This summer I'm looking to do some duathlons and maybe one or two triathlons. I did a duathlon about a month ago on a mountain bike, and that wasn't too fun (although I did beat people who had road bikes)... so I've decided to invest in a racing bike. I'm looking for a "novice" racing bike in the $500-$1000 range. Someone mentioned the OCR series by Giant to me awhile ago - are these good? How much does it cost to buy the components separately and build one?

Thanks,
Justin

This summer I'm looking to do some duathlons and maybe one or two triathlons. I did a duathlon about a month ago on a mountain bike, and that wasn't too fun (although I did beat people who had road bikes)... so I've decided to invest in a racing bike. I'm looking for a "novice" racing bike in the $500-$1000 range. Someone mentioned the OCR series by Giant to me awhile ago - are these good? How much does it cost to buy the components separately and build one?

Thanks,
Justin
In that price range you can choose from a whole bunch of decent bikes with nice components. You'll probably be better off hitting all of your local bike shops and seeing what they have to offer in bikes and fitting services. You'll also be wanting to invest in some shoes and pedals and other more roadie-like gear. You're probably not going to get a full triathlon-purpose-built bike in that price range, but you will get a nice road bike. Probably a Shimano 105 group, decent frame material in steel or aluminum or carbon fiber, or a composite bike. Part of your choices will be determined by your size and cycling background and what your local shops offer. Shop for your best package deal and you should do okay.

Here are some here:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/road_bikes.htm

Almost the entire range of 105 bikes is within your price range, even one of the Ultegra bikes. These are perfectly good starter bikes - actually, far better than I started on. You could ride one of these for years, or until upgrade lust hits you, whichever comes first.

If you're local to a Cycle Spectrum, you can test ride one, which is always nice.

Buying from an LBS is a little more expensive than buying from Bikesdirect, but also has lots of advantages if they provide real service on sizing, adjustments and so on. Many shops do this. Others will try to sell you whatever they have in stock, and I don't see a lot of value in paying extra for that privilege.

Good luck.

Thanks for the info... I'll take a look at these.

I've heard good things about Leader Bikes USA (they do business on Ebay). They offer a full Ultegra bike with real nice wheels and components for under $1000. Never ridden one, but the feedback they get (and the reviews here) look pretty good. In fact, I was considering one for crit racing to save damaging my $5500 Seven Axiom Ti.