Help please - bike for the Mrs

[williaa68]

Hello,

My wife is after a new bike for a significant anniversary / Christmas etc. She is looking to do her first ironman next year - she hasn't done many triathlons but has done a half ironman and has done a number of 100 mile plus ultra marathons so she should have the stamina.

At the moment her bike came from decathlon and cost about £600 I think. She's after a step up. She will likely buy from our local bike shop in Tonbridge as I don't think she'd feel comfortable buying online, not least as she is short (5'2").! Iappreciate that this is a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question but how much should she be looking to spend to take a signifsnt step up on the current bike?

All thoughts and suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks

[anonymous-user]

Its a really tough question but I'll offer some advice based on having a £1k budget because £1k seems to be a good price point with lots of brands offering models to meet the Cycle to Work scheme limit, its also a nice round number and to most people, a lot of money to spend on a bike and keeping it under four figures is somewhat psychological. Whether they are better than the Btwin is dependant upon your purchase method though as you can spend £1k and get three markedly different bikes.

1/ Major brands like Specialised and Trek will offer reasonable value for money but play on the name and reputation, if you want the name you have to take a hit on the spec. The bike will be alu frame, Tiagra drivetrain and inhouse finishing kit. eg

2/ Smaller brands like Forme and Beone, not well known names and thus not seen on the telly during Le Tour but still good quality frames and most often, slightly better spec than the above for the same money. Alu/carbon frame, 105 drivetrain, branded finishing kit eg

3/ Wholesalers/Direct purchases such as Planet X or Canyon, no retail outlets, you get the best value for money but cant easily sit on one to try it for size etc. The best value for money and better spec than both the above. Alu or Carbon frame, 105/ultegra drivetrain and branded/inhouse finsishing kit eg In this next example, you get a far better wheelset than the competitors are offering eg

Thus you can spend £3k and get three totally different bikes.... There is no reason why with some research and some accurate measurements, you can not source a bike without sitting on it, alternatively, just pop into a shop (pick a unit shifter like Evans if you would feel guilty about it) get an idea of what size fits, check the geo online and find something similar and buy that! Being 5'2" isnt a reason to discount online shops. There is a concession whichever option you choose, either the brand, the spec or the purchase method

If you increased the budget by say £500 at a time, there would still be the same delta between the options. Just look what £2k gets you form Canyon compared to Trek... If you are set on buying something from the local bricks and mortar shop, I'd guess you arent going to get a noticeable upgrade unless you spend £2k, spend £2k on a Beone for example though and you get a lot more bike for the money because they arent trading on a reputation and dont have a massive marketing campaign....

Is she looking at TT bikes or road bikes if its intended for triathlons?

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 2nd October 22:08

[spiralp]

My wife is also 5' 2" and started doing triathlons last year. She is a strong swimmer and regularly runs half marathons, but had not cycled for many years. We decided to find a bike which would be as comfortable as possible so the cycle leg did not take too much out of her leaving her in good condition for the run. We eventually bought a carbon Cannondale Synapse from Paul's Cycles at 40% discount. We only live a hour from their shop so we arranged for them to have both 44cm (XXS) and 48cm (XS) bikes available for her to try. She decided on the smaller 44cm, but to be honest she fits fine on both sizes.

She finished third in her age group at Hyde Park earlier this year and recently came first in her age group in a local triathlon.

Paul's currently have a Supersix Evo in 48cm size for £2,099, which looks like an incredible bargain to me http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s134p5489/CANNOND... Unfortunately, most of their other bikes in stock are not available in 44cm or 48cm sizes.

[WinstonWolf]

pablo said:

Its a really tough question but I'll offer some advice based on having a £1k budget because £1k seems to be a good price point with lots of brands offering models to meet the Cycle to Work scheme limit, its also a nice round number and to most people, a lot of money to spend on a bike and keeping it under four figures is somewhat psychological. Whether they are better than the Btwin is dependant upon your purchase method though as you can spend £1k and get three markedly different bikes.

1/ Major brands like Specialised and Trek will offer reasonable value for money but play on the name and reputation, if you want the name you have to take a hit on the spec. The bike will be alu frame, Tiagra drivetrain and inhouse finishing kit. eg

2/ Smaller brands like Forme and Beone, not well known names and thus not seen on the telly during Le Tour but still good quality frames and most often, slightly better spec than the above for the same money. Alu/carbon frame, 105 drivetrain, branded finishing kit eg

3/ Wholesalers/Direct purchases such as Planet X or Canyon, no retail outlets, you get the best value for money but cant easily sit on one to try it for size etc. The best value for money and better spec than both the above. Alu or Carbon frame, 105/ultegra drivetrain and branded/inhouse finsishing kit eg In this next example, you get a far better wheelset than the competitors are offering eg

Thus you can spend £3k and get three totally different bikes.... There is no reason why with some research and some accurate measurements, you can not source a bike without sitting on it, alternatively, just pop into a shop (pick a unit shifter like Evans if you would feel guilty about it) get an idea of what size fits, check the geo online and find something similar and buy that! Being 5'2" isnt a reason to discount online shops. There is a concession whichever option you choose, either the brand, the spec or the purchase method

If you increased the budget by say £500 at a time, there would still be the same delta between the options. Just look what £2k gets you form Canyon compared to Trek... If you are set on buying something from the local bricks and mortar shop, I'd guess you arent going to get a noticeable upgrade unless you spend £2k, spend £2k on a Beone for example though and you get a lot more bike for the money because they arent trading on a reputation and dont have a massive marketing campaign....

Is she looking at TT bikes or road bikes if its intended for triathlons?

Edited by pablo on Thursday 2nd October 22:08

Planet X have actually got three showrooms, I went to the one in Rotherham to try an RT58 for size before I bought it

[missing the VR6]

Can't help on the bike front don't have a clue about road bikes, but I'd suggest buying from Biketart out at Canterbury, yes it's a bit of a trek but they're very good there. I travel from Hawkhurst their for something as trivial as a new tyre, nearly a 100mile trip.

[williaa68]

Thanks for all the help so far. She is looking for a road bike. The local bike shop have ra commended this:

http://totalwomenscycling.com/road-cycling/road-bi...

It looks pretty good to my untrained eye and is about as much as I would want to pay.

Any further thoughts much appreciated

[Barchettaman]

Hi Will,
I can't see how that (albeit nice) Trek is going to be a significant upgrade from what she already has.

I'm going to suggest two things.

1) If she's looking to do an Iron-distance triathlon she is going to be spending a LOT of time on the bike in training. Fit and contact points (saddle, pedals, bars) are absolutel key. She needs to talk ro a really good bike fitter first.

2) bearing in mind her height you should definitely consider a bike with 650c wheels.

I would personally go the whole hog, and contact Planet X about them building up a 650c Stealth framest for her. They could use a road bar and clip ons, just don't tell her it's a tri frame!

www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FRPXPC650TTFF/planet-x-steal...


Another option would be to get the Mekk Poggio currently on sale for 599 at Wiggle. It's full carbon, light, and at 47cm it's in her size. Job jobbed?
www.wiggle.co.uk/mekk-2g-poggio-p15-sora/

Edited by Barchettaman on Saturday 4th October 07:26

[anonymous-user]

williaa68 said:

Thanks for all the help so far. She is looking for a road bike. The local bike shop have ra commended this:

http://totalwomenscycling.com/road-cycling/road-bi...

It looks pretty good to my untrained eye and is about as much as I would want to pay.

Any further thoughts much appreciated

With all due respect you need to find a proper triathlon shop with experienced staff, that Trek is wholly unsuitable for an ironman distance triathlon and will be a huge waste of money. Your LBS are trying to sell you what they stock, or have on the shop floor, not whats suitable for your reqts. It's a sportive bike designed to be ridden at a relaxed pace, not all-out for 100+ miles. I appreciate the need to save something for the run leg but that's bike is akin to taking a knife to a gun fight.

The Planet X suggestion is perfect, if you are spending that much money, what's a day out in Yorkshire worth to get the right tool for the job?

[Jorrocks]

I agree completely with Pablo. Scrimping when undertaking something as momentous as an Ironman seems very shortsighted. As has been mentioned, you can visit Planet X and see the kit in the flesh, they may offer a bike fit too. If not, try someone like http://www.bikedynamics.co.uk

Edited by Jorrocks on Saturday 4th October 15:16

[Barchettaman]

pablo said:

It's a sportive bike designed to be ridden at a relaxed pace, not all-out for 100+ miles. I appreciate the need to save something for the run leg but that's bike is akin to taking a knife to a gun fight.

The Planet X suggestion is perfect, if you are spending that much money, what's a day out in Yorkshire worth to get the right tool for the job?

Bizarrely enough, it's also pretty similar to the recently announced Spesh Alias bike!

[williaa68]

Thanks everyone. Looks like a day trip to Sheffield is in order....

[williaa68]

Barchettaman said:

Another option would be to get the Mekk Poggio currently on sale for 599 at Wiggle. It's full carbon, light, and at 47cm it's in her size. Job jobbed?
www.wiggle.co.uk/mekk-2g-poggio-p15-sora/

Edited by Barchettaman on Saturday 4th October 07:26

Hopefully job jobbed - she ordered this today. Thanks very much for the suggestion. Cheaper than i expected but i suspect she'll want another TT bike or something soon....