First Tri Bike?   One of the most common questions I get asked by neo-triathletes at this time of year is “I’m just getting into this triathlon thing and I need a bike.  What bike should I buy?”.  It’s a question pondered by all triathletes at least several times a day but it has particular relevance for the person who is just getting into the sport.  Rather than deliver a very broad and general answer (the sort of answer you might expect to this very broad and open question), I’m going to give you a very specific one.    The short version…  Buy a brand new low to mid cost road bike.    Notice I’m not advocating a tri bike, a cheap bike, a second hand bike or any particularly expensive bike.  For the new or soon to be new triathlete that is trying to figure out which bike is best for them, here is a simple guide to getting the right one.     Why a road bike, cant I have one of those purpose built tri weapons?    Well sure you can have anything you want, however on the shorter courses you are going to start on (Mini tris and Sprint distance) the bike courses are short, congested and have lots of turn-arounds in them.  In most cases the road bike (with a few modifications) will perform as well or better than a tri bike in the hands of someone new to the sport.  Also, your Road bike will handle better than a tri bike especially if you plan on doing some bunch riding as part of your training.  Pelotons usually don’t welcome tri bikes in their midst unless they know who you are.  Lastly, the road bike is the master at being all things to all people – long training rides, short sprint tris and even Ironman  if required.  With a few small modifications it’s the swiss army knife of bicycles.     New bike huh?  But I can get a much cheaper second hand bike on ebay…    Sure but I’m going to advocate a new bike for the following reasons: Bike fit is everything.  The difference in top tube length between a bike designed for someone who is 6ft 4’ and someone who is 5ft 4’ is about 10cm.  That’s not much difference.  Sometimes the difference between a great bike fit and an expensive paper weight is just a few centimetres of carbon either side of where it should be.  You really need your first bike to fit and this is not a simple task.  Find a competent bike fitter and spend some time with them, it’s the best pre-purchase investment you can make. As a triathlete using a road bike, you need more steerer tube length than a roadie does.  Mainly this is because when you attach a set of aero bars you are trying to put your elbows where your hands used to go.  In other words you need a bike that has 5-6cm of spacers under the stem to allow for adjustment.  The uncut forks on new bikes allow for adjustment, once a bike has been fitted to its owner the steerer tube gets trimmed to remove any excess.  A bike used for purely road use will often be cut too short. The drive trains on second hand bikes have often been ridden into the ground.  By the time you replace the chain, cassette, chain rings and a few bearings much of your savings over new are gone. On a new bike you should expect to receive some free services, the ability to swap a few parts out during the fitting process (like stems and saddles).  The bike shop should be able to make a compelling argument that their service to you in the first year will make up the difference between prices on new and second hand bikes.  Bikes are not like modern cars.  Modern race bikes have minor mechanical issues all the time, bike fit can take a few months to get right, the saddle that comes with the bike will rarely be comfortable – these are all good reasons to find a good shop who will take care of this stuff.  It’s your job to swim/bike/run, not to become a part time bike fitter/mechanic.     Why a low to mid cost roadie?  What about a really cheap one or how about that Italian handcrafted $15,000 piece of art hanging on the wall over there?   I’m going to advocate something in the realm of $1500 to $3500.  Below this price point the bikes just aren’t that great.  The frames, components and wheels are not really designed for racing (more commuting or occasional riding) and some of the components like handlebars tend to be the wrong size for fitting aero bars at a later date.  So basically you get what you pay for.    The ultra expensive bikes are great but they have too draw backs from a triathlete’s perspective: They are very stiff (in a harsh way) which is great for pro tour riders that get a massage in the team bus after every stage but not so great for triathletes that have to go run off the bike. They tend to have very ‘direct’ steering geometries (in other words twitchy).  This is fantastic in the bunch sprint at 70kph as you surge to the line but becomes problematic when you want to attach some tri bars to the bike and balance most of your body weight over the front wheel in the aero position.   So at around the $1.5K to $3.5K mark you get a great frame, 105/Ultegra level of components and a reasonable set of wheels.  You also get a frame geometry that is reasonably stable even when you get attach some aero bars.     What happens if I really like the sport, what will happen to this bike if I upgrade to a tri bike?   You keep it, for many, many years.  This bike becomes your ‘training bike’ for all those long lonely rides, it becomes your ‘ride in the bunch bike’ on Saturday mornings, it becomes the ‘bike you ride just for the sheer enjoyment of it’ bike, you get the idea.  Your purpose built tri bike will never fulfil these categories, so choose a decent bike you can enjoy and ride for years.