Best Pricing For Tri Bikes in Southwestern Ontario

For what it's worth - none of those listed strike me as entry level bikes.  All really good bikes, with some pedigree.

Couple of things to consider.  What body type are you - long body, shorter legs and arms or shorter torso, longer legs and arms.  Certain bikes are "taller" while others are "longer".

Also, you're obviously stuck on Carbon, just not sure why.  Some very good entry level bikes in Aluminum, and they would definitely save you some dollars.

The only issue with buying a bike at the moment is you pay top dollar.  If you have something that will last you this season then you can wait till fall and basically get the bike at almost dealer cost.  They just want to move bikes at that point, and going to bike shops directly or the Fall bike show in Toronto will offer you some good savings.

6' 1" tall.  slender/med. build.  182lbs.   I"ve been told that aluminum is going the way of the blackberry, and carbon is dropping in price.  Aluminum will only carry you so far and in the future will have to goto Carbon anyways.  So I'd figure I'd save $1500 bucks and skip the aluminum stage.   Howver, balancing $$ with whats out there and the proper ride.....wow.

Any suggestions, or if anyone knows a good dealer who's consistently low...I'm all ears!

I agree with Neil - the bikes you list are by no means entery level. These are all racing machines - many with some serious wins under their belts (i.e. Chrissie wellington won Kona IronMan World champinships on a P2 in 2008). You'll need to be an amazing athelete to 'outgrow' any of these bikes. Though they all will make a wonderful fisrt bike as well.

I'm not sure why your made your first point of not wanting aluminum and opting for Carbon fibre. I have ridden both (currently on a P2 Carbon) and to be honest I feel little difference between them. I actually prefer aluminum becasue its sturdier, repairable and costs less. 

If you are looking for a great entry level Tri bike, the best value (IMHO) is an aluminum Cervelo P1. At about $1500 you can get a bike that is 99% as fast as most of the $4000 fancy machines out there.

Good luck and have fun with your shopping.

Personally I lined myself up with a Felt S32 their entry level bike And I believe the msrp was 1599 or 1699. A comparable bike to the P1. Although the P1 had a few components on it that were better then the S32.

The S32 had a LOT of adustability in the Aero Bars. Not something you are going to get with the Cervelo. I had my heart set on a cervelo and lost out on a great used one. Personally I am glad I did now. Being able to get a proper bike fit and having all the adjustments made on my bike were GREAT and well worth it.

Watching the person next to me on a used Cervelo at the time. They were talking to him about having to buy different Aero Bars, different attack bars etc because there is no adjustment to them. So he managed to get a great deal but then had to sink about $400 in parts for his fit.

My friend I train with rides an older P2 and she always manages to finish in the top of her AG. I would say go adjustable and put more thought into improving the engine on the bike... HEHE.. That is what I am doing.. Saved me some money for other things too like a wetsuit.

I'm afraid I don't know any dealer that is "low".  Most of the pricing is reasonably consistent although you can find deals sometimes.  I don't remember the name of the shop, but my training partner got a solid deal on an Orbea from a shop in Cambridge.

I would look at "deals" from previous years as well.  Multisport zone in London has some 2010 bikes left (including a beautiful scott plasma contessa which is too small for me ).  D'ornellas in Toronto usually have a bunch of older models as well.  My first tri bike was from Brauns and it was a year old model - FWIW, I would recommend buying a tri bike from staff that are knowledgable in tri bikes - I wouldn't necessarily recommend brauns.

Why do you need for it to be new?  you can get some good deals on gently used bikes if you look hard enough.

There is a good deal on Trek Equinox 7 locally.  $1400 new.

????Is this a good bike?  Entry level....and aluminum...

??

If you're looking to be frugal (always a good idea) have you considered the used market?

Unfortunately, there are many people who get into tri's with the best of intentions who don't last in the sport and end up selling their steeds after a year or two at a considerable loss.

There are the usual places like Kijiji, Craigslist and eBay but the classified section on slowtwitch.com seems to be the most active place with some outstanding deals. The danger is you have to know what size you need before going this route.

I got my Felt tri bike (yay) on a great deal from Wheels of Bloor in toronto - it's actually local to me but i bought at the spring bike show. And even though usually the better deals are found in the fall.   I've talked to a few others who have gotten deals there as well.  They are more road bike focused and a higher end shop. 

Yep, good bike.  This is simply an Alloy version of Trek's TT bike until they introduced their new super bikes - same base frame aerodynamics as the higher end carbon models.

I know everyone says it time and time again - but make sure it's the right size.  Saving dollars for the wrong size is a serious mistake.

I bought my Cervelo P2 at Wheels of Bloor. I bought it in October so it was a little cheaper as they were getting rid of left over stock. They had some deals on Felts and Argon-18's as well.

I actually the weekend before the Toronto Bike show and apparently they have the same prices in store that week as they to at the Bike Show - without the madness of the crowds.