ROAD BIKE ANATOMY

Introducing the £799 Vitus Razor XR… and all you need to know about picking a bike for triathlon

01 SADDLE

Although you’re buying a road bike, you’ll soon look to upgrade your set-up via clip-on bars. That means your position will ease forward slightly and, in turn, have you gravitating toward a triathlon-specific saddle. Why? The front of a tri saddle is often comfier than road saddles as that’s where you’ll spend many a mile. Many also feature a central cutaway section to relieve pressure on your undercarriage. Note that the saddle your bike comes with will arguably be fine when not using aerobars.

02 WHEELS

These should be versatile for a range of cycling scenarios, from racing to training, commuting to even shopping. That versatility presents itself as good durability, strength and a reasonably low weight, which comes via aluminium wheels. Your next wheel upgrade will open the doors to deep-rimmed carbon models for greater aerodynamics.

03 FRAME

Carbon dominates the bike sheds of elite and experienced age-group triathletes. And with prices coming down thanks to the likes of Vitus and their Zenium (£999.99), their popularity’s growing further. However, generally aluminium rules at this level. But that doesn’t mean inferiority rules, too. Like the wheels, aluminium’s strong, lightweight and durable. It’s also damn comfortable, soaking up road buzz like a sponge. Geometry’s slightly shallower than triathlon bikes, resulting in a less-aggressive, but still fast, position.

04 GEARS

Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM are the major groupset players. Each features a hierarchy of models, the increasing price reflecting smoother shifting, lighter weight and more gears. But in today’s competitive market, the quality of even entry-level groupsets is impressive. Take Shimano, whose second offering, Soris, is excellent value and does 90% of what more expensive options do with a minor weight penalty. Upfront, the double chainring is 50/34; the rear-wheel nine-speed cassette is 11-28. This combo’s perfect for taming the steepest of hills.

05 HANDLEBARS

Drop handlebars are the proven way to ease into your most sustainable position, whether that’s on the tops, hoods or drops. But being a triathlete, you’ll soon look to a pair of clip-on aerobars for further drag reductions – and that means more speed. As the name suggests, these extensions clip on to your handlebars so you can stretch out. They come in myriad shapes to suit different hand positions. Just check your potential clip-on purchase suits your handlebar diameter. Most do – even if you need a shim – but it’s something to look out for.

06 WHEELS

Your next road bike should propel you faster than ever before – making stopping power even more important. For years, caliper brakes ruled. These work by clamping to the rim of your wheel. They’re reliable… but are being usurped by the more powerful and impressive disc brakes. Essentially, these are the style that feature in your car where pads close on a rotor disc attached to your wheel. These are particularly impressive in the wet.