Never thought I would be doing this!!

you have got to be kidding me. highly suggest you think about it a bit longer...sounds like the gateway to:

 

you watch biker fox. gimme some time on the road and a few triathlons and I will got damn fast mountain biker!!:bang:

 

Huh? Why is it that the worlds fastest professional mountain bikers wear lycra, but the rest of the mountain bike world is scared of it?

 

thanks for ruining my thread biker fox!!!

 

Who or what the hell is biker fox?

 

My bikes still for sale

 

Your retinas may be scarred, but if you really want to know, try bikerfoxdotcom

Take a good look around.

Don't say you weren't warned :lol:

 

This guy is rad, hahahha.

 

Try checking out the cervelo dual. You can get the ultegra version for like 1500. It is a tri bike, but the geometry of the frame is the same as the soloist which is one of their flagship road bikes. You can get the soloist but it starts out at like 2200. But you can flip a peice ontop of the seat post to increase or decrease the seat tube angle to make it more tri or more roadie friendly.

There is quite a difference between road and tri bikes and if you are using it mainly for triathlons I would suggest the triathlon bike. I have read some research that has been done on seat tube angle and heart rate and from what I have read, the steeper angles on the tri bikes help keep your HR down while riding at the same speed. Also, the tri bikes are made to cut through the wind better since wind resistance is basically your biggest concern on flat roads (since most tris are not climbing through mountains). Also, the steep seat tube angle make it so that when you ride your quads are doing a majority of the work on the bike which helps to save your hamstrings, which are used most in running, for the run.

I was riding a road bike, switch to a tri bike, within like a week of getting the tri bike, my average speed was up like 3 mph. After some training with it my average speeds in races went from like 16-17 on the road bike almost 22 on the tri bike.

 

If you are still in the market and in O.C. You may want to checkout Surf City Cyclery. They have both Specialized and Felt as well as several other solid brands to try. They also have a sweet Intense road bike. I mtb on a Tracer and rr on a Specialized. I think you get more R&D behind Specialized products and a bit more bang for your buck. Have you considered the Tarmac...it is just fast. (Don't get a triple.) I have not posted any responses on SCTR but I am friends with Steppie and Pain Freak. (As if knowing them increases my input value...?) Hope you find what your looking for.

 

Matt,
Velovie has a great rep. Consider these guys, you won't be disappointed. One piece of advice though as S54 pointed out , try to stay away from the Tri bikes at this time. If you get more serious about it and get a few years in, then go for the tri bike. Very few guys train with these bikes. You are in the perfect position to start to go for the tri's. I just wish I had the opportunity you now have. You will do even better then you think, give it a go, you won't be sorry.

 

Have you thought about maybe going used? If you have to have something new, you might try Hi-Tech bikes, they often have year old stuff new at great prices. I saved about a grand on my Litespeed. Besides, Hank the owner is a pretty good guy...

P.S. Does it really matter that it's a dry heat if it is 120 degrees???

 

+1 on all of this.

A tri bike will make a difference in a race, but honestly, for training, stick with a regular road bike.

As you progress, you're going to find yourself wanting to do group rides (these will increase your fitness, skill and will make you FAST) and group rides on a tri or time trial bike are dangerous. You might even find yourself feeling unwelcomed because guys will honestly be scared riding next to you (if you're on the areo bars, your steering will be less than optimal and you have no brakes)

Seriously, once you get a road bike come out with my friend and I for a ride. He's raced road professionaly here and Europe longer than most of have ridden. You'll learn more from him in a day than most people learn in an entire season and it will get you started on the right foot.

Let me know what happens.

 

Thanks for all the responses. For being my first post in the Roadie forum I've recieved a ton of respect and lots of advice. Reallly appreciate it!

I still have not had time to test ride any bikes yet. Super busy with school. I do however seem to have many connections being on the team here at ASU.

There are many bike shops that I can recieve deals on and VeloVie is one of primary sponsors where we can get incredible deals on their bikes. Thursday morning I'm going to try a few bikes out.

PainFreak: Good to hear someone has heard of Velovie, they seem pretty quiet in CA and its hard to find reviews of them. PS: what kind of road bike are you on?

lkn2ryd: I do know Steppie and PainFreak, so yeah I guess that makes your input pretty damn valuable!!:steppie: I have checked out the Tarmacs on their website and heard lots of great reviews. I'm still looking for a Specialized dealer here in AZ, didnt think it would be that hard!!

S54MCoupe: I'm defintely only going for a road bike now. The TRI bikes look pretty dam hard to ride!! Our team has plenty of group rides going on about 5 days a week. Right now I'm bummed I've been missing them!! Thanks for the invite on the ride!! I will let you know when I am back in California with a new bike!

Not at all!! I'm just glad its sub 100 right now!

 

Matt, I've been on a Giant TCR 02 for the past 5 years. I'll probably upgrade in the coming year. I've logged over 26,000 miles on this bike with less then 400 dollars in repairs and maintenance. It's a great bike. I just got word from my LBS (Coates) that my new cyclocross bike is in. I'll be picking it up sometime this week. I plan on putting some major mileage on it too.

 

What about South Mountain Cycles? They had Specialized a few years ago... not sure about road bikes, though.

 

Nice, I'm going to check them out today. Maybe even stop for a quick ride at SoMo since I'm down there.

BTW, when have you guys been out here in Arizona?

 

Whenever I ride on the road I am always on my tri bike and roadies love to ride with me. Because none of them have to ever lead!!! They all just draft off of me like 95% of the time. The other 5% of the time they try and take the lead, but I say [-X and I just pass them right back up. Unless I am riding hills, then everyone just flys right by me going both up and down.

 

Specialized

So I cruised down to South Mountain Cyclery today. They carry Specialized and Scott road bikes.

I rode the Allez, Tarmac and a Scott CR1 (I think).

I really digged the Tarmac. http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=34010

For 08' they increased their line for a more entry level Tarmac, the one listed abone. The Elite goes for $1950

I am going to check out Felts tomorrow. Their first level full carbon goes for $2,500
http://www.feltracing.com/08/product.asp?catid=1504,1515&pid=8660

Can any compare these two rides

BTW, would I want compact gearing or regular??

 

You should really ride a Roubaix. Dont just read into what people say about it not being a race style bike and that the relaxed geometry isnt going to be as fast. I rode the Tarmac and the Roubaix and the Roubaix was tons more fun to ride, seemed more stable on turns and felt more comfortable in position. I also went with the compact SRAM Rival components. I enjoyed using them being a mtn biker because of the way the shifting works. Single and double click of the lever behind the brake lever where as with Shimano components you are shoving over the entire level. I preferred the SRAM setup. Check it out.