Notgiven wrote:
I am new to cycling and intend on doing some sprint triathlons in the near
future. I've been doing spinning classes but it's time to purchase a bike.

Here are my goals and likely usage:

Many thanks for your help!!

My 2 cents:

My case was very much like yours to start (goals, training, spinning
experience).

I bought a decent road bike in ebay. Mistake! Even though I thought I
was buying the right stuff, it was all wrong. Anyway, with the wrong
bike, I'm still making it to the top 3 to 10 in my age group (40-44
male) in the local races.

Lessons learned... You can buy a decent used road bike for less than
500u$d and do a very good job at the races, specially if its sprint
triathlons. But buy the bike at your local "good" bike shop. This is
where you will frequently go for service, spares, tech stuff. If you
buy it there, you will have some sort of warranty, and they will
service your bike, because they like happy customers. They'll fit the
bike for you, and they'll try to sell you the bike that better fits you
(if they are honest).

High tech stuff is expensive. You'll want it, and if you like the
sport, you will probably end up buying, but you don't need to start
spending today. A good road bike with aerobars will do the job to
start, and you can keep your budget low.

Good luck.