OH I'm very interested in this too! Let me know if you get any good info. Right now I'm using the fiance's bike to train for sprint duathalon and it's a mountain bike, which I'm sure is quite a different ride...but I'm a runner not a biker yet so what do I know!

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Why not just get yourself a decent aluminium road bike with a Shimano 105 level components, perhaps a wheel upgrade and a saddle that you like. Figure maybe 800-1000 bucks plus another 200 for the junk you need like pump, helmet, bike shoes, pedals, flat fixing stuff and a bottle cage. Fit matters a lot, the shop you work with matters a lot brand names don't matter much at all, nor does stuff like carbon seatstays--just get something you like and go ride

quote:<HR>Originally posted by jroden:
Why not just get yourself a decent aluminium road bike with a Shimano 105 level components, perhaps a wheel upgrade and a saddle that you like. Figure maybe 800-1000 bucks plus another 200 for the junk you need like pump, helmet, bike shoes, pedals, flat fixing stuff and a bottle cage. Fit matters a lot, the shop you work with matters a lot brand names don't matter much at all, nor does stuff like carbon seatstays--just get something you like and go ride<HR>

A good entry level road bike like this would be a Giant TCR2. You want to get aerobars ASAP, as they get some time to get used to, and will help go faster.

You'll need cycling shoes (better if you buy the tri type to strat, only one strap) and appropriate pedals (Look)

There are a lot of add on's, they all cost some money. You want to add light stuff, but carbon components (lighter) are expensive. Have in mind that what counts is wind/air drag and weight. But it will pay off to have the best you can have during the ride; in general the ride is the most important part of the tri's. Check the results...: the top athletes are the ones with the fastest times during the ride...



G

I just did this not long ago. I had decided I did not want a tri bike because I will ride it for other reasons. I also own a mountain bike. I also was riding a Trek that was not comfortable, etc... You will love the biking so much more with a new bike that fits you, etc...

So, here's what I did. I went into my LBS and told them I was looking to spend around $1000 on a road bike. They were very nice and explained the different components and materials to us (DH was with me). Then, they started with the bikes that were at the top of my price range and worked down from there. I rode the ones they had in my size, which was about 6 or 7, I'd say. I narrowed it down to one I liked. Then, I went on craigslist just to see what was available. I found a nice steel Guru with 105 components for around the same price. I rode both bikes back and forth and decided on the used steel Guru instead of the new bike (which was an aluminum bike with a carbon fork and seat stay). It was a really close call, and I had a hard time, but I'm happy with my decision, and I know I'll keep this bike for quite a while.

So, I recommend going to your LBS first and see what they have, what the prices are like, and just narrow down what you might want. Then, you can go to some other LBS to compare and do a little looking online just to see what's out there, but also look at used bikes because you can get incredible deals that way. My Guru was a $2000 bike that I paid $800 (plus shoes and pedals) for.

Bike shopping is so fun. You have to ride them, though, and see what you like. You can always get a different seat or whatever, so remember that. Oh, I do not have aerobars and don't plan on getting any soon. I do tris for fun, and I can go plenty fast without them for now.

Kelli

That's a nice looking bike, you will enjoy riding it. Those wheels will be OK for you if you are light, if they start giving you a hard time, you might want to replace the rear rather than trying to get it fixed, they are kind of flimsy to train on every day, but no worries if you are a lightweight.

Let us know how the riding is progressing, be careful out there.

You won't have anything to worry about at 120lbs, but a heavier person might have problems such as broken spokes, or the wheel coming out of true, etc.
Not sure what weight is considered too heavy for those wheels but I'm 170lbs and riding bontrager race lites.. they seem ok so far, but I've only got a few hundred miles on em.