All My son is a Tri athlete with promise, he has raced in 14 triathlons in the last three years and has won 9 of 10 two seconds and thirds. Last year he moved into the 11-14 year old USAT group and has been winning his races. My problem and what I am look for direction from you is .... at 12 he is growing like a weed and I can not afford the bikes he needs for his height (now 5 7’) I had been successful finding nice local bikes from race friends (current bike is a Cannondale r800) Ebay bike scare me because you have little recourse on bikes that have been ridden into the ground. He needs a 56cm this year. Nicer bikes at this size usually belong to folks that really ride and put hard miles on them. Does anyone have, know of anyone, know of a good website or bike shop that deals with quality race bikes for a developing triathlete? Many thanks for your response, be safe and have fun
Bruce
Posted by Bruster1 a 50 year old Racer riding a cannondale from milwaukee on 08/20/08
Bruster, First of all, congrats to your son. I have a 7 year old who is quite a little hammer head and I hope he too will be encouraged to race sometime soon.
Since you're in Milwaukee, I wouldn't know of any bike shops in your area but I bet if you type in "triathlon bikes" in a search engine like google, you will get a million sites to look at but here's a suggestion you might think about considering. You say your son has won several races and has a few seconds and thirds? Why dont you put together a resume of his accomplishments listing dates and races he's won along with results of other races he's competed in, any websites addresses where results can be viewed, pictures, etc... and take them around to local bike shops as well as fax them to some bike companys looking for sponsership. Explain how you son could be riding a bike from "insert bike co name here" and how he's shredding up the competition. You might get lucky and find a bike shop looking for team riders and are willing to set you up with a bike or clothing or race entry fees. This is how a lot of pros get their foot in the door of corporate sponsership.
Best of luck.
Posted by Dirtshark99 a 46 year old Cross-Country Rider from Santa Clarita on 08/21/08