I have some Decathlon gear that I find quite solid (climbing gear, socks, clothing, goggles). Their shoes felt bulky and cheap to me though. Bib shorts are great and their sleeved trisuit seemed decent too.

If you have a chance to visit one of their stores, it's quite the experience. They have areas for you to test some of their equipment (climbing wall, rock garden, obstacle course) and everything it very reasonably price.

I'm a strong believer in using budget gear, even for experienced folks and not just as a means to attract new entrants. A minor peeve of mine is labelling something like a Cervelo P2 as an "entry level" bike, as if it isn't good enough for anyone to perform extremely well on regardless of their ability.

But "budget" doesn't necessarily mean "lowest cost", I would instead define it as lowest cost that still adequately meets your needs. Sometimes that means buying low cost goods for items where the quality really doesn't matter that much. e.g. a spare butyl tube in your flat kit. Sometimes it means waiting for last year's high end stuff to trickle down to lower tiers or buying on sale. And in some (rare) cases, spending more doesn't really get you a better product, the best products on the market are also some of the cheapest (e.g. Swedish goggles).

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Which bibs do you have? The RC900 were universally praised, but not available anymore. Current 'premium' bib is RC500
Thanks

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Brian

Gonna buy a fast car, put on my lead boots, take a long, long drive
I may end up spending all my money, but I'll still be alive