That's a pretty narrow lens with which they are viewing the sport.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

I didn't need to read the article to know triathletes are elitist snobs, your comment about the guy not knowing how to drink in aero did that for me...

The troll meter is high when I read "run in sneakers" line.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Where I'm from their tennis shoes (which sounds like tenny shoes).

"Huffys with banana seats and baskets on the front are not welcome."

Um, no, such a bike is perfectly welcome, it's just not very fast. There's was a guy several years ago who did Nations Tri on a capital bikeshare bike. Heavy doesn't begin to describe those beasts. It was kind of awesome.

The impression I got from the article is the author doesn't know much about the sport and seems to be impressed by the shinny bikes. IDK where you got triathletes are elitists snobs from that? I'm not saying some are not but I didn't think the article portrayed it that way.

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"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

I've not heard running shoes ever described as tennis shoes or sneakers with any triathlete I've ever encountered.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Didn't some guy do an Ironman on a fatbike last year? And even crank out a fairly decent time?

Quote:

The middle event, though, is the real showstopper: aerodynamic slivers of carbon fiber on wheels...

Someone needs to let him know the wheels are often carbon as well. [/pink]

Agreed. From reading the article, i think the author is actually jealous. He's probably a loser who can't even afford upgrading to shimano 105's, let alone owning a tri-bike. total hipster doofus.

Same here. I have lived there for over 20 years, but I still find myself saying tenny shoes occasionally. At least I broke the "crick" for "creek" habit.

2 people rode fat bikes at last years IMWI. The one you are probably thinking of is John Withrow.

Going back further, there's an interesting story behind the Kona bike restrictions that were essentially a direct response to Cory Foulk finishing on a beach cruiser.

I feel the same way. He doesn't seem to understand there is a huge difference between the average triathlete and the pro. Is he also going to write and article about the pro baseball player with $400 and $500 bats? or the Pro basketball player with many pairs of $150 shoes?

I am very new to the sport of triathlon and for the most part have found everyone very welcoming and helpful. Not sure where the elitist thought process comes in. Not ever sure he sounds jealous, mostly just uniformed.

IMMOO. If I recall correctly he had around a 6 hour bike but it took a toll on the run. He was a fast IM'er to start with anyway. Pretty awesome to see on the course.

I think the author does an exceptional job of a) exposing the farce that is theelite triathlete equipment race of the wealthy (i.e. a gauche consumerist spectacle among the world's most obnoxious narcissists) and b) making Blyler look and sound like a complete dolt.

Three dimensional motion capture machine! Integrated bladder! NARPs must be rolling on the floor laughing...

Really good troll. My respects.

This is the impression I get, too. I imagine someone like my Dad writing the article - thinks it's pretty neat, doesn't know all the lingo or understand the details, and is most amazed by the bikes. This is how the rest of the population looks at us.

This would be like me being asked to write an article on curling - I'd probably just focus on the giant puck thingy or the broomy thingies.

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Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works
Noblesville, IN
BikeFit Instructor | FMS | F.I.S.T. | IBFI
Toughman Triathlon Series Ambassador

I do not see anything in the article to lead me to a negative connotation and "elitist snob" conclusion. To the contrary, it seems like the author is amazed at the technology and cost and is sharing that with the New Yorkers watching the race. The story is told through the eyes of the uninitiated to the other uninitiated.

That said, bikes are insanely expensive. I had planned to buy a <$1K used bike to get into this in December. I abandoned that plan and am riding a ~$6K bike (fully equipped with wheels, pedals, and other accessories), not including helmet, trisuit, etc. And mine is on the dirt cheap end of the spectrum. A typical transition area will have well north of $10M in bicycle value.

The bad thing (or the great thing, depending on your perspective) is the weekend warriors can afford pretty much the same equipment as the pros in some instances. In other sports there is a big divide between the pros and the amateurs when it comes to equipment. In our sport I can rack my bike next to a $200 huffy from Wal-Mart and a $15,000 rig, and no one gives it a second thought. You don't see any other sport, other than long distance running to an extent, when the amateurs and pros mingle and race side by side.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

I played softball for a while, until I aged out. I hit with dual-wall fancy alloy >$300 bats fifteen years ago. The bats barely lasted a season. Kids in little league have carbon bats well north of $400 today. Everyone has to use these bats just to be competitive. Pros pay with wooden bats. This is another area that is insanely expensive, compared to where things were a few decades ago. I am so thankful I do not have kids in little league baseball.

it could be worse ... we could be polo players instead.

"they own 4 to 8 horses!" and they have "these saddles so that they can sit on the horse for a long period of time without thinking that this saddle is kicking my ass" and they feed them this hay but it's not like regular hay, it's "good hay". and these horses cost from "$2k to $100k and that's american dollars, not pesos!"

Funny thing I was at a birthday party with my son and a mother was complaining about a local Kids splash and dash triathlon. She was complaining because a couple of little girls, sisters - 1 won her age group and the other took second in hers, were riding youth road bikes and had actual triathlon gear. It wasn't fair she said, that they are riding $500+ road bikes. She also didn't realize their dad was Dave Mirra. But she got real defensive when another dad called her out for spending $300 on her 8yo son's little league bat.