Hi There,
In browsing triathlon bikes, I have quickly become mystified by all of the choices. Please help me narrow down, by giving your top choices for bikes with a high level of integration (more aero, internal cable routing, concealed brakes, hydration, etc). I have been considering the following bikes, but open to anything that delivers good bang/$, that I might not be considering:
- Canyon Speedmax CF SLX 8.0 or 9.0 (dream bike)
- BMC Time Machine 02
- Trek speed concept
- Argon 18 = ?
- Others (Colnago, Orbea, etc)?
Any brands you feel I should stay away from?
Components: SRAM Red, Ultegra, or Dura Ace are all fine. Rim brakes probably fine, given that your shouldn’t be using them at all in a triathlon. Wheels: could buy separately, but probably looking for comparable size to an 808 for the back, maybe a little shallower in the front. I’d probably run 23mm front / 25mm rear for tires, hopefully tubeless (needs a compatible wheel).
Budget = $3000-5000. I will probably buy used off of Craigslist or eBay. Some people may cringe, but I have been able to get [carbon] road bikes that I would otherwise not be able to afford by doing this. If I can buy new in that price range, though, all the better.
Background & goals: currently, I have been racing with a Cervelo R3 (road bike) with some Profile Design clip-on bars and Mavic Cosmic wheels. Given my size (6 ft / 155 lbs), I’d estimate I have a CdA of 0.35-.40 m^2, and I am looking to get that down using a dedicated triathlon bike (<0.3 if possible). It doesn’t need to be UCI compliant. While I am doing everything I can to push my FTP up for the 2020 season, having a nice aero boost would be welcome!
Thanks in advance,
Dave