Quote Originally Posted by Wahine View Post
I may go for a "cheaper" full on tri bike for racing, nurse Jolly along and buy a really nice road bike a little later.
That makes sense. I currently have a road bike and a tri bike. If I had it to do over again I might have started with the dream road bike- put clip on aerobars on it- and saved the money from the second bike for something else. (While I've found I really like the aero position for racing- I much prefer training on a road bike- so while I love the tri-bike, I'm not sure that it gets enough mileage to justify its existence.) But then again- I only do a few races each summer.

As far as materials go- that's where it makes sense to do some test-riding- and I think you have to do a long ride. Personally, I'm not as big a fan of carbon- it feels great at first, but after a while I find it too dampened. (I've never ridden aluminum on the road- most of my riding has been on either steel or carbon.)