I've been to a bunch of bike shops in the last few days. It's been a bit frustrating. Most of the shops only have these "comfort" road bikes. Meaning the top tube is sloped for a more relaxed geometry. Then for Race Geometry they were all the $2000+ bikes. They weren't dealing in the entry/mid level race bike.
So I started to look west of me in PA and Western NJ. I came across a site that was listing closeouts on 06 Treks. Then Found a shop in Princeton that was also closing out 06 Treks. So I called them. I guess they were able to buy quite a few '06s in models I was interested in. If you are shopping for a bike too. Now might be the time for those '06 deals at your shop too.
Craig I'm curious of your opinion regarding Tri vs Road bike. I was interested in those low end Tri bikes like the cannondale optimo 4 or the Trek Equinox 5 but nobody has them. I'm going to look at Trek 1500's 2100's and 2200's tomorrow night. Time to spend some money!
The good thing about going to all those other shops. They all had group rides on various days of the week. I'm going to have to add one to my schedule and learn from these people.
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Tri bikes are faster in a Tri. I know smartass answer. I stopped at my local bike shop and checked out GIANT bikes. They had Cannondale and Bianchi, but I suspect I am paying a couple hundred extra for the name unless I am top end.
I realized sadly at Rocky Gap I a own one of the oldest bikes on the local tri circuit. Shawn was standing next to some dude, that when I pulled into the transition, said "Hey look at the Schwinn, how old do you think that is." My friend Bill replied, I know it is 20 yrs old. The kid replied "I think my dad owned one like that".
Back to the original question. Tri bikes have aero frames, they come with aero bars, and have aero tires, all which cost more than the typical bike stuff. My bike shop had one tri bike that was a GIANT. It was $1,800, I believe. This was probably $200 less than MSRP. I think it was a Trinity A1. Lowest price Multisport bike GIANT makes.
The road bike I looked at was a GIANT TCR A1 $1,400 MSRP they were selling for just about $1,200.
Both these frames are considered compact. This is good it gets the weight closer to the ground. Maintain more momentum. The difference is that Tri bikes/Time Trial bikes have the frame members shaped aero dynamically to cut into the wind. A road frame does not. I have not been on tri bike. My understanding is the steeper degree of the seat post and body position helps you use your hamstrings more and save the Quads for running. Also more comfortable in an aero position. A road bike is more versatile, it handles better and on hills you have better power transfer due to a less steep seat post angle.
Like I said I am not an expert. Here is what I have noticed in the most recent race. My bike went faster downhill, whether it was due to my awesome power, my weight or the bikes geomtry I am not sure. It appeared I could get more power from pedaling combined with my weight. Flats and uphills people on tri bikes cooked me, real bad. On the uphills the newer road bike guys seemed to have an advantage over me with the compact style. Ultimately the new bikes weight less than mine, but as I always say the five pounds on the bike can't outdo the ten pounds on my belly.
A guy at church was saying wheel weight/moment of inertia is very important. You want light wheels, but you want the weight on the outside of the circle. This creates more momentum. Wheel weight is worth twice as much as frame weight (whatever that really means, I don't know, but you want light wheels). The full enclosed aero wheel in the back doesn't seem popular, the ones with the real tall rim with very few spokes look to be the deal.
Blah, Blah, Blah. I originally (last year) was going to get a road bike and slap aero bars on it. I now believe I would like a tri bike. I only ride my road bike to train for triathlons. I use the mountain bike to ride with the family. If I need a road bike I always have the schwinn. I feel the tri bike would make me go faster with less effort, I am nervous about the control, at the turn arounds I do know I seem to have control over people stictly on Tri's. Ultimately I am going to have to go test ride one and make a decision. Of course I could be months or a year from buying. I would like a new bike before the Mooseman, but we will see.
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