A bike, a speedo, and a pair of shoes?

---

I wrote this, you should read it:
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...n_Swimming_6700.html

I wish I had a good answer for this because I'd save a lot of money. But my perspective on triathlon is that all of the fancy gear makes the sport worth suffering for. Go out and get yourself the most expensive direct drive trainer you can find, Mario. You deserve it!

---

---------------------------------------------------------------

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm

Googles & a tank top to pin your number on (but you will get a race shirt at most races and you could just use that)...unless you are a masochist.

But straight up...a bike, a speedo, and some shoes are everything you need.

There is no shoe requirement to race.. so a bike and a speedo are really all you need. And safety pins for your race number unless you can tuck it into your speedo somehow

---

Strava

helmet

All that is ever required to enter (basically) any race are a bike and a helmet.
From a "functional" perspective, comfy shoes and goggles are the next two on the list as nearly essential, in that order.
For triathlon, a Speedo is the swimming equivalent of clip-on aero bars: it's an early step in taking the sport a bit more seriously.

While it could be done really, really minimally (barefoot, etc.), for a more serious list there are few things I think are well worth it on top of the obvious (bike, helmet, water bottle, etc.).

Tri Shorts - Can be worn for all biking, swimming, and running. A swimsuit/shorts will be necessary so this may be a more comfortable option if you intend to spend time training and doing multiple races.
Number belt - Really cheap and just makes everything go smoother in transition. Much nice compared to the annoyance of pins.
Goggles - While I'm one who only wears goggles when absolutely necessary, if the race is in a heavily chlorinated or really muddy water, you will be wanting goggles.

There is such a thing?lol

Emilio once told me he swims without goggles. Not sure he was messing with me.

I used to run barefoot, did a couple of races that way. Once you're used to it, it's pretty fun.

Seen a guy do an Ironman barefoot on the bike, too.

Seen a guy do Kona on a singlespeed or fixie. If you did a fixie, you still need brakes.

So basically, just a helmet, bike with one gear and brakes, and speedo.

---

----------------------------------------------------------
Zen and the Art of Triathlon. Strava Workout Log
Interviews with Chris McCormack, Helle Frederikson, Angela Naeth, and many more.
http://www.zentriathlon.com

Obviously a tough question to answer, especially because everyone has a different concept of "bare essential." I would be more interested in a question that went like "How much money would I have to spend on bike equipment (and for a fit?) starting from scratch to get within X% of my potential IM bike time assuming my fitness makes my potential somewhere near [the front of the MOP, KQ, or whatever standard you want to use]? Please include a list of each item and expected cost."

Everyone knows that the diminishing returns curve gets pretty steep, so X% could be a pretty low number and still get you pretty fast. And the info back would show how responders would do equipment trade-offs to get to a reasonable $ amount (sorry to be so crass, but $s are a good way to measure) (e.g., new versus old bike model, new versus used, helmet versus speed suit, deep wheels/disc?, wheel cover?, etc.

ANyway, good luck.

I don't know if I'm a minimalist, but I sure don't have a lot of fancy stuff. My bike is a NOS Cervelo P1, I got really cheap. Not even carbon, but it beats a lot of carbon that has a weaker but richer engines. My pedals are the cheapest SPD's I could find on Amazon, and basic mt. bike shoes with speed laces. I traded my mt. bike for some Roval 50mm carbon wheels... probably the best component I have. My tri shorts/top/helmet are all old model, NOS Amazon sell-outs. Nice SLS3 clothing, just a year or two older. And a nice NOS Air-Attack helmet for $45... I guess a color no one wanted (gross light blue/green). I run in Hoka Bondis... always a model or two behind the current offering, and always a fraction of the cost. My transition bag is a beach towel that my wife sewed in half (making it a big sack) and added a draw string to it. Works great, becomes my ground towel, and after the race, I throw everything in it, and I'm good to go. My number belt was also something my wife made, out of dog leash material, with a plastic snap-buckle. I just pin my number to it with old fashioned safety pins. It was a last minute throw together, before my first tri, and works so well, I still use it. The only thing I paid full price for, was my Xlab Hydroblade. Worth every penny, and probably the only "fancy" thing I wouldn't trade for all the bottle racks in the world. If I do use a course offered water bottle, it's for refill, and my jerseys pockets are big enough, if I really need to carry one with me. I'm old, and old school, so don't use any of the modern power meter, HRM, cycle computer type stuff. The only data equipment I have, is a Fenix 3 that was a gift. It does more than I will ever need.

---

Athlinks / Strava

My thoughts too. I only do this shit for the gear ;-)

---

---------------------------------------------------------------

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm

I plan on doing my next Ironman minimalist style, or at least really old school. I felt i spent way to much on the race for the times I achieved. Around 12 hours for both of them. So no wetsuit for the swim, old school bike (non-tri specific with aeros) and of course no fancy race suit or fancy aero helmet. Same gear an average triathlete would have mid 90s I guess.

I don't like the way there is a tendency to associate minimalist with old school. An example would be how one could give all their books away to charity and have their entire library contained on Kindle.

That said, since I gave all my books away and have about three lifetimes of reading on my Kindle and iPad, I spend less time actually reading, but more time browsing through and adding to my collection.

A true minimalist fundamentalist would own one bicycle, it would be fixed gear, used for commuting, training and racing. There would be no gadgets. No power meter, no computer, no GPS. You might call that old school, but what if the wheels and frame were state of the art aerodynamic and incredibly light; that would be minimalist but hardly old school.

I think in Triathlon, minimalism IS old school in many respects. If you did a tri in 1988, you probably didn't wear a wetsuit, your bike had down tube shifters and you had PowerBars taped to your bike frame. No fancy TT bike or wheel set, carbon bottle holders or whatever. The idea of minimalism, especially during an Ironman I think is to use the cheapest possible gear that you will be able to finish the race with without losing much time. But lets not have a quality vs quantity Motorcycle Maintenance debate here. This is how I interpret it and would do it. By the way, I've never used a Powermeter, GPS, heart rate monitor, so you can count that stuff out also. I might have a $200 dollar pair of Oakleys on, but thats irrelevant. But really no one has ever done a serious triathlon on a fixed wheel bike, except for some kids or some newbie.

Correct, I did not race in goggles, not even in salt water. This dates back to when I lifeguarded and my comfort level with keeping my eyes open. In fact here in the Pacific, your eyes sting only when you close them.

The early days were a bike Cinelli hairnet (if a helmet was required), run shoes, bike shoes, and a speedo or lifeguard short. No towel, no socks, no goggles, no shirt, no wetsuit. Race number was pinned to the top of my swimsuit and tucked in for the swim.

---

Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

And a helmet