bike help

Post your question on the Triathlon Talk Forum. I bet you will see more responses and quick responses. 
Your situation is fairly unique, but I am sure there are others out there who have 'been there'.

In my opinion you should get a good road bike that is capable of accepting slightly fatter tires (off-road capable), or the slick road tires (for those Tri's that happen to be on paving 100%). Maybe most entry level road bikes can do this, I am not sure. 

 

A cyclo-cross bike might also be an option for you. I used mine for Belwood last year and it was perfect. Very versatile in that you can use regular 700x23c tires for road only races, 700x35c for "off road" events (Paris-Ancaster, Belwood try-a-tri) and studded 700x35c for winter commuting all on the same rims. You might also fall in love with cyclocross racing in the fall just to prolong your tri season...and keep yourself poor by spending more money on bike related stuff. Geometry and gearing is normally a bit different from road, but may be a good transition from mtn bike to full on road speed machine. You can normally find a quality used cross bike for less than $500. Keep an eye on canadiancyclist.com and cyclocrossontario.com. Good luck with whatever you choose.

If you have a lot of gravel roads then consider buying a Cyclocross bike (CX bike). Its very similar to a road bike but has a slightly sturdier build and a little wider tires - it will handle gravel perfectly well. You can get a used set of skinny road wheels for $150 for when you race triathlons or ride smooth pavement (or just swap the tires on your CX wheels)

You can still ride a regular road bike on gravel. Just put on some very sturdy 25mm or 27mm tires (i.e. Continental Gatorskin Tires) and open the brakes up a smidgen so pebbles don't get caught in there. Either way, expect to get some scratchs and paint chips on the bike.

The cost for brand name entry level road or CX bikes start around $600. The main factor is the gearing. Shimano gearing is the most common - their racing gears in order of cost & quality are: Sora, followed by Tiagra, then 105 and finaly Ultegra and Durace.  There is nothing wrong with Sora / Tiagra and they are perfectly good for the majority of novice to intermediate riders.

My advice is to go to a few bike stores and shop around. Ask some questions. Try some on for size - figure out what frame size you need. Maybe you'll find a great deal on last year's model on clearance.

Buying used can be a very good way to get more for your dollar.
There are Craigslist and Kijiji.
also you can try:
Cyclocross Ontario Classifieds:  http://www.cyclocrossontario.com/classifieds/>Canadian Cyclist Classifieds: http://www.canadiancyclist.com/classifieds.php/>
good luck and happy riding.

Echo  Echo  Echo  Echo  Echo  Echo  Echo

Score I got myself a cyclocross bike a rocky mountain solo sitting on a trainer in my front porch now so happy yahoo!!!!

Sweet!  Don't be afraid to show off and post a picture of the bike. Showing off your bike is practically de rigueur around here. 

i can relate!
(i'm making the jump from try a tri & sprint to the Oly distance too!)