Need some triathlon Advice
 

My marathon bug now has spread to triathlon bug. I have started training with the swimming but I have yet to purchase a bike. I have decided to stay away from the TT or tri bikes and go with a road bike. I feel the bike will be used for training more than the racing and until I get competetive a road bike will suffice. I have been looking at the cervelo Soloist carbon and the Trek Madone 5.2t. Any opinions on either or another I should look at? I am 6'5" so some brands like Felt are out as they only go to 60cm:( .

TIA

also thanks cougjunkie for pointing me here!

If you've got the money to burn, I say go for it. I don't know enough about the particular bikes to know if there is a significant difference. I presume both are dura ace, etc.

Let me add a little detail. I need a bike that is comfy for long training rides but can double as the race bike I need for the tri. I would lean to long rides over racing as that will be the eventual end use of the bike in a couple years. I do have disposable income but at the same time I am not looking for a 7k bike either, In the $2500 to $3500 range would be tops. So instead of brand shopping what characteristics should I be looking for in a long distance/race hybrid?

thanks

Fit and comfort would be tops.

If you are going to do tris you are going to need to buy aero bars. That is if you care about your time.

How much do you weigh? If you weigh a lot that might play a role in deciding which frame (stronger one) and which wheels (stronger).

Stronger means heavier.

remember also this is not like cougarboard, when a thread is replied to it gets bumped back to the top, keep checking back on this thread, we have a ton of cycling enthusiasts on this site, so I would expect that archaea, rcvikings and a few others will weigh in.

I am down to 255 from 290 start of March. I expect with the swimming added to the running I will be 230-235 by end of year, with a goal of 210. So maybe overall I will be a heavier rider even at my ideal weight. Would you go with clip on aeros or have real aeros and reset the bike pre and post race?

Well if you're going to spend that sort of money, I'd buy a tri bike, not a road bike.

Tri bikes are configured less aggressively than TT bikes. You can get comfortable in a tri bike and ride hundreds and thousands of miles. My tri bike is great, as is my road bike, even though I'm building a new road bike.

Everybody I know of with a Cervelo likes them. You may want to try a ti bike and see if you like that ride. You are big enough I would make sure I got a bomb proof set of wheels. I got some Mavic Ksyrium SL's this past summer and really like them.

Cervelo makes a good bike and I've not heard of anyone that was unhappy with theirs, either road or tri. At this years Ironman Kona, it was actually the most popular bike used, if that means anything at all.

Trek makes a good bike and I've read some good reviews on the Madone. Its purty, if nothing else. Treks in general are about $1000 overpriced in my opinion, thanks to Mr. Armstrong and the posties a couple of years ago. If you've got the cash, its not a bad bike, but you can probably get moe bang for your buck.

Being the cheapskate that I am, I would go with more versatility in getting a solid road bike with some detachable aero bars. Its not the same as a true tri bike, but its close enough imo. I assume that you live in Utah, so a road bike would serve you well in the mountains.

I'm most familiar with the Giant, LeMond and Specialized brands, as that is what our shops carry here. let me know if you interested in any of these lines.

Good assumption. although I will be doing tris, I will be riding mountains and I feel a roady is the way to go. If I get addicted to the tris then I will purchase a tri bike in the future.

I have looked at the Lemond Zurich. any opinion?