Hello friends, so I am getting close to paying off my car, and I could take a minor loan out to purchase a new bike. I wanted some takes on it.
I currently have a 2017 Allez Sprint, with full 105 and normal alloy wheels.
I got to do a TT for the first time, and I really enjoyed it and would like to be competitive. So I was planning one or the other. Build myself a mid tier TT bike. Such as a P-Series from Cervelo with Ultegra parts and decent carbon aero wheels. But then I thought occurred, that I could instead, get a mid tier road bike (I’ve done a ton more road races). Perhaps a S-Series from Cervelo, or Tarmac SL7 Expert?
Just curious as to some opinions on what I should do. My major thing is that I do need to get aero wheels for racing, but my concern is that my bike is older, and everything new is going with disc brakes.
My budget would be 5k-7k? I don’t want to go crazy in debt, but I love the sport. But I know that mid tier would be more than enough for me!
I love my TT bike and consider it one of the best investments I’ve made but for a one off TT, I would be buying a good aero road bike and fitting clip on TT bars to it or fitting clip ons to the Allez. If a year down the line you’re finding TTs are your thing by all means buy a TT bike, you might consider holding of your investment till then.
The goal would be to do a ton more TTs. Like equal to, or even surpassing the amount of regular road events. We have a few series in Colorado that run every year. I really like your suggestion.
Oh trust me, kidding wasn’t even apart of the equation! . I’m just seeking advise on which one I should buy first. I totally plan on getting both, I’m just unfortunately not made of money, and have to make responsible choices while still following my dreams haha.
I would go for aero frame road bike with aero wheels and buy clip on bars for TT.
You just rode one TT. Buying a $5-7k bike afterwards is impulsive. You won’t regret having a really nice road bike but might if you end up racing a TT or two a year despite how you feel at the moment
HLaB and you made very convincing arguments. I agree, spending that amount after one race is very compulsive. I’ll get the better aero bike/wheels and get the clip on bars. And maybe do a year or two of the TT series and see where I am at mentally.
Just to add to the warnings…TTs are a bit of an arms race, if you want to be competitive. There’s always something more aero to buy. Seeing how you say you’re getting a loan to buy the bike…might not be the best way to scratch that competitive itch.
An Allez Sprint is a nice bike and good enough to win races. Another road bike is just a lateral move.
If you enjoy doing time trials and want to race them on a time trial bike, I suggest getting the P2 or other options. I built a Speed Concept up for well under 5K and It’s plenty fast enough for multiple state championships.
Another thing to consider would be to go used with the TT bike. Realistically, the frames used today are not that much faster than those from 10+ years ago. An independent group took a number of bikes (including some 10k super-bikes) into the tunnel and reported the results HERE
It could definitely be possible to get something just as fast for 2-3k going with a used rim brake model vs an off the shelf disk model for double of that. Especially with people selling their good rim brake bikes and wheels to move to disc.
Consider Redshift Sports tri bars and post. I have had mine for a couple of years, they are great. They really are preventing me from buying a tri bike, I have such a dialed fit there just seems so little point. I would try that first if I were you. Switch Aero System – Redshift Sports
I guess my first thought, being totally debt free, is to avoid debt. Especially for hobbies. I get it though. Buying new gear is super fun and I’ve found it can add to the stoke which is a huge positive. Can’t put a price on that.
I do think the Allez is fine. Your wheels are probably fine too. Get super nice tires. Try some clip ons for a season. Get a coach and dial in fitness and nutrition. Learn to train, race, pace and get lean.
Once you save some cash I’d buy a “new” used road bike with deeper wheels and a “new” used TT frame and build it up. Use the same wheels from the road bike to save money. That way you will have both bikes set up disc.
If you really want to buy a bike now I’d still say buy a road bike and use those wheels and try and find a used TT frame to build up. I find it much more efficient to build up bikes as I know exactly what I need. Buying complete bikes unless you can choose crank length, stem length, bar width, setback etc…is just a wast of money.
Very fair, I do really enjoy the bike. But I only have base line shimano rs wheels on them. I figured some aero wheels would be super nice. My biggest fear is that I crash, and mess up my frame. And since the new Allez Sprint is disc brakes, I’d be wasting money on getting rim brake aero wheels.
Yeah currently I have enough that besides my car and my home, I’m basically debt free…and have some put away for a raining day…just not quite 5-7k yet. There is a store in town that is currently selling an older Cervelo TT for like $900…which I could buy right now. I need to go check it out and figure out the age and the size. I really appreciate the feedback.
I will continue to improve fitness. Slowly getting leaner, but going below 163 is slightly hard…and to be honest I feel super strong at the weight haha
I picked up a second hand TT bike this year. With the switch to discs there are some bargains about. 80mm wheels, a cannondale slice RS from 2014 with Ultegra / DA Di2 mix and various other bits for less than 2000 large international monetary units (£$€). Picked up a lazer and hjc helmet second hand too.
The bike is old - but it gets me a good position, and isn’t so far behind the current crop of fast bikes that it’s a disadvantage yet.
Not as fun to get used equipment but as others have said TT is an arms race to some extent. I’m looking at a new front end over winter, maybe some new cranks too. So a used frame suits me well.
I was faster on the $300 TT bike I used to have than on the SuperSix Evo I have now, at least for TT efforts. I have also done some very fast bike splits in triathlons with that cheapo bike.
You don’t need a nice TT bike to go fast. If it is something you really want to do, you can go cheap and have fun. Upgrade later if you want.
. I’m just seeking advise on which one I should buy first. I totally plan on getting both, I’m just unfortunately not made of money, and have to make responsible choices while still following my dreams haha.
