Jwrice5

Hi all! I’m new to distance riding and road bikes, and am also starting to train for a half Ironman. I currently have a fixie that I ride around the neighborhood with the family, but want something that will leave me the ability to run the last leg!

Anyways, I’m looking at two bikes from the mid 80s: Trek 400 and Schwinn Tempo.

I really appreciate any advice you all can share. Thanks!

Retro Grouch 

Which one fits you better?

Bike fit affects your power, comfort and performance every single minute that you are on the bike. Nothing else even comes close in importance. If you were buying a new bike from a shop, you can talk about all the nitty little details and rely on the shop to provide you with the right size. When you are buying used there's usually only the one bike so you have to be aware and disciplined to only buy a bike that fits you well.

Phil_gretz

^ this. Fit is the single most important aspect of buying a bike. You MUST figure out the correct dimensions for your bike BEFORE identifying candidates or, Heaven forbid, purchasing one.

BTW - the Trek 400 had a number of variants, so it's tough to determine which one you're finding. The Schwinn Tempo is easier to pin down. The bikes are surprisingly similar. Neither distinguishes itself too much from the other.

Back to fit. Really.

alcjphil

Agreed. If the two bikes are different frame sizes, only one of them can possibly fit you
After that, 35 year old bikes can have seen quite a bit of use and may have had many components changed over the years. without actually seeing the bikes in question it is hard to judge them

Jwrice5

I appreciate the insights and the clear focus should be on fit. I’ll try and check them both out!

hsuBM

Does the fixed not fit your body well or is it a cheaper ultra stiff & heavy frame?

if it’s an uncomfortably rigid frame or it doesn’t fit well I could then see seeking out a vintage/antique frameset.

I don’t know about tri rules, but at most for road racing you’d need f+r brakes and a freewheel for the fixed (assuming you have a flip-flop hub).

56 miles is totally doable on a fixed or ss.

The only reason I question buying a used bike for this purpose is you’ve already got wheels+bb+cranks+frameset which you can rely on to not have a hidden crack waiting to fail at the least opportune moment (hammering your heart out while wearing minimal competition clothing).

Getting a used bike to compete on, even if it’s a 2016 Venge or whatever modern thing, or a N.O.S. condition 1972 Raleigh Comp GS, you don’t know what abuse it has suffered. So, to feel totally safe, I’d absolutely be wanting to budget for brand new wheels and BB at the least.

Jwrice5

my single speed/fixed gear does have a freewheel, but I’ll need to pick up a second break.

The bike itself is light and fits me fine (will probably want to take it to a local mechanic to make sure seat height and everything is good), and maybe throw some drop/aero handlebars on it... I honestly just didn’t know if doing this on a single speed would just totally ruin my legs before the run.

It is a pretty flat, looped course, so I’m not worried about being stuck somewhere, I just want gear that will allow me to finish.

blacknbluebikes 

If you're prepping for an Ironman, ask if you're going to compete - or just cross it off your bucket list. If you do want to find "middle of the pack" performance at the event, I think you're going to want a bit more bike for the actual race than what you're looking at here. And don't invest in something that doesn't take you all the way to "done." Used bikes are a bit overpriced right now to begin with, and after sooooo many hours of prep, you don't want to be looking for another one. If you said "I'm going to try a sprint triathlon," that's a much lighter assignment - sure, anything with wheels to (literally) get your feet wet. Otherwise, get the right bike now.

icemilkcoffee 

Sounds like you need to buy an actual triathlon bike. A tri bike has the seat way forward, and the top tube is also longer and you ride with your elbows resting on the handlebar:

Search for a Quintana Roo on your local Craigslist.

blacknbluebikes 

or a cervelo p2k

Toespeas

dont buy a tri bike if you are not going to be dedicated to triathlons , buy a rear disc wheel or cover , and a front aero wheel , look for an aero road bike or just road bike , and then focus on the kit , aero helmet and some bars too finish it off , bike fit at purchase doesn't really matter because it takes a long time to get a realistic fit , just buy the right size so you dont have to swap too many parts , if you do have more budget id go for a cannondale caad8 or 10 , if you cant get an aero frame just get a lighter frame as modern as you can afford so its stiff and some carbon cranks , i would also buy the frame and build the bike at this point point because you will need to at least buy the wheels if you really want to compete in tri and customize the fit as you go , you will need at least a front aero wheel set up tubeless if possible would be your best bet and only use it for tri

Russ Roth

Seriously? I could do 56mi on a cruiser too but why would someone want to. You can't bring a SS and legitimately plan to compete. Even if the course were perfectly flat changes in wind or just the need to change up cadence means needing a few more gears.
Used bikes aren't the worry you make them out to be either if you know what you're looking at, defects are defects and can crop up in any bike, but wear is something you can check for and get an idea to the longevity of what you're buying.

I'd also join the voices that are saying to look for something newer and possibly a real tri bike though for an amateur or a feeler any decent bike make in the last 20 years will do you well if the fit is good, put on a forward tilt seatpost and aerobars and you'll do fine.

hsuBM

who the heck shows up to their TENTH race legitimately planning on competing, let alone their first? The people legitimately competing have been at it for years. The rest of the pack of happy-to-get-20th-in-their-class also have been at it for years and are running in $$$ shoes and riding $$$$ full aero bikes. This isn’t some get rich quick scheme where he needs to get podium two out of his first three races or else his kids starve and an old Panasonic with friction shifters on the dt is somehow gonna save the day.

You’ve clearly not ridden SS much. There are a lot of pro riders who are hush-hush due to their sponsors (and cat racers due to “why did I spend so much money?!”) about actually being faster on their training routes on a tall geared SS than they are when they’re going for cadence & watt efficiency.

Russ Roth

Any one showing up to actually race? Who said anything about where he places? You show up for a race, especially one as overpriced as a tri fully intending to compete. And I don't know who these pros and cat racers are but I've never heard of anyone thinking that a SS was a legit race tool for a general competition outside of SS specific races. Maybe I'm just odd, but I honestly think that anyone who has a really good fitness base can show up and make a pretty good showing of it if they already have the abilities and if they have a fairly decent bike they can do quite well if the riding ability is already there.
I've built and repaired plenty of TT and Tri bikes over the years, I know what goes into them and I've raced on them. If you show up on a good road bike with a great fit, aero bars and half-way decent aero wheels, a good skin suit or tight fitting riding clothes and an aero helmet you might be at a disadvantage but nothing to extreme. Fit, clothes and helmet will matter the most according to virtually every study I've ever read, wheels next. Frame matters some but not that amazingly compared to the rest and the rest can be done with an affordable bike that will do way better then a silly SS over 50+ miles.
Personally, I show up with the desire to truly compete, I'm not the fastest and not even close any more. If I get a glimpse of the podium these days I'm happy but that doesn't mean I'm showing up for a cross race with a SS unless I'm entering that category.

hsuBM

Russ Roth there’s nothing wrong with being a participant, but don’t confuse that with being a competitor. They’re different. Races are a lot more fun with greater amounts of participants. I’ve never entered a race thinking that if I get podium or even win it’ll be without other faster people screwing up. I’m definitely just a fast participant.

There are thousands of articles and tens of thousands of forum posts that concur- you’ve no gears in your shoes, you don’t need them in your bike till you’re at such an elite level with your running and swimming that your sponsor gives you a bike with gears. I’m sorry that you’ve ignored them.

I’ve said “it’s doable on an SS” from the perspective of someone who’s ridden from Buffalo to Boston on a fixed several times and a few times on a modern roadie. There’s only one reason not to race on an SS: if you’re certain that you’re so darned fast that you’ll embarrass all of the folks who’ve been trying to be competitive for a decade and have blown $$,$$$ per bike across several bikes through their racing “career”. That would be not cool.

onyerleft Hola, compadre. Love the Anchower avi. Nobody thinks the C&V folks are deadbeats or losers. Quit typing that. You do make a great suggestion to Jwrice5, though. There are some classic frames which really are excellent bases to build fast bikes up from and they can be so cheap it’s really frustrating how well they work with your body compared to many carbon bikes that one can buy.

I definitely find ‘76-79 Raleigh SC & Comps and ‘83-86 Trek roadies to be pretty freaking great when holding together a new set of wheels and having a modern cartridge bb between some NOS cranks. But that’s another $300-800 (or $$$$ more if you go with carbon aero wheels, which can be the difference between 5th and 2nd when your body’s performance is at that level) on top of the used bike purchase.

It is worth asking in C&V about particular frames to see if they’re even worth the effort to check if they’ll fit well with your body plus the conversion to TT/aero bars. Some really aren’t, and some in C&V are pretty in the know on that.