Get road bike now or wait?

[Zen]

my LBS always has a sale of last years unsold models in the spring. That's when I got a deal on my newest and favorite bike.

Then again, they are selling a lot more bikes this year.

I'd wait. Finding the right bike takes time.

[squirrell]

Called up the shop I bought the bike from and they said they've got slicks to fit it! And, they will put them on for me while I wait tomorrow. I live about 80 miles away from there, so I didn't want to have to leave the bike.

going to poke around the new bikes while I'm there and maybe test drive one or two to begin to get some ideas.

Thanks everyone for the advice! I hadn't thought of putting different tires on my bike!

[Running Mommy]

As someone else alluded to- bike prices for 09 are going up. In fact in many cases they are soaring. So if you find something you like now, I would snap it up. I also saw many posts about year end sales, and sales in the spring. Don't count on it this year. All of my manu's - Giant, Felt, and Jamis ran out of 08's. I won't see a felt road bike until late september. And with bike prices going up, there aren't going to be any blow outs on 08's. People keep asking me and I just laugh. Esp. with the prices going up the way they are. Any 08's I have leftover will be veritable bargains compared to the 09's.

BUT don't rush out in a panic. You need to get a good fit and find a bike that fits you. And that may take trying out MANY before you find the one.
But whatever you do make sure your shop does a professional fit.

Good luck, and have fun with your tri and fall rides.
Train smart, train safe.

denise

[lph]

I've never ridden a hybrid, but I've ridden a mtb with studded tires, knobby tires, wide semi-slicks (well-worn slightly knobby, flat in the middle) and narrow slicks, and a road bike with standard road tires. For shorter rides I can go almost as fast on my commuter mtb with the semi-slicks as on my road bike but it takes a little more effort and I have to concentrate on riding as aerodynamically as possible, ie. hands close together on the bar and chin low down. This is just too tiring in the long run, so for longer rides I take the road bike as that puts me in the same position with less effort.

The narrow slicks gave such a harsh ride that I've stopped using them. In effect I slowed down to dampen the jarring. But that may be because they're 26 in and hold less air than 28 in road bike/hybrid tires. I hate riding with knobby tires and do so only when I have to, they feel almost as sloooow as my studded ones.

So I think you might get a good speed increase from your hybrid by switching to smooth tires and checking your sitting position, maye you want to swap your stem for a lower one.

[squirrell]

I've never ridden a hybrid, but I've ridden a mtb with studded tires, knobby tires, wide semi-slicks (well-worn slightly knobby, flat in the middle) and narrow slicks, and a road bike with standard road tires. For shorter rides I can go almost as fast on my commuter mtb with the semi-slicks as on my road bike but it takes a little more effort and I have to concentrate on riding as aerodynamically as possible, ie. hands close together on the bar and chin low down. This is just too tiring in the long run, so for longer rides I take the road bike as that puts me in the same position with less effort.

The narrow slicks gave such a harsh ride that I've stopped using them. In effect I slowed down to dampen the jarring. But that may be because they're 26 in and hold less air than 28 in road bike/hybrid tires. I hate riding with knobby tires and do so only when I have to, they feel almost as sloooow as my studded ones.

So I think you might get a good speed increase from your hybrid by switching to smooth tires and checking your sitting position, maye you want to swap your stem for a lower one.

Another good point--I'll see if they have time to check my fit while I'm there. They did a quick fit when I bought the bike years ago but I'm 20 pounds lighter now, and I'm sure the bike parts have shifted somewhat as well.

[squirrell]

I CAN'T BELIEVE THE SLICKS! What a difference! I went out with a steady 15 mph wind and gusts to 24, had them in my face 40% of the time and still got almost 14mph average! I had a max speed of 23.5 and maintained a speed of 18.5 mph for almost 3 miles at one point before the wind killed me.!

I can't wait to see what they can do without wind!

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Forgot to ask them about the seat post though.

But now I'm thinking....hmmmmm. different handlebars???

[lph]

Way cool

[Thorn]

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Awesome!

But now I'm thinking....hmmmmm. different handlebars???

That is more work that it looks. You need new brifters and cables, I think. The techies will know more.

[squirrell]

Went out today--light wind only about 9-10mph--and got in 22.5 miles at an average speed of 15mph! That's an increase 2.5 mph over my "knobby tire" average of 12.5mph.

I know the bike is capable of going faster now--but now it is limited by the "motor"--me! Now I can really work on building up my stamina and endurance.