BUILT TO BUDGET SPEC'D FOR SPEED

Go to a specialist to build your dream tri bike to order and things can soon get a bit... Pricey. But is it possible to do it yourself for less? Bruce Wilson decided to have a go ahead of his next tri...

- WORDS AND IMAGES BRUCE WILSON

The internet is a dangerous place; one minute you're asking it for advice on pruning hydrangeas... and the next you've fallen down the rabbit hole of looking for bargain tri bikes.

I must admit, casually scanning Facebook Marketplace has become a bit of a habit in recent times, so when I stumbled across a frame for a Giant Trinity, I wasn't even looking for one. But there it was, luring me in with its provocative £500 price tag. Nope, it didn't have wheels, extensions, a group set or even crank arms for that matter. But it was blue, and it was cheap, and it was located just 15 miles down the road - I had to have it. A message of intent was sent, and a time and location was fired back my way in return. The deal was on.

It's at this point that I should profess I'd never owned a proper tri bike before, competing for over a decade on road bikes with clamp-on tri bars to achieve aerodynamics marginally greater than my garden shed. In the last few years, I've started to take triathlons that bit more seriously and reasoned that the 'cheat code' I was lacking was the coveted tri bike. Surely, it'd make a difference and give me an edge in the discipline I like most? Such thoughts ladened my mind as I jettisoned the kids' car seats, to make room for my new acquisition, before heading off into the distance, destined for a nearby McDonalds. Under the watchful eyes of families devouring enough calories to power an Ironman, I came face to face with the seller and the Trinity. ‘Do you want to take a look around it’, he asked? Well, I did, but there wasn’t really that much to look at, barring the scuff on the seat post, and the other up by the headstock. It was as skeletal as any other bare bone frame you’ll see, so I saved him and I the time of delving deeper and handed over the money that’d been destined for a day out at Peppa Pig World.