Triathlon / Commuting

[Steve Adlem]

Hi All

Any help appreciated.

What would be a good bike for competing in Triathlons and a Commute to and from work.

Thanks

 

[andy_wrx]

Some questions to consider...

How far your commute ? Urban, rural, bit of both, all road or some on rough gravel cyclepaths/canal towpaths ?

What distance tri, what standard are you ?

Presumably you'll also be wanting it for training too ? What sort of distances for that ? Will you be joining a club and doing group rides ?

Is this your only bike ? Will it continue to be, or would you consider getting one bike now which is perhaps more geared towards commuting and and also suitable for road training, group rides, etc and doing some tri's on that with clip-on aerobars, then at a later stage if/when you have more money you want to commit to it perhaps in addition also getting an out-and-out tri-specific rocket for racing only?

And of course, how much you willing to spend ?

 

[Steve Adlem]

Currently have a Cannondale Cyclocross which I use for both my commuting and Triathlons.

I ride mostly on road but with the rare gravel track path if decide to go the scenic route home.

Just started triathlons generally Sprint distance, but when out on the bike can put the miles in. Have done a few Charity rides of 60mile plus aswell.

May opt to keep the Cannondale aswell but finance may have the better of it.

Yes it would be used for training too.

Budget of no more than about £800.

 

[Will1985]

At that budget, I'd invest in some clip-ons and a set of aero wheels (or at least a front) to use in triathlon without getting rid of anything.

However, CX geometry isn't ideal for triathlons so the alternative is to buy a road bike, flog the CX if you have to, and get some clip-ons.

 

[andy_wrx]

[FONT=&quot]If you had no bike at all currently[/FONT][FONT=&quot], I’d have said that you could buy an out-and-out tri-specific bike : tri geometry, bar-end shifters on aerobars, the lot.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Someone – a lady beginner – in a tri club I used to belong to, had one as her only bike : a carbon-fibre Quintana Roo rocketship, with deep-section carbon wheels, etc.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]She was a beginner but had a very rich husband...[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]But I’d say that you shouldn’t buy one of these - this is a race-specific machine, designed no-compromise to be fast when racing, but they’re not comfortable to ride otherwise and dangerous to ride in traffic or with other riders because of having the shifters on the aerobars, separate from the brakes.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]So I’d say that you shouldn’t buy one of these as your only bike.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]And besides, they’re usually rather more expensive than your £800.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]With pots of money, or perhaps when you’ve been doing tri’s for a while and decide you need one in order to move-up a level, you’d have one of these as well as a conventional bike and use it for racing and race training only, use the other bike for commuting, longer day rides, group rides, recovery rides, etc.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]So if you had no bike at all currently, I’d suggest that rather than buying a tri-specific bike, instead you should buy a conventional road bike and use this for commuting and general riding purposes, and fit some clip-on aerobars for tri’s.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The geometry wouldn’t be quite so race-specific fast, and with the STI combined brake/shifters on the drops you’d be moving from the aerobars to the drops to change gear, so it will be a slightly compromised tri-racebike, but soooo much better than trying to use a tri-racebike for general purposes.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I’d say you should buy a conventional road bike, but look for one with more conventional road-race geometry with a shorter head-tube, rather than one of which is more sportive-oriented with a higher front-end, then you’ll be able to get lower on those aerobars.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]But this was if you had no bike at all currently, and were buying one bike as your only bike.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you have your CX bike as well, you could keep that and use that as your commuter and general-use bike, buy a tri-specific bike as well.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I probably still wouldn’t suggest it – you’ve only just started tri’s : unless you have pots of money, this is probably a thing to do in a year or two, when you’ve decided you’re still really keen, want to spend the money and it’s your bike which is holding you back, you can’t get any quicker by getting fitter, improving your technique in the pool, etc.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]So I’d agree with Will, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- you can carry-on with your CX bike, get some lighter, faster wheels for it (no need to go carbon-fibre deep-section – it’s currently fitted with 32 or 35 spoke wide & tough wheels with knobbly 32 tyres or something ? Just get some bladed-spoke lighter wheels and fit 23 race tyres like Michelin ProRace) and also fit some clip-on aerobars[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- or you can get a conventional roadbike as I describe above[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The first option’s cheaper, and nothing stopping you doing that now, then deciding in a while you do want the roadbike and then you can transfer your wheels and ‘bars forward onto that.[/FONT]

 

[wyno70]

I've seen people doing triathlons on both mountain bikes and Hybrids, so it really depends on what you are wanting??

Speed on a triathlon or comfort on a commute? One way or another, if you are using a bike for both, you are going to have to compromise something!

If you are only doing 1/2 tri's a year and simply want to complete it and keep fit then get the bike you want for commuting.

If you want to be a speed demon in tri's and do 1 a month then you are going to have to put up with being uncomfortable on your commute!

If you go for either option and get the triathlon bug you will be canning the bike in a years time, buying a hybrid to commute and a time trial bike for tri's.

It really depends on where your priorities lie.

I previously had a full carbon race bike to do tri's on. Realised I was only doing them to keep fit and for personal pleasure (i.e. I was never going to win, or get anywhere near it), so early this year traded it in for a Van Nicholas Euros. I've slightly sacrificed some speed but can now manage 100 mile rides in comfort which I would never have managed on my race bike!

Good luck!