You’ve decided to do your first duathlon. You need a bike. What do you choose? Your first and least expensive option is to pull out that your old junker from college wipe off the cobwebs, spray some WD-40 on the chain, and hope that the tubes will hold air.  If you’re smart, you’ll do this at least a couple of days before your event (hopefully sooner). 

The problem with this approach is that the bike in the garage probably didn’t fit you in the first place. FIND A BIKE THAT FITS. If you’re just aiming for the fitness challenge, the type of bike is irrelevant - unless you’re doing an off-road duathlon. For an on-road duathlon course, a mountain, road, or hybrid style bike will do the job. Don’t be intimidated by the $10,000 machines at the transition area when you show up to the event.  This is about you meeting your goals and completing the task. There are countless systems of bike fit, but the folks at your local bike shop should be able to get you comfortable.  

If you decide that you enjoy the sport and want to upgrade your bike, I suggest purchasing a road bike then adding clip on bars [Bias notice: I was a road cyclist long before I was a multipart athlete]. I find a pure road bike more comfortable and easier to train on. I do have a pure triathlon bike that I use for competition, but I’m aiming to be quite competitive. In my limited experience with duathlon and triathlon, beginners generally don’t need a faster bike to improve their times, they need to ride more. 

After some time, the endurance sport virus will infect every cell in your body.  At this point, you might consider that owning a bike more expensive than your car is perfectly normal.  Before you get to that point, several bike manufacturers are making "entry level" triathlon bikes.  As an example, for just under two grand, the Jamis Comet comes with all the major features (namely, aerodynamics) that make a triathlon bike unique.

I did my first duathlon on an old Guercotti cyclocross bike. It had thin walled aluminum tubing.  With a frame my size, it rode like a wet noodle. I didn’t have any aero bars, and the back brake was fashioned to look like it would work.  It didn’t matter though.  I had a blast. 

What was your first duathlon bike? Let us know in the comments.