Hi everyone, I am looking into buying my first road bike to train and eventually do a triathlon with (not ready to spend thousands on a tri bike yet).
However, I am extremely overwhelmed with the options and have no idea what is considered a steal or what is best to use in an Olympic distance (maybe half) triathlon. My budget is around 1k and I’ve decided I wanted to buy new or from a shop that has already fixed the bike.
Any help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!
by Alternative_Log_3251
14 Comments
They are all pretty much similar, go with the best groupset, I wouldn’t go below shimano 105. Good luck!
they all seem pretty similar. but i’d stay away from the microshift r9. i had that groupset and the brifters started to rattle after a few miles and i ended up switching groupsets all together
Pic the Scott. The frame is the most future proof and decent groupsets are pretty cheap at the moment. So you’re in for an easy upgrade if you want 105 maybe.
I bought my first bike from my local bike shop. That eliminated the decision fatigue since the shop only had so many bikes on hand or ready to order within my price range and size, so I mostly just went with their recommendation. They were also able to advise which bike‘s geometry best suited my short term and long term goals. Plus I got free basic maintenance for a year and unlimited discounted tune ups afterwards.
If you have a LBS near you, I’d recommend starting there.
Scott
Imo people here seems to overrate groupsets. They dont make you faster and the shifting on sora, claris, tiagra is all great nowdays.
Eirher way would i choose the scott due to having the probably best frame and disc brakes.
If you’re in this price bracket avoid the Scott at all costs. Servicing it for maintenance at home will be a pain in the ass, and any cable replacements/ adjustments (or stem/ bar changes) done by a shop will be a ton more expensive because of dealing with the internal cable routing.
The Scott is well priced, the Felt does not look bad either.
I’d aim for whichever has disc brakes and the largest tire clearance, presumably the Trek, but that Scott looks like a very nice price so it would be tempting.
I honestly think the differences between any of the bikes in that price point will be negligible. Lost of companies are making quality bikes. Which, I agree then become overwhelming lol. I would find comfort in the fact that you can’t really go wrong.
I like the Scott most. Looks good which is also important! And has disc brakes. Bikes are more or less the same. Maybe you can look into the wheels and pick the one with the best wheels. Wheels are much more important than groupsets and the thing I would upgrade first.
The Trek is the best choice. Shimano Tiagra is very good. The Scott has the design of an high end bike but is not and it’s transmission is not as good as the Trek’s one.
The Giant content is not comfortable (that’s my previous bike i really know it well)
They are all solid options, good entry level road bikes, perfect for training, having fun and discovering short distance triathlon without breaking the bank.
Some of these have a geometry that is a little bit more “relaxed” or “endurance”. Given that you plan on racing on them, I would go to one of the ones which has a racier geometry : lower stack, maybe longer reach. [Comparing a few](https://geometrygeeks.bike/compare/giant-contend-ar-3-2022-m,cannondale-caad-optimo-3-2024-54,trek-domane-al-4-2024-54cm/) I would probably go for the CAAD Optimo or the Scott but I can’t find its geometry. I would for sure forget the Fuji Sportif, it really looks like a very upright position for a road bike.
Make sure the size is corect.
Do you want disk brake or rim brake, would you prefer hydraulic disk brake or do you feel fine with cable mechanic disk brake?
Do you think you’ll upgrade the bike?
If you wish to go with disk brake, I’d see if Specialized Allez Sport or any other Alloy bike with equivalent groupsets like the Shimano Tiagra 4720, 10 speed. I bought one for roughly 1,100 USD in China about a month ago, the bike’s within my budget and more friendly to upgrade in my opinion. Personally, the only upgrade is the wheelset and the tires. Bought my mom the same bike, got her a set of Farsports 2025 C3, 1210g a set, because they’re pretty light and relatively affordable.
Tiagra 4720 itself is more than enough for training as I consider myself a beginner in road biking. It’ll also be cheaper to buy 10 speed chains after I put a lot of miles on the bike, you can put metal pads in if the resin ones are not strong enough for you. Some wheel builders have DT Swiss 240 hub with Chinese carbon rim around the same price range as Farsports 2025 C series. There’re also other good carbons brands, but I learned about Farsports’s wheels from Joe on Panda Podium’s Youtube channel China Cycling and got some pretty positive customer comment after some googling. I’d recommend looking for more modern inner rim width (more than 23mm) for wider tires like 32c if you fancy other carbon wheels.
Allez Sports’s stock rotor RT-66 can take resin or metal brake pads, but might need a 6-bolt to center lock adapter if the new wheelset comes with a center lock hub. The thing with Scott and Trek from your picture is they have cable mechanical disk brakes, you’ll need a new set of brifters if you want to go with hydraulic brakes.
Trek’s Domane AL 4 Gen 4 should have the sameTiagra groupsets with whole Shimano groupset unlike Specialized Allez Sport you get Praxis bottom bracket and Chainring, Sunrace cassette and KMC chain. I got 500km on the bike already, everything works pretty good. Did my own maintenance, derailleur adjustment, pulled out the rear derailleur cable, applied Shimano cable grease on it and put it back in. I moved to road bike from an xc bike, toured about 12,000 km on the XC mountain bike with 135 quick release, I couldn’t feel any soft weakness on the Allez Sport when I sprint it hard, even with the stock alloy wheels.