Felt B16 2011 good first tri-bike? (Page 2)

Here's what I ride now.  How much of a difference would one of the ally bikes mentioned here feel in comparison with mine?  (other than being a a tri bike of course....).

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/rwt_tri.htm

Do you have a way to accurately see how much yours weighs by any chance?  My googling didn't help. 

I am curious, the bike and specifically the choice of components they used is quite unique.

Assuming it's not an anchor, I think by far the biggest bang for your buck would be go get someone help you out with the fit.

If you really want a new bike, I would recommend the same thing my wife has, which is a road bike, again a good fit being the most important thing.  Aero at 16mph is overrated, comfort isn't.

Why does this matter? Weight has little meaning for a tri bike. 

To answer the question about how much of a difference would you feel.  That is a hard question to answer without knowing how your current bike fits and how you would be fit on a new bike (dependent on a lot of factors like flexibility, injuries, training history, your goals, etc).  You mentioned either in this post or another post that you had trouble staying aero for very long.  Understanding the reason for this could impact how you are fit to a bike.  Its possible that you just need more experience riding to stay aero.  But if you have injuries or other issues preventing this, it could change what is best for you.  A good fitter can help you with this.

With the wrong fit, it could be extremely uncomfortable and/or slower than what you currently have.  With the right fit, it may be more comfortable but slower or it could be more comfortable and faster or it could be less comfortable and faster.  It all depends on where you are starting from and where you need to go. 

If your goal is to complete a HIM and eventually an IM, you need to be comfortable enough to stay on the bike for however long that will take you.  To do that, it may mean being in a position that is less-aero, which at some point, it may be best to stay on a Road Bike.  Generally speaking, you give up a certain amount of comfort and power to be aero.  At some point, the aero benefits may no longer be beneficial to warrant being on a tri bike.  For example, if your position is so up right that it is no longer Aero, it doesnt really make sense to be on a tri bike since you are likely giving up power (and perhaps comfort).

Whether its made of Carbon or Aluminum though, will not change how it feels that much.  The important thing is getting you into the correct position on the bike. That is why I recommend getting fit from a qualified fitter first (and being open to using a Road Bike if that is the best option for you to meet your goals).

I have to admit I was very uneasy about dropping a few hundred bucks on a fit.  I was really, I have to pay for you to tell me what bike to buy.  I got over it as soon as I took my first ride.  I was doing so many things wrong, mainly from taking youtube advice.  There must be some good bike shops in Vegas given the size of the city.

Good luck

Ok, here's the thing with the current bike.  I believe it's a 52cm... it's the one for someone who is 5'4".  But I didn't count on the torso/legs thing.  An acquaintaince who does fittings did a semi-fitting for free but just over the surface, nothing in-depth, and she said the bike will never fully fit me.  Even with the longer stem, It's still a reach for me.  So this bike is serviceable but it will never be a good fit.  So I don't know if I should cut my losses.

I'm willing to pay for the fitting but I have to shop around and be careful because it would suck to do the fitting at one store and then buy the bike somewhere else.  Maybe just go get on a tri bike for the first time, who knows, I may hate it.

Can do, I'll set it up on the trainer!  What do you want me to do in the video?

How's this for now 

?

And yep 52cm, since the 50cm was stated as 5'3"-5'4" amd 52cm was stated as 5'4"-5'6" amd om ,u imfinite wisdom I decided to err on too big rather than too little

BTW 5'4" not 5'2"

My wife is all legs (two inches shorter than me but her inseam is two inches longer than mine).  She went with a Cannondale Slice.  Other options that were presented to her were a Blue Triad and a Scott.