunk down the cash for one of them specialized bikes. (I think the same applies for 75% of the amateur triathletes out there, based on nothing more than casual observations in transition areas.)

What I would suggest for you is to see if you can find a good deal on a road bike. If you feel like your level of fitness and competitiveness warrants it, you can tweak your position on the bike a bit and get clip-on aerobars, but I would really caution you against getting a triathlon bike without enough experience - tri (and TT) bikes don't make good, comfortable casual road bikes, so it's a very specialized investment.

My 1/20000th of a tri-bike's worth,

Berend

P.S.: BTW, where in Africa? I was in Kenya last summer. Absolutely wonderful trip.