New in the Group

Welcome to the board, your experience will be benificial to us all. There are a couple of people from the Ottawa region on the board and might be able to answer your question.

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Probably the best bet is to find a decent used road bike and add some aero bars. If you can live with something less than the latest gear setups, and don't need the current crop of 9 & 10 speed clusters, a bike with Shimano 8 speed (or even 7 speed) is probably a cheaper alternative. Check local want advertisers. If you're uncomfortable with assessing a bike's condition, take along a knowledgeable friend. Seeing the bike in person and taking a test ride is a lot less risky than shopping on Ebay. Figure out what you can afford and go from there. Remember, it's more important to ride any bike, even a clunker, and at least compete in a triathlon, than to stay out of the competiton because you feel your bike isn't up to standard. Compete against yourself, and have fun no matter what your level of financial involvement is!

Max

Thanks Max, that's really good advice. My problem is that I know swim gear (not that there's much to know) and I know run gear - not that that's complicated!! I know very little about bikes. I've been looking for a local bike maintainance course, so I can at least get some idea of mechanics and what not, but I'm a law student who works part-time, so time is a serious issue. Between work, school and training, there just aren't enough hours in the day - you know how it is!! The other prob is that most of my friends are not cyclists or triathletes, so know very little about bikes! I'm gonna figure it out though - I'd better, I've got five races in the next 5 months!! Thanks again

That's to everyone for being so welcoming!!

That's to everyone for being so welcoming!!

Also you may want to put a price range out there (and equivalent in US dollars too) so that maybe folks can suggest specific bikes that you might look for. My son bought a mid priced Cannondale several years ago, I would think you could find something similar on the used market for around $300-400 US. Not sure if that's in your price range though.

Welcome to the T-Spot! Feel free to share your experience as someone can surley learn from you!

Welcome to the team! Ebay is a great spot for bikes, but, you have to know your size, and know what your are buying. if you do a little homework you can get some really great deals! Jack.

don't despair, I am riding a mountain bike that won't shift into the hard gears that give more speed (of the 3 shifters on the left hand - it only shifts in the first 2) (7 shifts on the right hand). I am even more bike illiterate than you - I don't even know if it is the high or low gear (the big gear that is hardest to pedal)

ps. if anyone knows which gear (high or low) that is not working for me - let me know so that next time I can sound like I know what I am talking about.

but regardless, I just go out for a fun bike ride to get fresh air and some exercise.

Tri-Beanie

Tri-Beanie

It's just like a car-- high gears are used when you're driving fast, low gears are when you're slow going up the hill (or from a start). There's no shame in just saying "big" or "medium" or even "granny" crank ring. You can't impress those folks who care so deeply that you name the parts precisely. Just keep describing until they go "Oh!... *that* thing!"

Chuckie

It is so good to know that I'm not the only bike unknowledgeable person out there!! It's so hard to pick up knowledge about bikes. I mean I've read Swim, Bike, Run, but the section on bikes might as well have been written in Cantonese! I just need to take a course or something - maybe if I bed God she'll add another day in the week! :-)

If you need a good resource for understanding bikes try this site by Sheldon Brown: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/articles.html It's the first place to go if you need to know anything about bikes from the most basic to ridiculously complex. The bicycle glossary is probably the best place to start.

Chuckie

Hi Frisky, I'm from Ottawa and will be doing my first tri on May 22 at Carleton. What kind of bike do you presently ride? What size? You could take a look at the OBC Classy ads; there is presently a Giant OCR3 advertised for sale for for 350CND. As for a tri-specific bike, you might take a look at the local bike shops. Cycle Logik on Richmond Road is a tri-specific shop which sells Cervelo, Argon18, and Fuji; if memory serves me correctly, there was a second hand Fuji tri bike for sale there the last time I went in. Check the bulletin board next to the back door at Cycle Logik also, there are sometimes second hand bikes for sale there. You might look at 2003 starter tri-bikes like the Cervelo One, Quintana Roo Trueno, and KHS TA 320.