Racergirl

Hi,
I have been doing road triathlons for a couple of years.
What I want to do is start doing off road triathlon as I enjoy running trails more than anything. My question would be, what is a good entry level bike? Is there anything differnt that I should be doing to make this switch? I run upto 15k on the trails around Cultus lake. I swim in the lake as much as possible. The only thing is that I do not mountain bike. Would downhill be better or just riding the fireroads work?

Thanks.

Dan

So cool that you are just getting started... is Cultus Lake near Vedder Mountain? My first big race was at Vedder and their are badass trails there... lots of land for training.

Orbea makes a great entry level bike called the Scape. You can customize your components to decide how much you want to spend. That is what is cool about Orbea. You can spend exactly how much you want on exactly the stuff you want. As a beginner, you might want to look at the OIz full suspension, which is a little more forgiving while you are first learning.

However, you don't want to stick to roads. You need to learn to ride single track. I am sure there are trails around you that will suit every level you go through on your way to being an expert rider, so make sure you challenge yourself appropriately.

It sounds like you have your run and swim going in the right direction, the only suggestion I would make is to try and do some of it in a group environment. It will make you faster.

M

Actually, I run around Vedder mountain, and some of the trails around the lake.
I did run one trail that had a whole bunch of jumps and bridges. They do have alot of trails there.
Do they have those types of obstacles in the X-terras?
They do get quite high. Then, I can always go the North shore with some buddies.

Thanks for the advice.
Will head out and search for the bike.