I'm not sure where you are, so I'm totally just guessing, but are there baby seals involved in this ride? Because, I may have heard of it [or at least, something like it]

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I think most of the time it's more gentle piss-taking rather than hating, but it's basically driven by some natural behaviours that don't just apply to triathletes:
- specialists are often disdainful of a jack of all trades. You see it in the construction industry as well for example. From the perspective of a pure runner or cyclist, most (not all) triathletes are mediocre at 3 sports instead of being decent at 1
- New converts to any activity often have an annoying blend of enthusiasm and ignorance which is very easy to mock. Many triathletes are fairly new to the sport, and many of them are new to the whole sport/active lifestyle and therefore tend to go a bit over the top on gadgets, clothing, training regimes, etc. Plenty of opportunity there for a cynical old veteran to poke fun at.
- There's always a bit of resentment when something new (ish) comes along and does well. Triathlon has seen some pretty rapid growth, and the runners and cyclists are finding that their favourite shops are now catering to triathletes, there are triathletes entering their events, there are triathletes out training on their favourite ride/run (and quite possibly with poor handling skills or poor etiquette as well!).

Hey all,

I come from a cycling background of 22 years. I have been riding road bikes on streets, trails and group rides since I was 13. That said, I can say I have an idea how cyclist view triathletes generally. (Triathlete for the past 4 years)

- In general, the cycling community comes across snobbish; I'm not sure what it is, but I can join a crit training group ride of 40+ cyclist and get not a single hello or anything. And I'm one to open up conversation and meet people typically.
- Triathletes share the road with cyclists. Cycling itself has many unspoken rules and with a lot of new triathletes, comes new cyclists, and we tend to do things that are easily mocked at. From drafting without asking, aero bars on road bikes (to each their own, but here is the truth), gearing up way to much (really need 4 bottles on a 50 mile ride? I find that many times, only 2 got used) and just going on and on about gear that contradicts conventional wisdom.
Yes, we are entitled to our own opinion, and myself says, to each their own. But the general community doesn't always give the benefit of the doubt and likes to quickly judge. I've tried to combat this and surround myself with open hearted athletes in all disciplines and to help mold the community likewise. Be open to critique as well, just because you like it, it doesn't mean it is accepted and maybe even safe.

Thanks for reading my ramble.........

Bill

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70 point something - Felt, Profile Twenty Four, Shimano

I'm new to triathlons and have been noticing that pure cyclists and pure runners in the community don't speak well of triathletes.

I don't know about runners, but from the pure cyclist perspective, triathlons tend to be participation events. This is a far cry from actual cycling races. Even your lowliest Cat5 racers needs to be very fit and capable or they will quickly quit the sport. For many participants in triathlons just finishing is considered a major success. It has much more in common with a "fun" ride.

Just look at the Ironman World Championships for instance, compared to say... the Tour de France. At Kona the great majority aren't even pros... and some didn't even qualify to be there.

Consequently there are loads of triathletes with lots of money to buy the latest equipment and participate, but have no interest in learning the fine details of any part of the sport they are a participant in. For instance compared to the typical bike racer they know basically nothing about bicycles... like basic maintenance even... while a typical bike racer will know how to overhaul his machine. Many think that riding outside is too scary, so spend all their time on the trainer... then on race day they fall down and run into stuff. Bike racers ride outside in all weather and all traffic and usually in a group, and do training "races" on public roads regularly.

In a nutshell... at the pointy end of the sport I'm certain that triathletes get a lot of respect, but at the lower levels it is another story.

people hate because of JEALOUSY so they must be jealous.

It's fun, especially in group-rides.

I train mostly on my road bike and only now start to unwrap the tri-bike. During a group-ride, they still easily spot me as the triathlete because of the rear-hydration. It doesn't hold a water-bottle but it packs a storage pack with spare-tube, tools, some cash etc... The fun starts when they start working together, to get me out of the group. I don't care, I actually let them do it if they feel the need to, it says more about them then it does about me (if they need a group to achieve that, I consider it a compliment). The fun part comes when we are turning into a head-wind, they are all looking for me and willing to creep in my wheel just to keep their average speed up. The typical cyclist has never ran anything more then 10k. They have no idea what it feels like to run a sub 1:20 open 1/2 marathon or sub-3 open marathon. They know that on a 180k group-ride, they can be in the pack and come back home in reasonable shape.

I'm reasonably colour-coordinated but is is purely based on luck as I bought the different items over multiple years. I addition I routinely make the cardinal sin of laughing loud with "The Rules".

WIth runners, it happes to a lesser content. Most can't even contemplate running a 1:25 1/2 marathon after a 90k ride, let alone a marathon after a 180k ride. Somehow they show more respect because they know how hard it is.
Pure swimmers, are more like runners, they are fast fishies in the pool and laugh at our lack of technique, not lack of physique. In addition, they have heard of open water, but few have ventured there... Some run occasionally, hence they have a reasonable idea how hard it is to build speed over distance.

But as many have said, rants are based on jealousy. Haters gonna hate, True athletes gonna be appreciative towards other athletes, irrespective of their discipline(s) / sports.

Look for the quote of Killian Jornet 'We Are People" -> "Summits of My Life". Only the very best trail-runner alive, coming from a ski-touring background and has the 3rd highest VO2max so far recorded. Going from Italy to France over Mont Blanc in 6hrs and little change. Just YouTube him. Up-and-down Kilimanjaro in 8hrs and little. The guy is a true example of a great athelete and even better personality. Sure there are other examples as well.

This is my perception and piece of internet-opinion, therefor it can't be the absolute truth,

Steven

and hate, to the dark side of the Force it leads.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Because if it hasn't been said already:

You can walk into a room and you don't have to ask who the triathlete is ....... they will tell you.

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_____________________________________________
Rick, "Retired" hobbyist athlete
Trying to come back slowly from acute A-Fib

"there is a tendency for some triathletes to want to tell me in detail about their latest workout, which can be kind of tedious, or figure out a way to work the "Ironman" into any conversation, in case I missed the hat, tattoo, car sticker and t-shirt."

LOL!! Sort of like that old joke - "At a party how can you tell who the ironman is. Don't have to. He'll tell you." :-)

"You can walk into a room and you don't have to ask who the triathlete is ....... they will tell you."

Heck, you just beat me to it by one post!!

Any sport or participants in a sport such as triathletes, that would demonize a poor defenseless pacing gorilla deserves to be hated.....



LOL

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http://www.TomMoschettoFitness.com
Cycling Coach/Trainer/Motorpacing/Computrainer Rental

I agree

As should any sport wherein a woman gets punched in the head just for moonwalking on [what may have been] the wrong side of the road

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Seriously. I read this thread and the amount of insecurity is astounding.

You want to see real "hatred"....in my neighborhood it seems to be guys driving Dodge Ram trucks, particularly diesels. They seem to get a weird superiority vibe by passing with their side mirror as close as possible to me and my bike.

I'll take any abuse I might get any day from road cyclists and runners over those assholes truckers who actually, apparently, want to kill me (or at the very least pass close enough that I'm forced off the road into a ditch where I'm killed in the subsequent crash).

Worked at a big shop a while ago, triathlon bikes were a very small portion of our sales, we averaged around 40 bikes a week in the spring and summer and we only sold one tri bike every week if that. Mountain bikes were the primary seller, then hybrids, then road bikes, then tri/tt bikes.