The cycling leg might be only one-third of a triathlon, but it’s probably the most expensive.
As the part that requires the most kit and the most planning in advance in terms of maintenance and preparation, getting the right bike for your tri can be a big decision. Only the human body itself is a more complex part of the equation.
There are a few things that set a triathlon bike apart from road bikes, though the two types clearly share a heritage. Aero bars are the most obvious, with this evolved form of the classic drop handlebars helping you to tuck your arms in for decreased aerodynamic drag. Triathlon bikes are also not covered by the same rules that dictate the structure of a competition road bike, so you’ll see broader tubes and what may appear to be strange geometric arrangements rather than the skinny but stiff creations beloved of the fastest road racers.
Seat tube angles tend to be steeper too, shifting the rider further forward to make tucking in on the aero bars easier. This has the effect of changing the angle at which your legs interact with the pedals too, potentially allowing for more aggressive pedalling. This, in turn, means you’ll require a slightly different saddle, as with your legs moving differently, there's the risk of chafing and other discomfort from a standard road bike saddle. Put this all together, and a specialised triathlon bike can end up looking very different to a road racing bike, almost futuristic in the way it combines modern materials with design features such as the aero bars, multiple bottle holders, and extended trailing edges from the tubes.
So if the challenge and excitement of the triathlon have got themselves under your skin, and you’re thinking of upgrading your bike to help shave a bit of time off, then here are some of the best bikes you should be looking at.
Best triathlon bikes at a glance:
- Best overall: Canyon Speedmax CF 7 Di2 - £4,649, Canyon
- Best for beginners on a budget: Triban RC 500 Disc Brake - £699, Decathlon
- Best for a bit of a bargain: Giant Trinity Advanced Pro 2 - £3,899, Giant
- Best for a multi-use bike: Ribble Ultra-Aero SL R - Hero - £7,999, Ribble
- Best for the complete tri package: Trek Speed Concept SLR 9 - £11,250, Trek Bikes
- Best for comfort and speed: Cervelo P5 Ultegra Di2 Disc - £8,899, Sigma Sports
- Best for coming in black: Orro Venturi Tri - £5,999, Orro Bikes
- Best for money no object: Argon 18 E119 SRAM Red AXS - £13,550, Argon 18
Canyon Speedmax CF 7 Di2
Best: overall
This carbon fibre frame with electronic Shimano shifting is highly aerodynamic and, at just 9.54kg, pretty light too. The CF 7 offers fully integrated cable routing, aero bars that rise smoothly from the frame, and there's even a ‘hydration system’ - a water bottle, basically - that’s been designed especially for the bike and attaches to it with a magnet.
The top tube has an integrated box for you to keep snacks in, and there's a toolbox that integrates seamlessly with the frame down by the bottom bracket. The frame itself is moulded in one piece, but the saddle height is still adjustable, and the DT Swiss carbon wheels offer a superb blend of aerodynamics and strength.
Buy now £4649.00, Canyon
Triban RC 500 Disc Brake
Best for: beginners on a budget
Triathlon bikes don’t have to look like spaceships. This model from Triban is an aluminium-framed road bike with mechanical disc brakes and a Shimano groupset. It’s designed for touring and bikepacking, but can hold its own as a beginner triathlon bike as it’s comfortable for riding long distances, such as the 40km of an Olympic-distance triathlon.
It may be a bike you’ll upgrade from rather than aspire to, but with its low cost, it makes an ideal entry point to the sport.
Buy now £699.00, Decathlon
Giant Trinity Advanced Pro 2
Best for: a bit of a bargain
The Trinity Advanced Pro 2 certainly looks the part, with its aerodynamic, wind-tunnel tested shape and futuristic cockpit, but the fact that it’s possible to pick up a bike of this quality for less than £4,000 is remarkable.
It’s a bike from 2022, so newer models such as Giant’s Trinity Advanced SL have stolen much of its thunder and introduced new features, but with a composite frame, aero bars, 11-speed Shimano cassette, Giant SpeedControl SL brakes and tubeless tyres, it’s still a bike to be reckoned with.
Buy now £3899.00, Giant
Ribble Ultra-Aero SL R - Hero
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Best for: a multi-use bike
A speedy road bike rather than a pure triathlon specialist, but this machine from Ribble has still been built with aerodynamics in mind. It combines a stiff frame with a carbon cockpit and wheels with top-end Shimano Dura-Ace components (with 12-speed wireless shifting) and impressive-looking drop handlebars with a wing-like section that, Ribble claims, disrupts the airflow of the bars’ wake so that the rider’s legs can sit comfortably within it rather than creating drag.
Buy now £7999.00, Ribble
Trek Speed Concept SLR 9
Best for: the complete tri package
You can spend a lot on a triathlon bike, and the Trek Speed Concept SLR 9 is a lot of money. For your money, you get a complete triathlon package that combines the sculpted tri-bike look that speaks of years of wind-tunnel testing with extra storage for hydration, gels and bars to keep you going on long rides.
Along with the carbon frame, you also get disc brakes, a 12-speed wireless Shimano drivetrain and carbon wheels that help to make the bike remarkably light too.
Buy now £11250.00, Trek
Cervelo P5 Ultegra Di2 Disc
Best for: comfort and speed
It may be climbing the price hierarchy a bit, but the Cervelo P5 Ultegra Di2 is a fast and nimble triathlon bike with clearance for 34mm tyres and larger armrests on its aero bars than the company’s previous model, not only making it more comfortable to ride, but allowing you to spend longer in the best aerodynamic position too.
Along with all this sleek design, you get a 12-speed Shimano chainset with electronic shifters, hydraulic disc brakes, and plenty of carbon fibre to keep things light.
Buy now £8899.00, Sigma Sports
Orro Venturi Tri
Best for: coming in black
Only available in black, and looking pretty cool as a result, the Orro Venturi Tri is based on the firm’s range of road bikes, but adds triathlon-specific features such as the aero bars and aerodynamic rider position. Orro’s exclusive Sigmatex Spread Tow carbon fibre is used throughout the frame, while a mix of Shimano Ultegra Di2 and Dura Ace components provides wireless shifting and hydraulic braking.
An optional bento box is available to fit your snacks for long-race refuelling, and Vredestein Fortezza tubeless tyres round out a bike that’s pure class.
Buy now £5999.00, Orro
Argon 18 E119 SRAM Red AXS
Best for: money no object
There are cheaper versions of this bike, but the SRAM Red AXS configuration of the E-119 Tri+ Disc is tricked out with some high-quality components. You get the integrated cables and storage you’d expect from a tri bike, along with wireless SRAM gear shifting, integrated hydraulic brakes with their callipers hidden away to avoid creating drag, aggressively positioned aero bars and carbon wheels to shave off a little weight.
It’s not the sort of bike you’ll buy on a whim, but if you absolutely need to fly down the cycling stage, then it could be worth the investment.
Buy now £13550.00, Argon 18
Verdict
While it’s perfectly possible to ride a road bike in a triathlon, if you’re taking the sport very seriously indeed, a specialised tri bike comes with advantages that you can’t ignore. The lightweight carbon fibre bikes here offer aerodynamically tuned performance and aggressive riding positions that can save you seconds over the course of a long ride. Bikes such as the Canyon Speedmax CF 7 Di2 are wonders of modern design that have been built with pure speed in mind, and should be top of the list of aspiring triathletes.
