Triathletes Coming to Arnold Trek Store

An interesting sales trend as occurred at Arnold’s Trek Bicycle Store, at 2194 Michigan Ave., since it opened last year.

A lot of triathletes have purchased high-performance bikes at the store, Inventory Manager Jon Pessin said.

While an exact number of triathlete purchases was not available, Pessin said the amount of high-performance bikes sold was very large compared against the Arnold population.

When the store opened in 2011 the manager, at the time, said he expected that most items sold would be recreational bikes priced at about $600.

Those bikes have aluminum or steel frames, have good components and are meant for riding on weekends with friends and family.  Occasionally, people use those bikes for exercise.

Triathletes’ bikes cost between $2,000 and $6,000 and are made of lightweight components. Frames are made of carbon fiber instead of aluminum, components are composed of titanium instead of steel, and the wheels have a low amount of wind resistance.

The lower weight and wind resistance allows athletes to generate higher riding speeds on the bike.

Arnold streets are not really biker friendly, said Drew Cistola, the service manager at the Arnold Trek bicycle store. “But there is a growing trend in triathlons and a growing number of triathletes throughout the country.”

Triathlons appeal to people, especially to women, because they compete against themselves instead of against other people, Cistola said.

Triathletes are continuously improving their speed, their endurance, their strength and their overall racing times.

People can also become very athletic—through swimming, running and biking—on a relatively low budget by becoming a triathlete.

People can ride a $600 bike in a triathlon.