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Discussion: First Event...Mountain Bike OK?
Subject: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: Robert Iadanza Written on: 2005-04-12 22:20:59 Message: I'm getting married in October so really can't splurge on a road bike just yet...just priced a Specialized Allez Sport at $840 and know that fiancee will have a cow! Anyhow, the event I am in next month had an 18 mile ride. I'm planning on using a nearly new mountain bike. Think this is OK? Thanks!
Subject: RE: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: Stephen McKee Written on: 2005-04-12 23:02:57 Message: If the course is on the road, a sport or road bike would be better, though I'm sure you won't be the only person in the event on a mountain bike. You might want to check local bike shops....I got a really good deal on my road bike. It's a 2003 Fuji Newest sport bike....it had been on the showroom since '03 and was stilll brand new. Regular MSRP was $899.....I got it for $500. But if it's on the road, a road or sport bike will be more comfortable and won't wear you down as much. And the other thing I would say is, congrats on your upcoming marriage, but minimize the "fiance/wife will have a cows".....it'll be much easier on you that way. He he. Train hard and play hard! ~Scuba Steve
Subject: RE: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: M. Grady Written on: 2005-04-13 09:44:58 Message: My event is in August and I plan on both training and racing on my $150 Schwinn MTB from Target. I am not planning on competing with the other racers as this is my first tri, I just want to get my feet wet and see how I feel about the sport before investing ungodly amounts of money into it. One thing I would suggest however is getting rid of your "knobby" tires and spending the extra $25-30 on a pair of road slicks made specifically for mountain bikes. Getting rid of that drag will make one heck of a difference... Good luck next month!
Subject: RE: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: William Dessoffy Written on: 2005-04-13 18:05:36 Message: I'm currently training for an Xterra Race. This is a cross country event. Swim in a lake, Bike and Run on dirt trails through the woods.The distances are shorter but the terrain makes it a real challange. Search Xterra Races on the web they have a web site. This is my type of race. never liked pavement much. Train Hard, Eat Right, Trust in God!!!!! ~Daddeo~
Subject: RE: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: Justin McVey Written on: 2005-04-14 08:37:28 Message: Robert, you can also get a larger chainring with a few more teeth. I rode a century last year with the road slicks that M. Grady was talking about and found a large chainring that had more teeth than the one i usually use. It worked out decent and could maintain 22-24 mph on the flats. p.s. buy your rode bike BEFORE you get married. It's much tougher to buy stuff when you are sharing money
Subject: RE: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: Robert Iadanza Written on: 2005-04-14 09:05:07 Message: Thanks for the tips, all. I will look into getting the road slicks. Sounds like a good idea. As far as the marriage thing, my fiancee is training as I am and we plan to enter the same events. She's cool about this type of purchase-- guess I was going for a little humor in my posting! The timing now is bad.
Subject: RE: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: Garrett-Finley Teresa Written on: 2005-04-21 22:27:54 Message: I did a duathlon last weekend....which included a 16 mile bike, I used a mountain bike with the regular tires and I have to say that I worked myself to death! I would go for the road tires if I were you! and some cages for the peddles at the very least! Congrats on upcoming marriage!
Subject: RE: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: Eric Anderson Written on: 2005-04-25 17:08:25 Message: I did the Chicago Tri sprint last year with a mountain bike. As many have said, much harder with the "fat" tires. I found that by inflating the tires to their max (35 psi) helped alot. This year I got a street bike and the difference is ~4-5 mph faster in my training so far.
Subject: RE: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: Kariss Blalock Written on: 2005-04-26 21:42:42 Message: I did my first tri on a mountain bike- I finished, but I didn't pass anybody!! A mountain bike's okay if you only want to finish, but a street bike or even better tires on your mountain bike, like everyone else has said, will be much easier and much faster. Have you checked into renting a bike for the day? There are a couple of bike shops here that will rent out good bikes for events like triathlons and such (in the hopes that you'll soon buy the bike, I assume!). Good luck in your training!! Oh, yeah, and if you ever need marriage counseling, I know some good people!! =O)
Subject: RE: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: Daniel Vaudreuil Written on: 2005-04-28 15:15:11 Message: I just got talked into doing my first tri sprint also. The problem is I can't swim and I'm a bad runner! Oh well! I also only have a MTB but I saw that my event has a class for people like us called Fat tire class. To race in this class, you can't use slick tires. I might check into that larger chain ring thing though.
Subject: RE: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: MARTIE MARIE Written on: 2005-06-13 18:33:48 Message: Just wanted to seethis respond on the top of the articles
Subject: RE: First Event...Mountain Bike OK? By: j v Written on: 2005-06-13 21:30:22 Message: You could also rent a bike from a bike shop if your time is important to you. If not no big deal...as stated above
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