Ladies Road bike for Ironman

[RedLeggedPartridge]

Hi lovely people,

I run about 50 miles per week but I'm pretty new to cycling (a couple of years). My Specialized Dolce Elite was nicked from my garage last week - an eBay workhorse. I found myself almost exclusively riding the drops on it and found it comfy enough to complete a century ride in Sept.

I've now got it in my head that I'd like to do an Ironman. I'm aware of the commitment/difficulty etc. My question is this: Can anyone recommend a road bike that will be good for lots of miles and possibly the triathlon too? I'm 5'6" so Trek etc. should work as well as lady specific bikes. Most importantly, I have a long-term hand injury and found the 105 shifters on my old bike very uncomfortable. I would like electronic if possible. My budget is £2500 at an absolute push, partly based on electronic shifters being high-end, partly because I want a good bike for lots of use.

A bit of a mess of a post, especially for a non-triathlon site, but I hope some of you knowledgeable people can help 😚.

Lastly, I struggle to nail down if the shifters are electronic in listings - should I always see di2 or does Ultegra 2x11 have them? A bit clueless on this. Thanks.

 

[T4tomo]

not sure how much is available at £2500 with electronic shifting.

Shimano version you need to see Di2 in the description. 105 Di2 is their cheapest version and relatively new out, then Ultegra, then Dura-ace.

SRAM have "eTap" as their electronic range. Rival cheapest, then Force then Red.

might be worth looking at such as PlanetX, Ribble or Dolan, rather than the big brands like Trek Spec Giant etc

Campagnolo also do a electronic shifting branded EPS, but that will probably be a more expensive option on any bike than Di2 or eTap.

 

[figbat]

How about this? PLANET X PRO CARBON SRAM RIVAL AXS ROAD BIKE. Not lady-specific but could be made to fit, and bang on the £2,500 budget limit.

I know nothing more about the bike than the website says so can't offer any further thoughts or feedback. Just an example to show your spec is possible.

 

[MichaelW2]

If you were happy cruising on the drops of your Dolche, you may need a more racy geometry with lower bars, so your default cruising position is the hoods.
Will you be using aerobars?
Will you be commuting on it, ie needing some practical features ?

 

[Dogtrousers]

I have a long-term hand injury and found the 105 shifters on my old bike very uncomfortable. I would like electronic if possible. My budget is £2500 at an absolute push,

Because electronic shifting may be difficult to achieve on that budget it may be worth trying SRAM mechanical shifters which are "double tap". Unlike Shimano you don't shift the whole brake lever when doing a shift to a larger sprocket/chainwheel, you use the paddle behind the lever for both up and downshift. That may be easier on your hands. Or maybe it won't make any difference, but it might be worth considering, if you can borrow a bike with them to try out.

I've used both and I can't say I found them enormously different to be honest, just take short while to get used to. But then, I don't have a hand injury so that doesn't mean much. Anyway it may be worth considering.

 

[vickster]

SRAM have slimmer hoods than Shimano so are in my experience much more comfortable for smaller hands. 4 of my 5 roadbikes have SRAM. Any bike I buy with Shimano gets quickly converted. The hydro ones are bigger but still much less bulbous than Shimano equivalents.
Force equates to Ultegra, Rival to 105. Added bonus the SRAM groupset parts tend to be a little lighter.
I can’t speak to the electronic sets.
Dolan make good bikes cheaper than the big brands

 

[cougie uk]

How about this? PLANET X PRO CARBON SRAM RIVAL AXS ROAD BIKE. Not lady-specific but could be made to fit, and bang on the £2,500 budget limit.

I know nothing more about the bike than the website says so can't offer any further thoughts or feedback. Just an example to show your spec is possible.

That's excellent value. I've seen lots of Planet X's at ironman races.

Just realised my TT bike is planet X and that's been great for ironman too.

 

[bikingdad90]

@RedLeggedPartridge only thing I can think that may cause some problems when choosing is if the bike is UCI approved or not. I don’t think the “Ironman” brand is regulated by the UCI but some triathlons are.

 

[cougie uk]

@RedLeggedPartridge only thing I can think that may cause some problems when choosing is if the bike is UCI approved or not. I don’t think the “Ironman” brand is regulated by the UCI but some triathlons are.

You can ride almost what you want for ironman. Uci bike checks are not a thing there. Just check out some of the aero machines the pros get to use.

 

[Jameshow]

How about a boardman air? As used by the brownlee brothers.

Or a giant propel liv?

 

[RedLeggedPartridge]

Thanks everyone for your responses. Good info and plenty to ponder. A lot of love for SRAM and a bit of a shock that 2.5k might not be enough for electronic shifters, although I understand that they only go on quality bikes.

Second hand bikes are certainly in play. As are old season bikes if there are any left. I'll have a good think and hopefully get sorted. I'll post what i find out and decide. Thanks again X

 

[Ajax Bay]

Recommend a straightforward road bike with 2x11 mechanical shifting (assume that's what you had on the Specialised, going Di2 adds a level of unfamiliarity: best kept to one change at a time) and clip-ons for training in a TT position and for actual race. GTN address this exact point and James says it how it is. When deciding frame size consider that you will be riding it on drops but also on the tribars: don't be tempted to buy a bike that not a good fit for you, however attractive/bargain it is/seems to be.
My daughter (your height) started on an old Giant with clip-ons and then moved to an Orbea Ordu designed for TT when she got better. Now on this, for 2023:

How about a boardman air? As used by the brownlee brothers.

Once upon a time. They're now both on BMC.

 

[HLaB]

@RedLeggedPartridge only thing I can think that may cause some problems when choosing is if the bike is UCI approved or not. I don’t think the “Ironman” brand is regulated by the UCI but some triathlons are.

Are you thinking about TTs, they can be UCI regulated, Triathlons are not. It's one of the reasons manufacturers have TT bikes and Tri bikes in their range.

 

[Ajax Bay]

OP is after a road bike. All those within scope are UCI legal, not that it matters for a nanosecond in this circumstance.