I'm looking at dabbling in a bit of off road triathlon & maybe some XC aces this year. Currently riding a Bizango Pro. With a budget of upto 2.5k, what should I be looking at?
Not directly answering your question, but following as I'd be interested in off road Tri's, but can't find that many/any. What events (preferably in the North of England) are you looking at?
I'd have thought the Bizango would be fine, depending on the level of off road being talked about.
To be honest I wouldn’t buy any bike purely with the intention of racing off road triathlons as there’s so few of them around now they are generally seen as fun off road events. They tried to run a series in the past of competitive and series ranked races but most fell to the wayside. I did Xterra the last time it was in the UK and looking now you need to travel abroad to do the Xterra series to get quality off road multi sport races. I suspect whatever you buy for general XC races will be suitable for any off road triathlon you decide to do.
In the UK, the courses are generally a lot easier than what you would come across in an XC race so a lightweight hardtail is generally fastest.
Xterra is back in the UK this year by the way.
I've only done one (twice) and a gravel bike was ideal.
Just as you would any race you would choose your bike according to the course. I've used fully rigid, hardtail and full bounce dependant on what they've set out for you. In the UK I generally found the courses had little technical element and preferred a very light Niner Air 9c rigid bike. One event in Germany had really tricky downhills (with much slower chicken run options) so I used a Turner Czar bouncer. Last Xterra I did in Maui was a classic hardtail course (I thought) although many were on very light suspension bikes.
I'm not sure you can go beyond a "bring what you got" mentality.
I've done off road duathlons, and as above the courses are pretty easy, much easier than most XC races, so just get the lightest hardtail you can
I always tend to think the right answer is a Scott Spark.
(I did my last off road duathlon - Pre Covid - on my Orange 5. Maahooosively over biked !!! (It was the only servicable bike that weekend in my garage other than a Brompton !). But I did get the pleasure of passing the typical shite bike handlers that are triathletes on the downhill parts (then of course piiiished it all away on the next climb and the running).
I too learned last week Xterra is finally back in Blighty this year (from someone who's entered). I do like the idea of off-road tri. Plays a tad better to my swimming and mtb riding skills than normal road tri. Just wished the swims were about 5 miles long to even up the event a bit.
There's an Xterra race in May in Staffordshire, then a few scattered around the UK over the summer. Found one in Scotland in September ansd a fair few duathlons too. Enough events to consider giving it a go!
Craggy Island and Cairngorm adventure triathlon veteran here.
Getting a bike for obscure and very varied races is daft.
Gravel bike for the cat (I would like to claim I was the first, got some quite puzzled looks when I turned up with a Kona dew drop) next year there were loads.
Rigid single speed for craggy Island because it's a laugh.
I have done two, one at Pippingford and one in Aviemore. Pippingford was a middle of the road XC type course, not technical but mostly singletrack and very muddy; Aviemore was about half gravelly stuff and half singletrack.
Only done the Duathlon at Thetford a few years ago. Lightweight hardtail was fine. You will also be able to use it for some of the XC races.
Scott Spark of Trek ProCal are a good place to start. If second hand was an option, maybe look at Trek Top Fuel (as light as you can find in budget)
Nothing to do with me, just a quick search of eBay found this:-
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195569259528?hash=item2d88d61408:g:L7oAAOSw-qdjzvpV&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoK8BR%2BJ%2BVtSFAQDnO8biSRoC7coiL4vHyYzyZo8GfZTPu8F2jC%2FcTwAkiM8eBM%2BUr39pXyfpx6rwyI02zGZVXydls7jOAsfFIdCbAJvoeFcINYLEVmXKSGi5vSgOPRmywEUnLvXLBpMDW%2BGedD0AH5I2DNv5%2BibfW5EjRyaQSPQVfp1QcMbC%2BpqjbVnIyqv2KkMjgcvvnfRRgjVQQalTrtY%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7Ta3MDKYQ
Hope the link works. If not, it’s a Trek Top Fuel 9.8 2021 for £2500 on eBay. That’s a £6000 bike. Carbon frame and wheels. 11.75kgs according to Trek Website.
Hey Guys,
*disclaimer* Frequent lurker and occasional poster on STW - but the day job is overseeing all XTERRA races in the EMEA region. Including the race director for the UK event based at Weston Park, Staffordshire. */disclaimer*
For the UK races (including XTERRA Weston park) the thread contributors are correct, the technicality sits somewhere between a cyclocross and a cross country event. There a whole host of reasons for this, but the main is finding good trails next to a body of water big enough to swim in. Like most mountain bike events, the logistics surrounding public liability and rights of way mean limited options. Scotland suffers less so.
If you prefer your events a little on the crazy side, there are dozens of options available in Europe. In particular the Italian races offer an extremely technical option that'll make you wish for an enduro bike! Full calendar here - https://www.xterraplanet.com/tour/emea-tour
Happy to answer any off road tri questions on here or if you prefer - doug.hall@xterraplanet.com
Cheers,
Doug
Hi Doug, good luck with the new races this year !
Do you know anything about the bike and run courses at XTERRA Costa Brava and the new location for XTERRA Suisse ?
Thanks
Hope the link works. If not, it’s a Trek Top Fuel 9.8 2021 for £2500 on eBay. That’s a £6000 bike. Carbon frame and wheels. 11.75kgs according to Trek Website.
I reckon 1kg of that must be cables - I've never seen such a cluttered handlebar!
Do you know anything about the bike and run courses at XTERRA Costa Brava and the new location for XTERRA Suisse ?
I haven't been on the ground in either location yet.
Course maps for Costa Brava -
I imagine it'll be typical coastal mountain biking. Red rocks, punchy climbs.
Thanks for the info Doug! I'm hoping to do the Weston Park Race.