Best thing is to go to a bike shop. know your budget and get a bike that 'fits' yopu...a decent bike shop will know what they are doing and the cost of fitting is normally taken off the price of the bike....you don't have to spend fortunes on a bike...circa £500 should get you something good enough to get you round...
drop handlebars are usually on road bikes; specific tri bikes usually have flat tribars but stick to a good road bike and add some clip-on tribars instead......more versatile.......
road bike geometry is slightly different to tri bike geometry but for an old numpty like you a road bike frames is the way to go
sizes vary accoriding to - well - your size but a M in one make can be a S or an L in another so try different bikes and frames to decide what is best for you...........if you have the dosh, get a custome made frame that will fit you......
gear - yes - come in handy..........most new bikes have 9 or 10 on the rear; and 2 or 3 chainrings at the front (pedal end)...........2 suit most people, 3 give more vestaility for climbing as it gives you a better range of lower gears to get up big hills
go talk to a good bike shop - or mail me - I am your mentor after all!!!!
iron buddha - I just went to a bike shop and one of the things they suggested was a hybrid (they mentioned a ridgeback or specialised) which had a lot of the aspects of a road bike and is still very light, which you could then fit aero bars, clipped pedals etc and use it for racing
I thought this might be a good compromise for me, as I will need to use my bike for london commuting, as well as racing
I don't know what you all think of this? obviously being a bike numpty I pretty much take what the people in the bike shop say at face value!
Newbie, I use an MTB for part of my commute because the roads are so rubbish and it only cost £150, allowing me money to spare to put towards a road bike............ or I would have to if I hadn't just won one :-)
yes - I was wondering whether the bloke had a clue, particularly when he started staring vacantly into space and then showed me a £750 road bike as something else to think of!
Anyone else found the people in bike shops a bit difficult to deal with - they always seem to be very patronising
Anyway, so if I used a road bike (the one this guy mentioned was the specialised dolce in a womens fit) would this give me problems commuting? I was thinking about how resiliant it was, whether I would get loads of punctures, and whether I could use it on tow paths etc? does anyone else commute on a racing bike?
Depends on the towpaths. Road bikes can take a good old battering though. Google for pics of Paris Roubaix to see what they can handle. If your towpath is like that, then I'd move...
If I had the one bike I'd prob get them to put some nice resilient tyres on the bike I bought, and look to get some race wheels next year.
I commute on my racing bike but wouldn't use it on the same roads in winter - too much debris to cause punctures (and get it dirty)............but I have another training bike and an MTB for those sort of days............
hybrid bike for an IM?? possible I guess but I'd still go with a road/TT bike
thanks for all the advice guys. I like the idea about changing the tyres. I'll go to the bike shop armed with a little bit of knowledge anyway! still undecided about doing an IM at this stage. Want to get the dublin mara out of the way first. hopefully all the places won't be gone by then!
cougie, i wouldn't be so sure. there was a bloke on a schwinn cruiser doing ironman austria last year (maybe by special arrangement with the organisers though?)
newbie, are you on the dublin list. Lists appear to be very important if you are even considering an ironman. you should get your opinion in on the post dublin p**s up venue too or else I'm going to be choosing
I went and booked a bike measuring today, and looked at some models as well.
he was anice man and not at all pushy or patronising, reckons that he could do me a good price for a BH whatever that is , a new model/team or something! anyone heard of them
plum, let us now know how you get on. I'm waiting for my trip to Nottingham in september to get a bike. On the advice of someone (sorry forgotten who). I'm not planning on blowing the enitre budget yet an will get myself a winter training bike that I can afford to wreck and if all goes well go for one with a bit of "wow" nearer to the race
Comments
(engine)
Gears would be useful.
Engine I think is probably not allowed.
road bike geometry is slightly different to tri bike geometry but for an old numpty like you a road bike frames is the way to go
sizes vary accoriding to - well - your size but a M in one make can be a S or an L in another so try different bikes and frames to decide what is best for you...........if you have the dosh, get a custome made frame that will fit you......
gear - yes - come in handy..........most new bikes have 9 or 10 on the rear; and 2 or 3 chainrings at the front (pedal end)...........2 suit most people, 3 give more vestaility for climbing as it gives you a better range of lower gears to get up big hills
go talk to a good bike shop - or mail me - I am your mentor after all!!!!
I thought this might be a good compromise for me, as I will need to use my bike for london commuting, as well as racing
I don't know what you all think of this? obviously being a bike numpty I pretty much take what the people in the bike shop say at face value!
careful or we'll all want one
Anyone else found the people in bike shops a bit difficult to deal with - they always seem to be very patronising
Anyway, so if I used a road bike (the one this guy mentioned was the specialised dolce in a womens fit) would this give me problems commuting? I was thinking about how resiliant it was, whether I would get loads of punctures, and whether I could use it on tow paths etc? does anyone else commute on a racing bike?
thanks all!
If I had the one bike I'd prob get them to put some nice resilient tyres on the bike I bought, and look to get some race wheels next year.
hybrid bike for an IM?? possible I guess but I'd still go with a road/TT bike
still undecided about doing an IM at this stage. Want to get the dublin mara out of the way first. hopefully all the places won't be gone by then!
if people in the bike shop are patronising, walk out and go to a different one. they aren't doing you a favour by letting you buy a bike off them.
you should get your opinion in on the post dublin p**s up venue too or else I'm going to be choosing
he was anice man and not at all pushy or patronising, reckons that he could do me a good price for a BH whatever that is , a new model/team or something! anyone heard of them
defo BH
www.BBbikes.com
www.BHbikes.com
specifically this one
good and bad points please folks?
I'm not a bike expert but seems a reasonable bike - depending on what the price is.