New bike - options are confusing!!!

The red one (there, someone had to).

Fit/comfort is by far the biggest factor when buying a new bike IMO.

Last season I had read every post on new tri bikes, I could find. I settled on a QR Caliente because it wasn't too common a bike but I decided to go around to the various bike dealers in town and sit on a few.

The QR dealer had a 16 year old kid on the floor who only put the bike on the stand for me and didn't make any adjustments.....it felt horrible to me.

The Cervelo dealer (keep in mind I didn't want a Cervelo because it seemed everyone was riding one) put the bike on the stand, made about 5 or 6 adjustments to get it set up just right for me and it felt amazing. I bought the P2C later that day after trying a few other bike shops out.

I guess my point is, you can read as much as you would like on sites from every corner of the world to increase your knowledge base but the final decision should be based upon how the bike feels underneath you.

If you put alot of hours into training on your bike, comfort just becomes that much more important.

Come back and let me know which bike you end up with and why
Clifton

Well, "Neked" is lighter......

Doug

If it fit you well and you were comfortable on a test ride, you would never regret the Cervelo P2C Ultegra. http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/cerveloP2C2008.shtml

Thank you all for the messages.  I am embarrassed to say that I had not even thought about sitting on the different bikes.  Will do that this w/e and see which one feels better.

Forget about sitting on the bikes in the shop - make sure you get the shop owner to slap on some pedals, adjust the seat and let you take every one of them out for a ride. Sitting atop it in the shop won't tell you much about how it will feel once you've dropped a couple grand and are out for an hour in the saddle.  A good bike shop & staff will take the time to make several adjustments for you just to take a test spin, once they know you are serious and not just wanting to kick tires.  

Edited by sty 2008-01-10 10:27 AM