The Forum of Benfleet Running Club

MikeBriggs · #1 Joined: 26 Feb 2009 Posts: 45

I was wondering if I could get some advice from you cycling enthusuasts out there on buying a bike. I'm looking for a road bike but have no clue on what I'm looking for in terms of setup, manufacturers, weight etc. Not too sure how much i'd like to spend but i would like something pretty decent as one day I might be tempted by a cheeky triathlon. I've seen these specialist triathlon bikes that don't work your quads as hard for the run, are these any good? please help!

gmike · #2 Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 259 Location: Benfleet

Graham · #3 Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 395

Yo! That’s the spirit, triathlon, yayy - welcome to the dark side. Just don’t tell coach.

There's far more knowledgeable people than me out there, but I have spent a bit on bikes so I'll add my two penneth.

I've got a tri bike - it's super fast, great for flat racing - London, Amsterdam, New Forest, I was in aero heaven. Still get jelly legs off of it but I think that's non-negotiable. But it’s not very good, or rather I’m not very good on it when it comes to technical courses because the gears are integrated on the tri bars. You want the gears and breaks to together on a hilly course. And I just don’t have the balls to hit a fast descent over the tri bars! Also I think if you’re going for a ride with your mates you don’t want to be rolling up on a time trial bike. Much better with a racer with normal drops bars and a set of clip on tri bars. If you get a bike with a shortish top tube you can extend it out with the tri bars.

I’ve got a few Tri mags with independent reviews and articles I can give you. And you’re more than welcome to have a play on my road bikes and my tri bike to see what suits. When I started out I bought a road bike for around £700. I’ve since spent close to another £4K on another road bike and me Tri bike and just use my old bike for training and knocking around on, it’s starts getting expensive and to be honest I don’t think it makes a huge difference, as my race splits seem to suggest! You don't need to spend loads to get a bike to be competitive on.

MikeBriggs · #1 Joined: 26 Feb 2009 Posts: 45

Thanks for the great advice Graham, you've probably saved me a few hundred quid there, I'll just get a road bike then with the drop handlebars. Don't expect to see me in a tri anytime soon but i'm a decent swimmer and i have the running down so it'll be fun to have a go at a few during the winter....hold on, the water will be baltic by then, maybe next spring!

Graham · #3 Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 395

Yeah - the tri season finishes around sept time. Next year. If you can swim a bit there's a new aquathlon in Aug run by Havering 90 (400m & 5k). Alas I'm in Edinburgh with the lads that weekend otherwise it'd be a target race. You should definitely enter.