Now that I'm officially saving for a new bike I've started doing research about my options. I've been debating between upgrading to a much better road bike or going for a tri bike. I've hesitated to consider a tri bike because I'm a nervous rider and I was afraid that the aggressive positioning would be too much for me to handle.
Last weekend we stopped to see our favorite bike guy at Sunrise Tri on Long Island. I told him about my bike dilemma - road vs. tri - and he was very helpful. He told me that since I already have a road bike that I should strongly consider getting a tri bike. The sport I do is triathlon and if there is a tool designed for it then I should try to make it work. He kindly reminded me that I probably wasn't comfortable on a road bike when I started (which is true) and while it will take time to get used to the tri bike it's highly unlikely that I will hate it.
Last weekend we stopped to see our favorite bike guy at Sunrise Tri on Long Island. I told him about my bike dilemma - road vs. tri - and he was very helpful. He told me that since I already have a road bike that I should strongly consider getting a tri bike. The sport I do is triathlon and if there is a tool designed for it then I should try to make it work. He kindly reminded me that I probably wasn't comfortable on a road bike when I started (which is true) and while it will take time to get used to the tri bike it's highly unlikely that I will hate it.
Last weekend I decided to put Sam's old aero bars on my bike to test it out. We were out on Long Island at Heckscher State Park. It is a very flat park with a 3.5 mile loop. It is free to enter during the off season and a good place for a flat ride or run (as long as you don't mind going in circles). This was a great place to test out the aero bars since it is flat and there was very little traffic. I ended up doing 8 loops for a total of 28 miles. I am very happy to report that with time I think I can get used to the aero position. In fact, I had moments where I felt fast and efficient and I might even say I liked it. I know it will take a lot more practice to be comfortable on descents or for longer periods of time, but I think it solidified my decision to go with a tri bike.
I asked the bike guy if he had any recommendations and he brought me over to check out the Felt B16. This is a full carbon fiber TT/tri bike that is an excellent and economical choice. The entry level bike is an unbelievably affordable price of $1999. There are 8 versions of the bike but they all have the same frame. This means I can start with the entry level and upgrade components in the future.
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| Felt B16 |
I think I may have found the bike for me but I've still got some research and saving to do...
5 comments:
Pretty bike! Imagine the damage you could do on that!
Glad to hear that your first aero ride went well!
Jeff @ Dangle the Carrot recently got the B14 (http://danglethecarrot.blogspot.com/2010/10/meet-new-girl.html). I'm sure he would share his thoughts on the bike if you are interested.
I started out by putting clip-on aero bars on my road bike and it was awesome! It took me awhile to get used to them, but after awhile it felt better to be in aero than not. Then, when I got my tri bike, it was a nice transition to the more aggressive position!
So, yay for having a good first aero ride!! :)
Exciting! New bikes make me happy.
The cool thing about Felts, as you already learned, is that they make the same frame for all their bikes and but put different components on them, Felts claim to fame is know where to cut cost and still make a good bike, you will love that bike.
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