Advice RE: 1st Bike + Fitting

Heath and Will from La Bicicletta are very good for fitting and do not try to sell their brands (well, they try but do no push on what they carry).

I discussed a lot with them and Heath did my 1st fitting. He is very knowledgeable.

For your second question, it is really up to you and up to your morphology. After, it is just a matter of which groupsets, which components, etc. You have to get your measure first, then try the geometry of the bike and then decide of which one is more suitable for you. In case of tie, then, the personal preference come in play.

Your 3rd question depends really where you go... I know there is 1 shop in Toronto where I don;t want to go anymore, but it is just my personal choice. If you're hesitating between cervelo and felt, go to wheels on bloor, they carry both brand. For Scott, you'll have to go somewhere else

Hopes that help

Cervelo and Felt should fit similarly.  The felt and cervelo are built for people with longer bodies and the scotts are built for people with shorter torsos.  Most good bike stores will have a good fitter at them.  Multisport zone in London charge $250 for the fit on the fancy fititng bike and then will give you a list of bike brands and sizes that would work well for you.  If you decide to buy your bike at the store, they give you a $250 credit for your bicycle.  They deal scott and cervelo (as well as kuoto and argon18) and have a limited number of 2010 felts still in stock (they used to deal felt).  I really like the guys there and perhaps am a little biased (Jeff, one of the owners, is my coach).   I don't know much about the bike stores in Toronto, but they might do something similar where they credit you the cost of the fitting towards a new bike.  Worth looking into anyway.

A lot of people also usually advise to buy the best frame you can afford.  it is realitively easy to upgrade your rear derailleur, but upgrading to carbon from aluminum, you basically have to buy a whole new bike.

Yeah, I have been to Gears myself, both Mississauga and T.O. and both stores have excellent equipment, bikes and knowledgeable staff.

This week I will be heading out to 3 stores in Toronto to take a test ride, get fitted and do a (really good) deal on all 3 bikes before I part with my hard earned.

Pretty excited at the thought of having my 1st tri bike for next years season!!

I'll let you all know how it goes and again, thanks for your advice.

Mike

If you are looking for a Toronto based store the two that I can recommend are Gears and Enduro Sport. Staff at both are knowledgeable and their bike line-up should work for. Between the two shows you will find two of the three brands you are looking for. Depending on the advice you get at Gears I would not rule of Specialized. If you are looking in SW Ontario I can also echo the sentiments about MultiSport Zone.

I agree with the earlier post that spoke of Scott (Gears Bike Shop) and his bike fitting expertise. Scott has fit my wife and I on three bikes and I can attest to his abilities. He takes the time to fit you properly and has done a perfect job each time. 

can't wait to hear about how it went!

I'm shopping around for aerobars.... Am VERY tempted by the Profile Design T2 Cobra Plus Carbon aerobars...
I'm hoping that as long as they're adjustable, that this won't be a bad purchase...!
(fingers crossed...)

This Scott character is getting a load of rave reviews. Think I'll have to go pay him a visit. Hope he works at the T.O. store. Don't fancy a drive out to Mississauga

Purchase day will probably be Thursday!! Hope the snow holds off as late as possible to give me time to practice before the indoor trainer comes out again!!

I'll take some pics and upload them for all you guys to peruse over.

Mike

PURCHASE MADE!!

I'll write up a little blog and include some pics later (for those that are interested).

Thanks for your help, advice and tips to all who replied to my initial post. I cannot wait to get out on this beast now!! :D

Mike

YES I want to read about that!!

(I have tri-bike envy....)

Glad you enjoyed the experience!!

So after weeks and months of research, internet searches and bike/tri shop visits, I have finally pulled the trigger and bought my first tri-bike.

It's a 2009 Cervelo P3 bought from Wheels Of Bloor (WOB), Toronto and was previously used by Heinrich Haussler who races with UCI ProTeam Garmin-Cevelo. The bike has hardly a scratch on it and although I am yet to take it out for a full ride, early blasts around the neighbourhood confirm it to be way faster than I could have imagined and it will take me quite a while to get used to riding a much higher tech bike than I am used to. Excited, just doesn't do it justice for how pumped I am for next years season!!

I checked out all the stores previously mentioned in this blog and took on all your advice offered RE: stores and fitters, but by the time I was ready to buy it came down literally to who had the right size frame in stock. The guys at WOB spent ages fitting and tuning the bike to my body dimensions and the aero position feels very comfortable already. I had a perma-grin from ear to ear the whole time I was being fitted and even got the wifey to take some snaps so I could show everyone my excitement at finally being out "bike shopping"!!

As it is a used/demo bike I got an amazing deal well below my budget and with a list of components as high end as this (see below) it was a total no-brainer, as opposed to buying a brand spanking new Cervelo P3 for much more with slightly lower end Ultegra/X-Over components. Not to mention I got 3 years parts and service warranty from WOB and Cervelo's lifetime warranty on the frame.

WOB had three ex-demo/pro-riders bikes in stock and while I was in there, Emma Pooley's Cervelo P3 was also being bought by a woman for next season!! I believe they still have the 3rd P3 in stock, so go grab a deal while you still can

All in all, a fantastic experience for first time bike shopping. WOB were superb in offering advice and listening to my needs and I am totally made-up with my first tri-bike. Now to get some practice on it before winter arrives and to get registered for next years events!!

See you all out there next year!!

Mike

Components List:

Sram Red front and rear derailleurs, with Sram return to centre shifters

Sram Red front and rear brake calipers with Sram carbon levers

Rotor cranks and ceramic B.B.

3T carbon base bar/areo bars

Fizik Ares saddle

Forza (4ZA) Cirrus Tubular wheelset

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Oh I will, I'll be out on it everyday now until the weather gets too bad for outdoor riding.

Thanks for your help and comments on this thread. You all helped a lot.

Mike

If you can save up $250 for next season, I'd recommend that you get a Retul Fit.  I bought my bike from them and fitted.  Once I got refitted, it was night and day with putting power down and running of the bike.  I felt they fit me more for a time trial position than a tri position when I look back at the numbers from my Retul fit. 

Just my recommendation off my experience.