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I am broadening by activity from running to sprint tri......I have the run and swim....its that bike that has me stumped.......equipment specifically. It is such a big purchase and so many specifics and choices! HELP! What do I look for in a road bike? Tires? Carbon vs aluminum? etc? anything would help!
Whatever bike you have now will probably work just fine for a sprint tri. After you've done a couple, you'll have a much better idea of your "perfect" bike.
I did my first sprint on a hybrid upright commuter bike with rack, fenders, and sprung saddle. (passed a sh*tload of people, too) There were women kickin' @$$ on mountain bikes.
For your first couple tris, the strength of the rider is far more important than type of the bike. Save your money for now, your experience will guide you better than any of us ever could! :D
What kind of bike do you have right now? I agree with Knot--any bike will be fine for your first couple of races.
If you have a road bike, or if you can borrow one, I would use that for the first couple of triathlons.
To make a bike "triathlon" specific, you can pick up some clip-on aero bars (make sure it's the short road style ones) and a forward seat-post that changes your riding angle. Both of these items you can probably pick up used for not a lot of cash.