The Bike Porn Thread Got Me Wondering...

^^^^

Great advice from Aaron.

I got a coach before I bought a tri bike, then power meter, then Zipps. 

Lots of BOPers have wicked  cool and expensive tri bikes. Why not? We do this for fun and if we have the funds why not?

Depends on the race but mostly I'm MOP to BOP...more competitive race I'm farther back.

I find it interesting that in tri couples guys tend to have wicked nice bikes and women not so much. I think many women/moms are more practical which is the vibe I get from your post and don't have the tri toy envy. 

Sounds like you are a gifted triathlete and having a tri bike would be a benefit for you to having faster bike splits.

So my question is why do you use your husband's Zipps and disc? I suspect it is to make you faster...a bike with more aero postion will help you there too. When I switched form road to tri bike my bike pace improved greatly. 

A lot of people buy Porche's and never take them to the track.  Some just use them to commute to and from work.

If you buy a tri bike, at least you will be racing with it and not just using it as a commuter bike.

It all depends on what you want to do with your money?

Kathy - I use my husbands fast wheels because I can   I inherited them when I married him and after I drove his P3 into the garage on the roof of my car   He isn't into biking really.  He had fast bikes because he used to race duathlons as a pro when he got injured running.  He only did it for one year and then went back to straight running and summer biathlon.  He was going to try to qualify for Worlds when they were in Richmond (was that last year?) but the garage incident happened during that time so he decided to hang up his wheels for good.  If I was not married to him, I would still be using my $200 wheel sets in races.  I hate to see a perfectly good set of wheels sitting around and going to waste!

Congrats on your IM finish.  I know I have one in me somewhere.  But it isn't really possible to train for one at this point in my life.

Do I want to go faster?  Of course I do but at what cost?  I really struggle with question.  Especially when I don't have time to be hard core right now.  I was just interested to hear who was riding tri bikes instead of cheapo road bikes like mine. 

I dont think anyone has to justify buying anything they want. We place value in different things and our perception as to what is worth to spend our hard earned money is up to each and one of us. If your perception is that your are not  enough of a competitor to justify buying a tri bike that's your choice. Some others choose to buy one and see it as motivation, others as a reward for participating in this lifestyle, yet others as a way to become more competitive whether it is to PR as a BOP, MOP or FOP. In the end it doesn't matter because it is important to that person.

If you are thinking about is because deep inside you know you want one

I've recently decided to go ahead and buy a nice tri bike.  I'm currently riding a ~15 year old racing road bike hand me down.  It was a top of the line bike in it's day and is still pretty good.

I guess even though a new bike will probably be a bit faster, the real reason for the purchase is I'd like to ride a spiffy new bike that is actually made for the sport I'm doing.  It's taken me two years to come to that decision.  Good luck with your decision (which by the way can be changed at any time) 

I'm riding a Jamis road bike - 2002. It's a steel frame. I put clip on aerobars last year whooot! I often fantasize about buying a tri bike with zipp wheels and being able to fly along the country side at average speeds of 22 mph.... but then I remember the real machine that powers this ride is me. If I were to hit the lotto, yeah, I'd get one probably. And maybe if I could get a nice used one for a deal, I'd get one too. But right now given my time, my cash flow, and family needs; I can't see plunking down 2-4 grand on a bike.

So ... I'll be the slug out on the course, driving along in my old fuddy duddy bike... and if you pass me on your zipps going 30mph, don't forget to give me a high five cuz dang gum it! This sport is fun regardless of what equipment we have!

A BOPer here with one of those fancy bikes here to chime in.

I've had a road bike for 8 years ....

3rd season of tri.

Wanted aero bars BUT in my case it's largely for practical purposes, I'm an aging court reporter.  Carpal tunnel is a real threat in our profession and hours and hours of bone jarring road riding was becoming problematic.  Riding aero keeps those nerves and tendons safe from injury.

So when I had the cash it was clear, just go for the tri bike vs. clip ons so I'd have the optimum fit, etc.

I didn't own a bike, did one race, knew I wanted to keep doing tri's so I went and bought a tri bike. I bought a Felt S32, which is pretty much as low end as you can get in a tri bike - paid about $1300. I could have bought a road bike for $1300 too, but I figured as I really only want to ride for triathlons I would just get a triathlon road bike.

It sounds like you're asking if there are people here that are fast enought to warrant buying a high end tri bike. If speed and overall competitiveness were the only qualifications to buying one then there are probably only a handful of people here that would have one. And not me.

I bought a relatively expensive (3k+) tri bike before I had even competed in my first triathlon. 

Why?  Because my wife was a triathlete and I knew others who were and assumed I would enjoy it enough to warrant the purchase.  I didn't want to go cheap and have to upgrade shortly thereafter.  I've never regretted it.

MOPer here.

Why? Because it looks cool. And I feel fast on it. Don't really know yet if I am faster....

That's about it.

Perhaps even a different story all together....

I recently completed my first tri on a MTB.  I really had a great time and I want to do more!!!  I would like a new bike and being as I'm only going to use it for Tri's...I'll be buying a tri bike.

Most likely a Cervelo P2 SL (Fits the best) but it doesn't have anything to do with how I think I'll perform.  I'd just like to buy the correct equipement for the job the first time as I'm on a budget.

Just a thought....

I bought a tri-bike before my first tri as well--why? Because I knew I wanted to do triathlons--no doubt. I didn't own a bike, I had the money, and I wanted to buy a good one that would last me for awhile...so I bought what would fit the sport I wanted to do--thus, tri-bike for me.  Since then, I've bought wheels too--again, I had the money saved for it, and I've been doing well at my tri's, so it is where I put my money.  This is my hobby--I don't really go to movies, go out to eat, etc. My time is my work, my home, and triathlon--with budgeting (helps that I'm single right now) it has just worked well for me that way. I love my tri-bike and I love my new wheels!

Two real reasons ........

1) Because statistically the average AG triathlete makes 6 figures (argue the statistics until blue in the face, but the reality is most AGers are white collar professionals with a good bit of disposable income) and they can afforrd it.

2) Because the bike is where the most "toys" are available to purchase and some of them actually make a difference in race performance and times (while in swimming and running there are very few and even fewer that will actually make you faster).

I am lucky enough to still get a shop hook up from my old employer and do not have to pay retail, otherwise I would not be riding the toys I have.  Because I certainly don't fit #1 above .......

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS!

First off congrats on executing that great plan of ramming your husbands bike into the garage to get his wheels.. nicely done  

I had a very entry level bike so once I had done a couple of tris I decide to get a better quality  bike that will last me a while. I still got it at a great price since I 'd go to the bike shop once a week and ask if they would take "X" amount for a certain bike..   My tri bike is the only bike that I ride so I'm confident I've gotten my money's worth out of it already and I hope to have it for a few more years

I'm a MOP age grouper, with really very little chance of ever being FOP. I have a low-end tri bike. But, the only reason I do is because of the crazy Javelin sales. Even that didn't convince me to buy one until the Javelin road bike I bought was stolen, and I got a fat wad of cash from the insurance company to cover it. The road bikes were gone by then, so I got the tri bike.

I was in a bike shop yesterday and my 5 year old son said, "mommy - look they have the fast wheels!" I said, "Yep, they sure do." He asks, "Why don't you have them?" The answer, "I'm not good enough to own them." He thinks that someday I will be. Cute kid. 

The way I figure it, people will ride what they want, and find some way to justify it. I ride old bikes because I like the way they fit and handle with my position. And I have 3 tri bikes, none of which is newer than 8 years...

Sure, a $5K rig would be sweet, and if I had the cash in the sofa cushions, I'd spring for a custom ti rig tomorrow. But I also know it wouldn't make me any faster than I am today.

I currently ride a Klein Stage with clip on bars and am planning to buy a new bike this fall/winter for the next season.  I find Triathlon to be one expensive hobby (obviously – I am not a pro) at first blush.  But, it hurts less if you can put the cost into perspective.  For my next bike, which will be a tri-bike, I plan to spend $3,000 or so.