I will admit to not reading all the posts in this thread...... but...
as a long time participant in triathlon, first race in 82' - I have heard and thought about this topic often.
For some perspective, I think it important to recall that triathlon today is not what it was 10, 20 30+ years ago - this directly relates to equipment and cost. There have been huge advances in both over time.
Second - while almost everything can be done on the cheap or on the expensive side, triathletes as a whole tend to be more excessive and competative - pushing more twards the desire to do things on the more expensive side.
But lets get to the point - if you are a new(ish) person to the sport the idea of doing triathlon can be very overwhealming - particularly on the cost side - because you meet people, ask questions about what you need and see what they are doing. A newbie quickly gets a picture (without the benefit of knowledge, experience or perspective) like this........
I need -
bike - $2000 (and of course you learn fast one bike is not enough)
swim stuff, pool access, wet suit, lessons - $1500
Gear, clothes, cleates, sneaks, ect - $1000
Computers, traine, tri club, strava membership, power taps, watch, ect - $2000
Coach (???) - $3000
Race entries, travel, food, nutrition stuff - $2000
Again - does the person need this stuff - no not all of it - but everyone around them, the vets, the people who look good and (supposedly) are going fast have all this shit.
So on the surface it can very easily appear to be a $12k proposition to jump into your first year of triathlon. On more than one occassion I have had new people say - shit every time i turn around there is another thing I need and it aint cheap - also don;t loose sight on the fact that while most everything above can be bought second hand for far less - these new people dont really know how to navigate the system to find this stuff cheap - and honestly if you are making 9for example) your first bike purchase ever do you feel comfortable buying on line, from some dude you dont know, and have no real clue about what is a good product, fairly used and priced?
I know each point above can be picked apart - but look at it in the whole, from the new person perspective
http://www.clevetriclub.com rob reddy