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...::: BABE N. THEWOODS :::...
PREVALENT FEATURE: New to the sport. ALSO: Doesn't have a road-race bike; recently completed first tri on mountain bike; price range is under $1500; expect this bike to last two or three years before next purchase.
People enter triathlon from one of the component single sports making up triathlon, or from another sport, or from no sport at all. In almost all of these cases the suite of skills required to ride a triathlon-specific bike are taken for granted by those who race aboard them.
In fact, riding a bike -- any bike -- requires some significant skill when you consider climbing, descending, riding in traffic. Then add clipless pedals to that. Then add STI shifting. Then add riding in the aero bars. Add riding those aerobars from a steep seat angle, and a rather low front end.
Finally, add all the technical elements required to ride efficiently, including a proper pedal stroke, the correct cadence, power application over the course of an event, and over variable topography. For all these reasons, a standard road race bicycle is generally the best vessel for a newbie seeking his first skinny-tired bike.
For some folks this is the style of bike a triathlete may choose to ride for all his triathlons, for now and in the future. Road race bikes are best suited for riding out of the aero position. Tri bikes are best suited for aero-position riding. But as we all know there are quite a lot of triathletes who will never spend much time in the aero position and, for them, a road bike is a better bike.
It's not that road bikes can't have a good aero position, but these bikes have a position, and a set of equipment, specific to them. We write about this in our discussion of shorty bars. The fact is, a lot of folks will never go further than this style of bike, and for a lot of that lot, they never should. What I would recommend is that a new rider defer the purchase of any aero bars for some months, until the basics of road bike riding are well enough mastered.
But let's say that you do go further, and in a year or two develop a desire for a bike that is optimized for tri position riding. Then you are no longer a babe n. the woods, and you'll find yourself represented among the other personalities on our bikepicker.
If you do, after honing your skills and preparing for the next step, end up on a tri bike, you will continue to use your road bike. Most pro triathletes will ride up to half their annual miles on their road bikes because, again, these bikes are optimized for different types of rides. Road bikes are better for slower, easy rides, for group rides, and riding over variable terrain (we ride our skinny-tired bikes over a lot of what we call "rideable dirt" where I live).
The point is, road geometry bikes are quite valuable as both racing and training tools, even if you eventually do all your racing on your tri specific bike.
Now, what about the choice of bike itself. In the great majority of cases, we'll be quite specific about the make and model of bikes that are the best match for the specific need. In this case, the breadth of models is great, and the options too numerous to name.
That said, there are some road bikes that, over the past years, have become associated with delivering a very good return on one's buying dollar. On that list would be the road bikes made by Felt and Giant. Add to that the bikes by today's two biggest U.S. companies, Specialized and Trek. But in truth most production companies offering a line of road bikes between $800 and $1500 offering compelling values.
It is possible to nail down the pool of options a bit. If your commitment to triathlon is significant -- if the triathlon bug has bitten you bad -- you may want to consider any eventual future tri bike purchase. For example, if you're under 5'6" you may find that your best bet in a tri bike is a model with 650c wheels (these so-called 26" wheels are a bit smaller than standard, and have specific utility for shorter tri bikes). If this may be you, then you may want to consider this wheelsize for your road race bike as well, so you can swap your wheels between bikes.
It appears that as of this writing Trek's WSD versions of the Madone, Madone SL and 5000 are road bikes which, in their smallest sizes, are made with these wheels, as are certain of Cannondale's models, in particular the Optimo Féminine.
If you're financially well-endowed and you know you'll end up with the best of everything -- including your eventual tri bike -- you may want to start with a more upscale road bike. If you really do think a P3C is in your future, you might not want to start life with a $700 Shimano Tiagra outfitted road bike. At some point the asymmetry in your garage will annoy you, and you'll dump the cheap bike for a Soloist Carbon. That three-bike purchase is the bike industry's version of "hitting for the cycle," with your wallet being worse for the experience.
WHICH DEALERS CARRY THESE BIKES: This topic is covered in our Dealer Survey.
