Tom-with all due respect, you live in a bubble. And, the things you state below asr based on a handful of interactions with probably les than 100 people. It's ok, I live in that bubble too. You are using the fact that people show up at triathlons with crappy, "starter" bikes to show that others who don't even own such a bike can afford such a bike, and thus can afford triathlon. The people you see at these races can afford triathlon, at least at a basic level. The people you know can probably afford triathlon at least at a basic level. The average american cannot. The poverty rate is like 12%--those people can't even afford food and clothes. The poeple you and I interact with do not remotely represent what the average American can/cannot afford. Now, I don't know that those people would do triathlon if they could afford it any more than you, but they are much more likely to try basketball or soccer because it requires nothing more than a $10 ball to play those sports. The argument that money is not an impediment to triathlon (even at the cheapest possible equipment) is just insane to me.

Regardless of whether such an impediment actually exists, my bigger point raised above was that triathlon participants consist of wealthier individuals.