B_Doughtie wrote:
Red Cross released a study that 80% of the population *claim* they can swim, but 44% admit they would fail basic swim skill tests consisting of:
Those skills are: floating or treading for 1 minute, jumping into deep water and coming up for air, spinning around in the water and then finding a way out, getting out of a pool without a ladder and swimming one pool length without stopping. https://www.local3news.com/...e9-1b186d16b035.html So when 1/2 the population can't/won't/don't swim, your sport is "elitist" by default. This is mostly the angle I was coming at.
Running is the lowest barrier to entry. Shoes, can do it anywhere. Shoot, some folks do it sans shoes.
Bike IMHO is next. People who think it takes a $10k bike are just to damned lazy to be bothered to think through the financials or the DIY repairs and bike fit/aero work. I bet my whiz bang Trinity with same bike fit is NOT hardly any faster than when I had my $500 all-in Felt DA dumpster find bike.
Swim is worst. It's already societally the most difficult barrier to entry, ignoring cost. Add pool membership and the cost of personal time, meaning having a good enough job that affords you the time to do this shit............you're already in an elite part of society.
This is why when bored or for filler fun I enter duathlons. I love to ride the bike and I don't "mind" running. Cheaper entry fees. No pool crap required.
I just get tired of folks claiming to "be competitive" that you "must" have the $10k bike. Folks are lazy at aero and bike fiting and the DIY things that save big money with the tri bike.
Freaking nice Dengfu framesets for like $600. All in 2x mech bike with modern width Chinese wheels for like $2000? Used Craigslist tri bike for $1k and some good bike fit and aero virtual elevation testing?
Eventually some seatpost clamp carbon stuff started to decompose and I could not source a replacement, so it's now just wall art. I still own/use that disc and 9+ and the power meter and the saddle.
My Trinity is NOT that much faster purely on frameset than the final project on my DA was. No way.
This: about $500 all in
To this: about $1500 all in