I’ve just been talked into doing the bike leg of the London triathlon as part of a team entry. It will be the full Olympic distance, so basically a 40km time trial.

I’m pretty fit – I train 70 minutes a day, six days a week – but I’m a dyed in the wool mountain biker. I’ve never actually raced or even ridden clipped in – let alone a road bike – and my friends doing the running and swimming legs are both very competent, so I’m pretty nervous about letting them down. I was hoping to get some advice.

What can I expect? The race is in late July – is that an unrealistic timescale to build up to my first proper race?

Also, I need to buy a road bike. I’m tall – 6’5 – and ideally looking to spend not much more than £1000. I don’t really want to go for a specialist TT or triathlon bike – I’d rather a general road bike that will do the job. Any suggestions or good deals about?

Ta.

Good question.

Cannondale Caad 8?

Decathlon have some good road bikes for far less money.

Find a local tri club? There will be rules that you will need to know you might get a good used bike cheap.

Clipped isn’t a big deal you might even like it…

I did the London Triathlon a few times in the 80s, it was a very ‘roadie’ course then. If it hasn’t changed a standard road bike would still be ideal.

So what you’re asking is.. which road bike for a grand? 🙂

Try some out, sizing will be different depending on the make…whichever you get.. you can always add some Tri bars.

Lots of info re-training on the Tri/TT forums..

when is it?

First you’ve got plenty of time.

I think you are right about getting a road bike rather than a specific TT/Tri bike… Ride the bike “as it comes” until a month out then add clip on tri bars (about £50) to get used to them before the race…. they do make a difference but take a little getting used to in both bike handling terms and body posiion.

Re clipped in… maybe just go with old skool pedal and straps… see how you get on… at our level I doudt it’ll make that much difference over proper clips and it’ll save you a couple of quid

And I don’t worry about letting your friends down… it just a bit of fun.

Are you buying the bike just for this event, or are you planning to do more road riding? If the former, and if you own a hardtail, how about just fitting skinny slicks and clip on tri bars to it?
The performance difference between that and a road racing bike are not going to be as big as you think, if you get your position right, and if you are not buying a TT specific bike, I guess you’re not trying to eke out your marginal gains anyway?
This is not as daft an idea as it might appear – Andy Wilkinson has won national TT titles on a hybrid frame (he’s riding a custom built version now, but it still has round tubes and V-brakes on it!).

If you want to do as good a ride as possible for the team, specific training and getting used to riding in a TT position will be much more important than the bike.

London has a huge range of abilities riding all sorts of bikes. As you currently train 6 days a week you will need to practice overtaking people while aero:)

Do you know if you are doing the Westminster or Tower Bridge route? If the latter it is about 5km short.

I’m pretty fit – I train 70 minutes a day, six days a week

You mean you commute? or your train with a specific target derived training plan?
Big difference between the two.

There’s a risk with buying a road bike – you might enjoy it and end up marveling at how smooth lycra feels against your shaved legs 😳

London triathlon tends to attract a lot of first-timers. So there’s a whole variety of bikes on display. You’d be fine on a MTB with slicks, and would probably find yourself overtaking a few roadies if you’re reasonably bike fit. But you’ll certainly be working much harder than those that you’re overtaking, and you’ll also be very slow when compared to some of the racing snakes in full-on TT mode.

If you’re set on getting a road bike, then consider buying second hand. You can get a decent road bike for £500 if you trawl the classifieds and know what you’re looking for. And if you get it cheap, then you can sell it on for not much less after the triathlon if you hate the bike.

if you own a hardtail, how about just fitting skinny slicks and clip on tri bars to it?

I would go down that route, but I only own one bike – a Transition Bandit. Part of me does think it would be funny to fit it with skinny road tyres and clip-ons and just ride that, but I think the joke would probably wear off within the first few km. I’d also need new wheels to fit narrow tyres (currently have Stans Flow), so I don’t think it’s a sensible option.

You mean you commute? or your train with a specific target derived training plan?

Well, I’m not sure what I do would constitute a ‘target derived training plan’, but I do mean pushing myself with the aim of increasing my strength and fitness – either through laps of Richmond Park on my bike, or 70-minute sessions on a spinner I have set up at home. I’ve no doubt I could be doing things differently to train more effectively, however – that’s something I’ll be looking into. Again, any tips would be appreciated.

If you’re set on getting a road bike, then consider buying second hand. You can get a decent road bike for £500 if you trawl the classifieds and know what you’re looking for. And if you get it cheap, then you can sell it on for not much less after the triathlon if you hate the bike.

I think I will end up buying second hand, though I really don’t know what I should be looking for. I also don’t know what size I need. Given my height, I guess I’m going to be looking at 61-63, which might limit my options when it comes to second hand.

The other option, which I’ve just seen, is that there is a bike hire scheme for the event. You can get a Giant Defy 4 from now until August for £125. Might be the most sensible option? (Link here.)

There’s a risk with buying a road bike – you might enjoy it and end up marveling at how smooth lycra feels against your shaved legs

I may well end up enjoying it and I have no problem with wearing lycra, but I absolutely draw the line at shaving my legs. Not going to happen. 😀

The hire option sounds ideal to me. Not into it then hand it back. If you enjoy it then buy one. You’d lose over £125 selling on a new bike after a few months