VictorMikeLima

I'm currently a student and have picked up the goal of competing in Triathlons. As an Amateur Triathlete, of course. I don't have too much experience with bicycles, other than a few occasional rentals which didn't always fit me well. Anyways, I went to a local popular cycle store in Orlando, FL to talk to some of the employees to help me out on purchasing a road bike to get comfortable being on a bike. I was actually approached by the manager and he recommended the 2012 Specialized Secteur. Which seemed like an incredibly reasonable price at $1,500 for such a "nice looking bike" (because that's all I can really judge a bike by at this point. The rest I'm mostly being guided by others and learning from them). I noticed that to have a good bike for competing, the minimum I believed was at least, $3,000. If not $5,000. And being a student with a minimum wage job, that's pricey. But for a goal, I like to focus on quality items.

But I was just wondering, how much you guys purchased your first bikes for? Just so I can get a feel of where I should start off. While the Specialized Secteur looks like it's everything I need to familiarize myself with riding, it would be a long, long, time before I thought of even purchasing another bike. So should I take it easy and get something that doesn't cost more than my car? Or should I take the deep plunge and opt for a pricier bike? If you guys could share your stories on starting out with your bikes, I'd love to hear it!

Also, if you guys have anything to say about the Specialized Secteur (2012 model), I'd love to get some info on it! It's hard to come across actual reviews online.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post!

Dalai

Remembering back a long time my first bike was $600, my second was a second hand bike for less.

Starting out, I would recommend a road bike and clip on aerobars.

Note one example of what people ride. https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...mber-s-example

Most imortant thing is that the bike fits and is in sound mechanical order when starting out. You can worry about upgrading later when you are more experienced and know exactly what you want/need.

hyperlitenerd

I am a college student too! I bought my first road bike for 1300? With help from my grandma. I rode that bike for a few years, had clip on's had fun. got more serious, bought a tri frame online for 700 with cranks basebar, brakes, shifters. I had a set of wheels, derailleurs, pedals and my clip on aero bars. Tri bike for 700 and a little work! It is a 2009 Giant Trinity A0. Not a cervelo P4, but a great bike that I am really enjoying. You don't need to spend 3k to get a decent tri bike.

Best thing you can do is figure out what kind of bike is going to fit you best, local triathletes should be able to point you to a good fitter. Once you know what geometry will suit you best, go out and look up what bikes will fit your body, and off to the classifieds!

NameWasTaken

My first road bike cost me $50 on craigslist. Wasn't just a piece of junk either. I spent another 200 personalizing it with upgraded parts. The manager at the bike shop said it was a good quality bike and that it was a steal at that price. Although I am still a novice to road biking, I don't believe you need to spend a couple of grand on a road bike. Just pick your budget and get the best one you can get within it. You don't need air Jordan's to be a contender in a basketball game but at the same time you wouldn't perform well with flip flops. My point is that you should get something good enough to have a chance in the triathlon but don't NEED a really high end bike. Keep in mind that this is just another perspective that I am offering. You may totally disagree with me and thats ok. Never-the-less, I wish you luck on your purchase and in your triathlons.

Monoborracho

My first real bike cost me $165. It was a Campy equipped LaPierre..................in 1970!

I've got about $1500 in a Blue T12 that I purchased, used, a couple of years ago, and then changed out several things.

corynardin

I know that the triathlon club that I am part of (RMTC) has great sponsors that give us deep discounts. And don't think that you have to be good to be part of a club (because I'm not). There are a lot of opportunities to get "sponsored" as well and often times it just means that you are a good person who will say good things about their products.

Which university are you going to? I quickly googled "orlando tri club" and found that the University of Central Florida has triathlon club (https://triknights.com/). There is also the Central Florida Tri Club (https://cfltriclub.com/) that appears to be active. I don't know anything about either club so I am not endorsing them and there may be more as well.

I first raced (last year) on my 1993 steel road bike. It was a sprint and I finished first in my AG for the bike portion. I bought the bike used a decade ago for about $200 including pedals shoes and other accessories. I bought a used Quinta Roo this year for $750 from some one in my tri club.

I'll tell you what money will buy, aesthetics and comfort (which I am not discounting either), shifting reliability, aerodynamics and weight. It is really easy to spend a lot more money to get a marginal performance increase. Buying new gives you the most freedom in selecting the right size bike and because it is new it will look cool and you will feel great riding it. If you are really on a budget and aesthetics aren't that important to you and you are savvy you can get something very affordable (a few hundred bucks).

The bottom line is that you should get something that you can afford and that you love. There is always something better out there, but at the end of the day YOU are the most critical component. You will weight more than your bike and you will have more drag than your bike.

Oysterboy

The bike I used in my first triathlons was a mountain bike that i added clip-on aero bars to and ran 1" wide street slicks. To tell you the truth, my times weren't bad on that bike. I subsequently bought a NOS QR Tequilo frame and built the bike from the ground up. I think I have about $800 invested.

back4more

Idid a couple triathlon's on my old bike to see if I was going to like the events - I did so I bought a road bike rather than a TT bike because I felt the utility was better and would ride / train more with a road bike. I did drop 3 - 4K on my roade bike then.

Daniel Frost

$120US/$250 New Zealand dollars. 4 year old bike worth about 3 times that, did my 1st tri with it, infact still race it know, albeit upgraded the last two years. Only spend what you can, intentions of being a triathlete is great but there is no point dropping lots of $$ on a bike to discover after one event you are happy having done it once, hope tat makes sense

bassjones

A lot of the more hardcore triathletes buy new bikes every couple of years and you can usually get a good used one for about half what it was new.

Trekathlete

I bought my first road bike at 900 and this was as I was getting into multisport events. Then this year I finally got the real deal and bought a 2011 P2 for about 1900 and I love it.

Cateye

First road bike: Felt F65 $1000
Second road bike: Orbea Onix $2100
Third road bike: Trek Madone 6.7...you don't want to know how much that one cost me
First Tri Bike: Trek Speed Concept....again don't want to know how much that one cost me

robb.

my first bike was an ill-fitting 1997 giant kronos GS steel frame road bike. it works, but it has very little in comfort, shifting reliability, or aerodynamic advantage. i just bought a new 2010 specialized transition elite aluminum frame tri bike for $1,000. you don't need to spend $3,000 for your first bike. in fact, now that i'm into my fourth year of triathlons, i'm finally at a point where i feel like i can justify a decent bike. if i start pushing distance in the future and do more than one half-iron, maybe i can justify an even nicer bike. but this one is still brand new (just a couple model years old), so it's quite a bit nicer than what i have now.

Spudzooka

Bike 1 (beater/trainer bike): $520 Dawes lightning 1200 with free lifetime service
Bike 2 (tri-bike): $500 Motobecane Nemisis Pro with free lifetime service (it's a good idea to be friends with the local bike store)

jetta-the-hut

bike 1 - Scott tri bike 250 dollars used
bike 2 - Orbea Ora 1500 so far and not completely built, and that with only cheapy training wheels.

robb.

i almost bought an ora last summer. really sweet bike. have building it up.

jetta-the-hut

Thanks,cant wait to ride, the stance is so aggresive though. I hope its as fast as it looks. Im doing the ms150 in september so i plan on really hitting it hard this summer. 2x100 mile rides is going to be brutal, i hope to have it dialed in by then.

PVFD304

Borrowed my brothers Cannondale for my first race. Kept an eye on CL for a used road bike and bought a Scattente 330X for $300 and a Cervelo Dual for $750.

socialtri

I paid £450 ($692) for a new specialized it was an aluminium road bike with carbon forks. Once I had the bike I gradually upgraded the components when I had the cash including new cleats, wheels, group set and added tri bars eventually. It was a great bike, I still have it now for commuting because I love it so much. Definitely worth looking at last years models though you can get some good discounts on great bikes!

manutd

The Secteur is the aluminum version of the Specialized Roubaix (which is an amazing bike) but it isn't an aggressive bike that you'd do too much racing on nor is it anything like what you'd usually find in a triathlon.

I think the manager suggested that bike because it has a relaxed geometry so it would be easier for you to 'get comfortable' on the bike. But honestly if you want to buy a road bike in that price range you should buy the equivalent Specialized Allez instead. The Allez is a more aggressive bike that you can use in races and still be plenty comfortable (it is the aluminum version of the Specialized Tarmac)

The Roubaix (secteur) is that bike I use for long distance rides that I am more concerned about comfort than overall speed. I use my Cervelo P2c for Triathlon or if I want to go a little faster.

I'm not sure a younger person who wants to race should get the Secteur as his only bike. Check out the Allez (Tarmac) and see how that looks to you. I rode a 2006 Allez as my road bike since 2006 until this year and I bought a Roubaix to complement my Cervelo.

Good luck on the search.

DocC3

I agree with Manutd that the Allez is better suited to a younger person interested in getting into Tri's. I ride a Roubaix for Tri's and it is a great bike. Most of the races I do are sprints and the Roubaix can be wicked fast on a short bike leg with lots of turns. Last year I installed aero bars for a sprint with a 19-20 mile bike leg. This helped, but the geometry of the Roubaix doesn't allow much of an aero position. The Allez would be better. This spring I bought a 2012 Cannondale Slice that I found on Craiglist to complement my Roubaix. No doubt a TT frame is faster especially on a course like I race last weekend with a total of 6 turns in 14 miles. But two weeks ago in at on an urban course with 40 turns in 14 miles I rode the Roubaix. The Allez is a great option and it will allow you to be competitive and have fun.