Bike shopping, upside down

Mark and I started the Epic Bike Shop a couple of weeks ago. I tried four bikes - the Cervelo P2C (the gold standard, by any accounts thanks to its flexibility in fitting to many different proportioned body types), the Specialized Transition, the Orbea Ora (I decided I should buy this one just so I could call it 'Kia') and something else. I liked the P2C and found it very 'skittish' and nimble. But really I didn't come away from that day thinking that I'd found "The One."

Then, a few days later, I attended the "Bike Fit and Selection" clinic for TeamZ. Ed was talking about the different kinds of bikes and made a few comments about how much he uses and loves hi road bike and although he loves his tri bike, he really doesn't use it all that much and that studies have shown that a tri bike will buy you only 15 minutes over a flat Ironman course. This set me thinking - Lake Placid is very hilly, so presumably the tri bike wouldn't gain me all that much time. But what about how I'd feel getting off the bike? Ed states the obvious - "You're going to feel like crap anyway."

I went home that night, feeling like my world had been turned upside down. I was sure I needed a tri bike. What if I actually don't? What if instead I buy a new road bike - lighter and with compact cranks? I'd get years and thousands of miles out of a road bike considering how much we enjoy bike touring.

But then I started looking at road bikes and I can't find a carbon framed bike with full ultegra in my price range. I'm so frustrated.

So what if I just upgrade Indy? I love Indy - Indy fits me like a glove and I feel comfortable on her. Even if a tri bike saves my quads at the end of 112 miles, it's not going to do me much good if I have a shot back or am otherwise uncomfortable. Indy descends very well (50mph on the descent into Keene, which is on the IMLP course) and is pretty fast on the flat. I've been climbing better on her lately, although she's pretty heavy to haul up those mountains.

I've gotten loads of good advice, but nothing definitive and besides, the new bikes aren't all out yet. So I'm not really any farther forward than I was two weeks ago. I just dont' knwo what to do!

The silver lining is that if I keep my current bike, I can go back to buying shoes.