bikes advice

Hi there, congrats on your season so far and respect for riding a mtb, it looks so hard !

So, personally i would not buy that bike from argos, i have checked it out and i expect you will be wanting a new bike next year if you get the bug. So, either buy the bike for £100 or shell out max £500 for a giant scr which is a good starter bike. I recommend going to a local bike shop and just having a chat with someone there, explain your experience, what you expect to use it for, how often etc and set a budget and see what they come up with, your not buying it at this stage, just doing research, they will understand this.  Again i do not recommend this £300 bike from argos http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9003840/Trail/searchtext%3ETRIATHLON.htm

Thanks for the reply Tiesim.  Honestly - I am coming last on the mountain bike - but I'm hoping I'm building muscle which will come in handy later on! You have confirmed my theory that its a bit too good to be true- and I would be better off buying a bike (eventually) from a dealer who knows my level  of in-expertise.

thanks again
Jennifer

I have done one race so far and I did it on a mountain bike, was hard and made the bike leg very very long! I need to get a racing bike too but I'm just worried about dropping £500 on the wrong bike/wrong 2nd hand bike

I would suggest trying a few bikes if you can before you buy,. I got mine on the ride to work scheme from Evans Cycles and they let me take 4 out for a test ride and helped with sizing etc. before that I had borrowed a friends race bike for my first race in case I decided triathlon wasn't for me. Was hooked straight away though and got my new bike soon after. Used bikes are a good way to get a better bike for your money but you can get an ok new bike for £500. If you can stretch to £650 the Boardman bikes from Halfords are excellent value.

Would you recommend the cycle to work scheme? My work does it and I looked into it but wasn't sure it was for me, I suppose I don't like the idea of getting locked into a contract...Also I wouldn't be able to guaruntee I would cycle to work...advice would be appreciated! Thanks

Cycle to work scheme is brilliant. basically your company buys the bike and owns it and you lease it from them at an agreed rate for a year. My firm let you decide how much you want to buy a bike for eg£500. they then divide this by 12 months so you repay £41.65 per month out of your gross salary which is equivalent to paying £20.80 per month if you are a 40% tax payer (NI is also saved). Then at the end of 12 months your firm can decide what to do with the bike. Ours sell it to us for 1 months payment. So you would pay £270.40 for a £500 bike.
You are obliged to use the bike for some of your journeys to work. I ride to the station on most days. You could ride to a friends house for a lift to work. They dont check up on you though so you use it as you see fit. ;-)
It doesn't work if you are going to leave your firm within the year and you have to buy a bike suitable for commuting so no kids bikes or bmx. MTB, hybrid or racer is fine.  We use Evans and they are fairly relaxed so I could buy a £2000 TT bike using the max £1000 voucher plus cash. technically the bike is still owned by my firm for a year but in reality it is mine.
Evans website has a guide on it with lots of info

I know I'm coming to the party late but definitely would recommend the Cycle2Work scheme!

We're with Evans so can get any complete bike up to £1000 on the scheme. If you want something over that limit you just have to top the money up yourself. Oh and you can use the scheme for clothing, accessories etc as well so definitely worth looking into.

I've already got a Dawes Grio 300 for commuting and my first tri's but am getting a Fuji Aloha 2.0 as soon as the vouchers come through. She'll mostly be used for races and training for said events next year but definitely better than having to pay for the whole thing yourself, huh?

Thread Hijack..

So what bike would you get for a grand? would it be better to get best frame and lower spec components or just stay in the middle with a balance of the two??

You have a massive choice of bikes under £1000. Most people suggest get best frame with cheaper components as these are easy to upgrade later. At that price you can get a reasonable bike with decent components anyway so not really an issue.
Most important thing is to try a few before you buy as the different makes will have slightly different geometry to them and this changes how comfortable you will be on them.
I tried a Bianchi, Trek, Scott all around the £750 mark when I got my road bike. 2 felt right and 1 didnt so then it was down to looks and kit. Went for a Bianchi in the end as I always liked them and the shifters felt smoother than the others. also it had a compact chainset which suited me.
If you aren't restricted where you buy it may benefit to get a used bike as more for your money or have a look at the Boardmans from Halfords. Carbon frame and decent kit for £1000 hard to beat.
Pash

cool thx for the advice, now to save up and start shopping around

Evan's have a sale on at the moment with a Fuji Aloha 2.0 down from £1000 to £800 which is very much worth a look at. I am biased though as I've just bought one on the Ride2Work scheme so even better.

My works ride to work scheme opens again in September. so, I'm going to give it a go - even though they give me far too much stuff to carry around to get it all onto a bike!!
J