It is a fact, triathlon bikes are, generally expensive. A top of the line bike can cost over $16,000. As an age group athlete do we really need to spend a lot of money to get a top performing bike?
When you first sign up for a triathlon the butterflies enter your stomach and you think "what did I get myself into?". You head to Google, look up 'Triathlon', and start to view many web sites with a lot of information. Soon you notice a lot of pictures of alot of fancy looking bikes.
You think about the hybrid bike sitting in your garage and you start to ask yourself a lot of questions. Here are a few that went through my head as I got ready to compete in my first Triathlon.
Do I need a new bike?
Do I need a triathlon bike?
Why do Triathlon bikes look so weird?
Will I look stupid out there without one of those weird looking bikes?
The answer to most of these questions is no. The answer to why triathlon bikes look so weird is explored in the blog post on aerodynamics.
In my first triathlon I rode on a 15 year old REI road bike. While not the faster bike it allowed me to train and race in a Triathlon.
After the first year of competing in triathlons I knew two things.
There were a few things that I could do to help me be faster; train more, upgrade my bike. By putting myself into a more aerodynamic position on the bike I knew I would be a little faster in the cycling portion of the race, as well as better utilizing my muscles so I could have a better run.
It worked.
In one year I improved from 1:32 to 1:26.
While that does not appear to be a big time difference, when the bike course was only 16 miles I saved four minutes over the previous year. I was on my way.
While I cannot guarantee that you will see a dramatic improvement, moving from a road bike to a tri bike will make a difference. Download our assessment tool and let us know how we can help you.