surfNJmatt wrote:
When are people gonna realize its about body position and the rider?
Stadler record still stands at kona and we have all (most) been passed by that guy on his 20 years old road bike.
Manufactures are scaring people away from the sport buy making them think they need to open 10g to be competitive in a local level.
anyone agree?
Body position is huge. I'm not going to say it's "everything" but it's a very, very, very big component of aerodynamic drag (70% +/-) and amateurs spend shockingly little time testing and refining their position even though the tools are available to them. Interestingly enough, if you spend some time on the UK time trial forums you'll notice the people there spend more time talking about position than equipment.
I disagree by what you seem to imply about aero equipment not actually conferring any material advantage. I've teased out differences myself in the field and seen differences in the tunnel. Equipment does matter.... just maybe not as much as manufacturers would have you believe. The manufacturers aren't all bad actors either. Yes, there are plenty of examples of tests where the deck is stacked but I think there are an equal number of examples of honest, best-effort tests out there (I think QR was pretty honest with their aero data for the PR6).
As someone who's spent way too much money on bikes, helmets, gear, etc. I think you make a very good point: the corporate culture surrounding triathlon is intimidating to beginners. If you're racing on an old steel road bike and you rack next to a $10,000 P5 it's intimidating. You feel like the playing field isn't fair.
*cue the people who say life isn't fair*
Here's the thing: fairness is very important for participation. If you feel like someone can buy their way to the front, you feel a bit jaded about your own effort and performance. Some people might be in the sport just to "complete" rather than "compete" but the thought still enters their head "gee if I only had that bike..." and it's easy to become discouraged and feel like you don't "belong".
To that end, I think the governing bodies need to make the bold step of changing the equipment rules... mostly with regards to the bike. I think we should be limited to double diamond round tube construction and wheels no deeper than 30mm. Within that rule set, I could see companies like Tri Bike Transport, Race Day Wheels, etc offer rental bikes for very reasonable prices. This would encourage upper-middle class participants to travel to more races (weekend race-cations) and for the collegiate swimmer, runner, etc. who doesn't actually own a bike and trains on a spin bike to enter a local sprint race. Once they do a race and decide they want to continue in the sport they can purchase a "bike in a box" for $500 and that's all the investment they'll need to be competitive. Overall, I think it would be a boon for newcomers and it would be good for the sport.
With wetsuits I disagree. It's a safety thing. They shouldn't be discouraged. Also, if you read around, there's really not any tangible speed difference between a $250 Roka Maverick and a $700 Roka Maverick X.
The current path that the sport is on isn't too different from the path that golf was on twenty years ago. That path did not pan out well at all for golf. I hope triathlon can avoid making the same mistake.