Best type of bike to get for triathlons?

Question

I want to get a bike to start training but I'm not sure what to look for...I want to do sprint tri's (shorter distances). What to look for and how to find a reasonably priced bike would be great.

Answer 1

No one can can give you a true answer.  You'll get 100 answers from 100 athletes.  As long as you stick with a trustworthy brand using good components you can't go wrong.  The most important piece of advice is to make sure the bike fits properly so the comfort factor is high...

Bike frame materials really mean diddly squat so don't let that enter into your decision too much...

Jeff

Answer 2

Use what you have until you're sure the sport is going to stick.   A decent, competitive tri-bike is going to run you at least a couple grand.  That's a lot to put into a sport you haven't even tried yet.  

When I started in the sport (1992), I used a 20 yr old touring bike I bought after college graduation.   After a couple years, I was racing enough that I decided it was time to drop the big money on a tri-specific bike.  

If you have no bike at all (my mind is reeling at the thought of how a grown person could exist with no bike......),  find a bike that  would serve you for general purpose use.    If I were to start from zero (but knowing what I know), I would get a mid range mountain bike.    Why?

1.  I live close to the center of an extensive rails to trails system, so I do most of my training there, where I don't have to deal with cellphone yapping housewives careening around in 5000lb SUV's.  

2.   If the sport sticks, and you get an expensive tri-bike, you'll need a mountain bike anyway.   Bikes are to triathletes what shoes are to women.    One or two simply doesn't cut it.   I can see 5 from my office in the basement, and there are more in the garage.  

3.  No, you won't be competitive on an MTB, but you won't win the first few times regardless of your ride.   Better to watch the other athletes, get a feel for the sort of bike you want, maybe even borrow a bike here and there to try out.    It'll take you a while to get the hang of what's important and what feels good.

4.  Hook up with a local club.   Its useful to have hands on advice and coaching on all aspects of the sport.   Besides, since most of your clubmates have multiple bikes, its another opportunity to see, feel, and try before you buy.   There are a lot of triathletes who did their first race or two on one of my bikes.  

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All that said, you may be an impatient youngster of my son's generation and want to stimulate the economy immediately.    In that case, get thee to a high end bike shop that caters to triathletes and competitive cyclists.  There are more of them than you think.   They'll put you on a Serotta size cycle (if they don't, they're no good), then try you on a number of bikes on a trainer with a power tap, to figure out the size and configuration where you can generate the most horsepower.   (That's one of the reasons I suggested waiting, because it takes some time training and racing in aero for your muscles to adapt to the position - but hey, its your budget).   Again, bikes are like shoes.  Fit and feel are everything.   The bike that is best for my personal geometry and physical attributes might be horrible for you.