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Help - upgrading to a new bike
Hi all, sorry if this has been posted before.
Currently I am sitting happy at Olympic distance races. Next year I am stepping up to half ironmans, with the plan to continue onto an ironman distance in 2018.
My current bike is a Halfords cheapy, which I bought 2 years ago to see if I wanted to get into triathlons. I am due an upgrade to ensure I can complete the distances and training in some sort of comfort. I also need to use the bike as a bike for everything; training, sportives, races etc.
I'm not a strong climber (or just cyclist!) so I know I need a good range of gears, and maybe a light frame(?) but that's about it! Also, as a female do I need a women's frame?
I would like to buy new, but am not adverse to second hand (I would prefer a warranty). I have a budget of up to £1500.
I had a look round a local bike shop today which specialises in the specialized bikes, and was drawn to the 2017 specialized Amira sport, but I fear that was just because it was new and shiny. Most of their 2016 stock has already gone.
Where do I start???
Thanks!
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Comments
go and try a few bikes ... sit on them, get a feel
then pick something that is comfortable to you and fits you ... you are more likely to ride something that you like to sit on
A couple of good articles:
http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/187073-11-best-%C2%A31000-%C2%A31500-road-bikes
http://www.tredz.co.uk/top-5-road-bikes-under-1500
Re: do you need a woman's frame? Depends on your height - I'm over 5' 10" with strangely long arms for a girl, so all my bikes are men's frames. Just try lots of bikes.
£1500 means you are heading into buying a really good bike - maybe carbon with standard caliper brakes / shimano 105 gears. Bikes will be appearing with disk brakes / 'endurance' geometry, which means the are a bit higher at the front for people with large stomachs. Normal race bikes are fine - depends on your flexibility though
Disk brakes are great if you ride in traffic / in the rain / over winter and like to stop. They add weight / cost and are not a necessity, (but all my recent bike purchases have hydraulic discs...) Avoid cable disc brakes - Normal caliper brakes are fine for 99% of the time, esp if you clean your bike
my missus is very short, so a xxs mens frame or xs womens frame. The problem is they are hard to find.
women's frame may have smaller handlebars, (as narrower shoulders etc)
Giant and Specialized have got lots of women's specific bikes - for £1500, go and try some, then contrast with others.
You want something comfortable, and also something that will take clip on tri-bars when you start upiing the miles.
If you want to gamble a bit, try Canyon - german online bike retailer.
I started with a boardman and liked it so much I bought a top end frame from them a couple of years ago..... Just ignore the Halfords staff
oh and finally I personally love cannondales....
i think that rulling has been cancelled after the guy being eaten by a disk in a pro race was actually eaten by a chainset
. I am not racing, but no one else knows 
I am in spain, ahead of IM mallorca, on a synapse + tri bars + disk brakes (tcr set up)...... I am getting some weird looks
1500 will get you Ultegra and carbon frame at the moment (winter).
Canyon is nice if you don't mind a ridiculous wait and zero support if anything's not right. It's the reason you don't see many.
There are so many manufacturers now, it's not easy as a buyer, but there must be low barriers to entry as a supplier.
1- Choose Campagnolo or Shimano. You'll stick with them for life from here.
2- Identify the best Camp/Shim groupset you can afford in that bracket.
I only know Shimano, and would say Ultegra is great, 105 is a very good club standard.
3- You're getting 11 speed rears now, so any spares will have to match.
4- An obvious thought. The price of a bike is generally split into the sum of its parts.
Frame - all from Taiwan/China, painted to suit. You get what you pay for.
Group set of mechanicals. Fixed price, so compare the spec.
Saddle- all OE Spec are cheap and some nastier than others. Most people swap out after a year.
Wheels- are a big ticket item. Or they should be. This is where they can make it seem cheap.
Upgrades?
Saddle, 50 to 100.
Pedals - you'll need some, say 40,
Wheels - on a 1000 bike a 300 pair of wheels will be impressive.
Tyres- Conti GP 4000s at 22 to 35 each depending on wiggle sales.
Save the old wheels and tyres for the turbo trainer.
To save the most amount of money, sign up for the cycle to work scheme. It's not a scam. It's effectively a zero interest loan from tax free income over 12 months, for up to 1000. You can even repeat the deal 12 months later. The Govt aren't bothered about the conscience end of the deal. The thought is that cycling is generally good for you, so they ignore the loopholes.
(I cycle 100 miles with the club, get home, do an email, and therefore I've commuted to work)