racing bike

beaumont71 said:

Hi, I am in search of some serious info re: the whats of a racing bike. My goal is to purchase a decent bike for my husband as a gift, thinking in the 1200-1500 dollar range. My husband is a runner and has started to do mini tri-athalons, long story short...needs a decent bike. Any help in a direction? Thanks

My recommendation. Find a local reputable bike shop. Unless you know exactly your husbands riding preference and how comfortable he is on his current bike, and his body dimensions, I recommend getting a gift certificate or arranging something similar from the bike shop, and letting him pick. There are so many different options from time trial/triathalon bike, to a general purpose road bike with a more relaxed geometry. For that much money you might as well get something you know he will definately ride, and is comfortable with. The simplest way to do that is to let him choose and he can be sized properly on the new bike.

I suprised my wife with a bike as gift, but I knew her riding style, her complaints about her current bike, and worked with a local bike shop to make sure I got a bike that fit her well. I even got her to go to a bike fitting with her old bike, from which I used the information to build up her new bike. In the end we still ended up swapping out the stem for a different once so she felt more comfortable on it,which was no problem with the bike shop.

^^^^

Good Advice. Listen to this guy! Nothing worse than a bike that doesn't fit.

Yep, agree. Why not surprise him with a day-long shopping trip? Hide some cycling-appropriate clothing/etc. Man, if my wife did this for me, it'd be one great birthday! 🙂

Try getting a 2003 Giant TCR Aero 2 – it’s better looking than the 2004 Giant TCR Aero 1. I personally have a 2002 Giant TCR Aero 2. Without aerobars, these bikes would make a very fast road bike. With the aerobars that come with the bike – it makes a very fast triathlon bike. My $1500 Aero 2 goes as fast as my $3033 Dura Ace / Ultegra Cervelo Soloist Team bike. I hit a top speed of 29.2 mph in both bikes (flat ground, no wind). The Giant TCR Aero bike has a racing pedigree – it was the bike used by the ONCE team to win the Team Time Trial in the 2002 TDF.

Getting these bikes used on ebay will save you a lot. I’ve seen 2002 Giant TCR Aero 2’s go for around $650 to $850.

Otherwise, Cervelos are nice bikes but they are expensive. The entry level 105 Cervelo Soloist bike will be $1599 -- but you can also use it for racing or triathlons (with an aerobar).

I love both of my bikes!