UKC

Hi all,
I've decided it's time for a new bike. I want something for racing (triathlons) and occasional cycle tours. I realise that the answer is to get two bikes, one for comfort, one for speed, but I just can't afford that at the moment. Is there a reasonable compromise between the two, or would I be better off getting a bike for each? What are the key things I need to look for?
My budget is up to around £1000.

In reply to MikeR:

If you are between sizes consider the one with the shorter top tube as this will give you more adjustment when you fit tri bars also take a moment to look at the different ways of setting up a road bike with tri bars.

Also, choose the one that you think looks the best!

Cheers

Toby

In reply to MikeR:

A lot of people find that time trials are just too painful for words and there are a lot of time trial bikes available with little use and going cheap.

Get strong on a road bike with clip-on bars, and keep an eye on the classifieds and buy someone's dream TT bike in due course.

My pick for a quick £1,000 bike is a Decathlon B'TWIN Mach 720 Carbon Road Bike - 105

11 speed 105 (all less brakes), decent carbon frame and sound wheels. Bit of a no-brainer IMHO. You might want to get some bigger chain rings for racing depending on the course, but that set up would do you for touring - saddle bag rather than panniers though

In reply to nniff and Toby_W:

Thanks for the replies, meant to reply sooner but got distracted. That's a good tip about the tri bars, cheers.
And thanks for the recommendation, I'll look it up.

In reply to MikeR:

You can get a lot of very good bike for a grand on eBay.

It isn't a house, you don't need a surveyor.

In reply to MikeR:
For a bike suitable for racing and touring I would go to ribble or Dolan bike building sites and get the best build (group set and wheels) you can afford on an aluminium winter training frame; its mudguard attachment points will be suitable for fixing paniers. Aluminium will be a bit heavier than carbon but not too much of a problem if racing on the flat. Get cheap bolt on tri bars. Be very careful of correct fit for the frame

In reply to MikeR:

Actually you could probably get a cheap carbon TT bike and a cheap alu tourer for that money and be better off for both disciplines.

In reply to MikeR:

Like Neuromancer put, look into used ones. Just like a car, when you take a new one out of the shop it depreciates instantly ! I recently bought an ex team race bike and got a huge amount off just because it had a few paint chips on the frame from a seasons racing. go into your local bike shops and check out the clip on tri bars. I bought the cheap £30 ones from evans and the cups were too small for my forearms. Ended up buying Zipp Vuka wing ones which have lots of adjustments and come in at around £90 on amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zipp-Vuka-Alumina-Extension-31-8mm/dp/B019I56HAY

Look on here too for some deals

https://www.bikesoup.com/

Chris

In reply to MikeR:

Road CC bike of the year will take a bit of beating on the value stakes https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-fuse-105-road-bike-84164.html

In reply to MikeR:

I've raced a few triathlons with a clip-on tri bars on a normal road bike. Alu bars are fine - if you go carbon, then check they are designed to take them. Depending on the design, you may want to put a shorter stem on for racing and/or you can also shift the saddle forward a bit to get a better position.

I'd suggest investing £100 in a proper bike fit, tell them what you want to do and take their advice on geometry as a starting point. When I bought my last bike, I explained I wanted a race bike I could ride all day and built the size/geometry/position around that.

Once you've got the frame size and geometry, then you can start shopping around/looking on eBay and comparing specs - bars, stem, chainset (crank length), etc, etc, can all be changed to for what you want, as long as you have the right frame.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

Getting a proper bike fitting was something I was considering. Can anyone recommend a good bike fitter in or near Aberdeen?

In reply to MikeR:

I live in Kintore and used http://www.visualbikefit.com/ last May to do a bikefit for me. I thought he was excellent. He came to the house with his panel van full of kit and set it up in the garage. He covers a fair area in Scotland using the van and will agree a mutually convenient time and place via email etc.

Don't hesitate to contact me directly if you want further information.

In reply to Jim Braid:

Thanks for the recommendation, sounds like a good service. I'll check him out.