Among the various brands and models, it is not easy to choose a suitable bicycle for yourself. We often hesitate because of the dazzling array of designs and styles, and some of them are extremely expensive.
So when you make a choice, what is the key factor that determines your choice?
Quality? Price? After-sales service?
A good brand is of course a guarantee of quality, but it is not eternal and absolute. Carbon fiber products have a certain proportion of potential risks in their production process. This problem can never be circumvented.
Price is often an important factor that people care about and can directly compare. Especially when our pockets are not very abundant, we will think twice about how to choose our favorite.
Good after-sales service can often save us a lot of troubles when we encounter some difficult to overcome problems. Of course, some brands are expensive enough to make him afford to replace a product because he has enough profit margins. But most of the time, buyers pay too much unnecessary expenses for this.
Smart people are often keen on pursuing cost-effective products. He will learn to dig out good products from the source.
Of course there are other key factors to consider.
| Criteria | Description |
| Sizes Offered | While most bike brands can fit almost every body with some adjusting, models with a greater number of frame sizes will fit easier and handle better. |
| Fit Range | This is not only the number of sizes offered, but also the range from smallest to largest. Obviously tri bikes can (and should) be adapted by a good fitter, and a fitter should ideally be consulted even before purchasing a bike, but this rating details how much adjustment (I.e., aerobar spacers, alternate saddle positions, etc) from the frame’s baseline could be required to get an optimal fit. |
| Value | Here we look at the value behind the complete bike, looking mostly at components, but also frame quality as well. This is not just absolute price from low to high. |
| Comfort | This rating specifically judges the complete bike on vertical compliance, not fit or handling. Keep in mind that more than just a frame can affect comfort, and since we evaluate the complete bike as it’s sold, other components can come into play—wheels, tires, even bars. |
| Acceleration Stiffness | This is another rating that looks at the sum of the parts on the complete build. Here we’re evaluating how the bike responds under high torque (standing up over a hill or out of a corner) and high wattage (powering over a roller). Again, other components aside from the frame can come into play here. |
| Handling Tightness | Separate from stability, this is the rating that scores how sharp the bike cuts corners. This isn’t necessarily a positive thing if you prefer a bike that sweeps more reliably through corners, as opposed to a bike that can turn on a dime. 5/5 here is very tight handling; 1 / 5 is a bike that swoops out on corners but might be more consistent. |
| Stability | This rating looks at how stable a bike feels in the aerobars in crosswinds and on descents. A more stable bike will require less input from the rider to stay straight, but again, it looks at the complete bike as a whole—wheels included. |
| Best Distance | This is a quick look at which distance tri the bike will be good for, out of the box. Of course pretty much all the bikes we review work for almost any distance, but these distances are where each complete bike—as shipped—will shine. |
| Ease of Assembly | With so many bike brands using the direct-to-consumer model, we rate how easy the home build would be for the average triathlete. Here, we’re assuming a low level of mechanical skill—for instance, the person we’re rating for could change a tire, but maybe not adjust a derailleur. |
| Integrated Hydration | This rating considers the ease of use in using, refilling, installing, and cleaning the bike’s integrated hydration, if available. |
| Volume of Integrated Hydration | As many of today’s high-end triathlon bikes offer integrated hydration, we note how much volume the bike can store, out of the box. |
