Bike advice

Looking for some bike advice, please.

I started long distance tris last year on a road bike and am hooked.

I now wish to invest in a "race bike" for these events.

Has anyone advice to offer on:

- type of bike (i.e. road with tribars or triathlon)

- type or brand of bike for female cyclists (is it best to get a "female" bike or "unisex")

- anywhere in East Anglia particularly good for bike fit / advice (I don't want them to see a girl shopping for a bike and fleece me!)

P.S. I've got £2k to spend

Ta for any advice.

...oh, and I'm already working on the cheapest time saver of all = weight loss

What bike do you have now?

I found that I needed a women's specific bike, managed on a men's initially but was so much more comfortable when I swapped. Specialized suit me and I race long distance on a Ruby with tri bars though I do have a set of race wheels which make it lighter. I think fit is the most important thing, my LBS were absolutely ace - hopefully someone can recommend a good one near to you.

Thanks for the advice.

I currently ride a TREK 2.5 C E. I didn't have a bike fit before purchase and feel it's a bit big for me.

I have a LBS to try.

2K should buy a nice piece of kit. Bike fit MOST important.

If you are OK keeping the Trek as a road bike then maybe a dedicated Tri/TT bike is the way to go.   If you are selling the Trek because it's too big then you don't want your only bike to be a time trial bike - you probably already know that - so in that case get a road bike but tell the fitter you intend to use it for triathlon with tri bars as that'll make a difference to the fit.

There are some bikes made to double up as road and tri bikes - some Cervelos used to be and I think Neil Pryde - think they have a dual position seat post for both a road and time trial position  - not totally sure what is on the market like that right now though if anything.

I'd make sure the budget included some aero wheels - but they tend to be expensive and you can often pick up little used examples as people tend to save them just for races so second hand can make sense.   

I think it'd be best to hold onto the Trek, with the intention to as a winter / all-weather bike.

Key points from what ye're saying seem to be:

- get fitted for the bike

- tri-specific bike and / or components

As a (cheapsake) aside, do bikes and their components get cheaper as the year draws to a close?

You can find some good deals on teh 2012 models yes - and potentially even better on 2011. Prices may go down, but so does size availabiltiy