Second Season Tri - Bike - Triathlon Week

dcornettjr · 04-04-2006, 06:14 PM

This is my second season of Tris. I have read many post of Bikes. I am using a old Schwin Work Sport (1987 - still has the shops sticker on it). I have found the the bike can make a huge time differance. I am waiting till after my second seaion before getting a dicent Tri bike.

The queston I have is : I do not what to spend alog of money on my curent bike, but I want to make some inprovments to help... any suggestion. I do not have aro-bars or clipless pedals.

Thanks for listneing.

Dennis

jwier92 · 04-05-2006, 08:34 AM

Wow, that is almost my post that I needed to do, but I have a 88 Le Tour. I am going right now to look at pedels and shoes.

themenace · 04-05-2006, 12:31 PM

I just got my bike and the peddle and shoes are huge. I would go with that one. Get someone to teach you how to use them. There is a pretty big difference between just pushing with your legs and using the whole circle to peddle. And these are things you can take and put on your new bike when you get it. If you get a tri bike, the aero bar will be redundant.

stevenr · 04-05-2006, 01:16 PM

My first bike was a fuji cross trainer. I went to local bike shop and bought shoes and good clip on pedals , aero bars and new tires and wheels. It made a huge difference in my times. The shoes and pedals were easily transferred to my Cannondale 800 I bought. The bad news is that new shoes and pedals cost a couple hundred dollas. So did the wheels and tires.

dcornettjr · 04-18-2006, 06:07 PM

Ok, so Pedals and shoes it is. Any recomadations on Pedals and shoes for a newbie

stevenr · 04-19-2006, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcornettjr

Ok, so Pedals and shoes it is. Any recomadations on Pedals and shoes for a newbie

I like sidi shoes and crank master pedals. Go to a good bike shop and see what they have !

sfricks · 04-19-2006, 08:26 AM

My response is assuming Half Iron Distance or less...

I agree... Shoes & pedals will give you the biggest mechanical improvement. After that. probably wheels and depending on distance & terrain aero bars last. If you're on flat terrain and racing International Distance or longer, aero bars will help a great deal. Conversely, on a hilly Sprint distance course they won't help at all.

Check Ebay for shoes, clips & pedals. You can get them cheap there. When you're ready to ramp up, get Tri specific shoes like the Sidi T1 or Diadora (I race both). I have knee problems so Speeplay Zero pedals are my thing. Good luck!