What Should You Look For When Buying A Bike?

Buying a bike can be a big investment. You'll obviously want to make sure you've picked the right bike for you, but what decisions should you be making, and what should you have your eye on when looking for your new triathlon bike, either in the bike shop or on the used market?

0:00 - Intro
0:45 - Triathlon Bike Vs. Road Bike
2:54 - Fit
4:11 - Frame Material
5:04 - Components
7:30 - Rim vs. Disc Brakes
8:12 - Cockpit
8:51 - Wheels
9:30 - Travel
10:15 - What Not to Worry About

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[MrDamonLeBeouf]

i cant say how happy i am to see this vid stressing the importance of fit, and more so the need to get fit BEFORE you buy your bike.

[mammothwagon]

As always, excellent video. Especially since it made me feel good for having a road and tri bike 😉

[razever]

at 01:14 you said you'll get to the clip-on areobars later on and where exactly is that 🤣 was really interested in the model of the aerobar Mark has put on his FELT road bike!

[levbobrov]

All great points, James!
I personally failed on the "travel" part. I had to buy a new rooftop rack for the bike and even then, it's just luck that it fits.
Speaking of which, it would be great if you guys made a video on how to transport a bike, specifically Tri or TT bike, both driving and flying.

[adamhill]

There were some very good points in this video that I hadn't considered before. I wanted to mention that I went the road bike route with clip on aero bars that are adjustable with spacers and everything, but he had mentioned that you can't get the same benefit of the seat position in a tri bike. I beg to differ. Redshift makes a "dual action seatpost" that actually replaces your seat post and gives your saddle two positions to set it up in, one being the traditional road bike position and the other at the forward angle we see on triathlon bikes. With the seat post and the aero bars, I feel like my fit is very similar to what I would get in a triathlon bike. Of coarse I'm lacking all the other benefits in a tri bike to include the aerodynamics of the frame, the bento boxes, etc, but if price is an issue.... this could be a very economical option for anyone shopping around for 1 bike to do both.

[Kid_ofthefuture]

James, I give you 10 out of 10 on this one ! Thanks !

[ikercorreas]

I like the tool to maintain the bike in the wall🤔

[m.ekkelboom]

I have a BMC Timemachine with rim brakes and want to upgrade the bike with a good wheelset, electronic shift, new aero cockpit and some Favero powermeter pedals 👍🏼. But what brand is that bike hanger you have there? I like it. I need one for nu bike to put on the wall.

[StonegateCreations]

Just buy the coolest looking most expensive bike you can afford. Your body will adjust to the fit painfully but eventually.

[sandranalasco]

Can you talk about how a tri bike handles differently? People tell me it’s not as good on hills. Does it turn corners the same? Does it climb hills the same if you put bigger cassette on? Thanks!

[michaelkennedy]

The first thing before buying is which brand actually has stock. That will already cut the shopping list down significantly. From there you reduce those down to what you can afford. You are probably down to one or two bikes now. Then you just make it fit hahaha.
Would be good if companies thought about offering different builds. Considering groupsets are one of the biggest things holding up sales why don't they just offer to sell them without groupsets as some of us have parts to build a frame up. For example Canyon keep telling me the hold up, basically since the speedmax came out is due to groupset availability, yet they don't seem to think it's a good idea to sell them as a frame set. Just one of many brands advertising bikes with no product to sell. Perhaps they shouldn't have pushed so hard for the industry to move ahead when they couldn't provide the products they were pushing for us to buy. Bring back rim with shimano and sram parts that work together. KISS

[wserda]

I'd politely suggest, if you don't know the difference between a Tri bike and Road, then get a road bike and become a more experienced cyclist.

[AnaFerreira-nnqm]

#coachescorner, can I use the dimensions I was given from my road bike fit to purchase a TT bike online? Or should I get a TT bike fit before buying it?
Thanks 😊

[MccabeBro]

Being 203cm tall. How I buy I bike is get lucky with a 61cm frame that can be tweaked to fit me.

[Napoletano]

Money, that is the only things that you need

[wserda]

what to look for when buying a tri bike.... isn't titled right. half the video is about what to look for when buying a used bike.... differences between road and tri bike....Finally after 7 mins you get into more details like: benefits of electric shifting vs mechanical, and rim vs disk and cockpit... finally. it was a painful start, but at least you began the discussion, but get into details about adjustability... like what??