You’ve got it backwards. I encourage all triathletes—newbies and veterans alike--to do all of the above! But, all kidding aside, your point is well taken. What all triathletes need to understand is that ST (I’ll include myself here) does remotely represent the average triathlete. You should take the good info and learn to weed out the bad.

The most ignorant shit I’ve read on these boards in quite a long while

Who cares what bikes people ride, if you’re faster than them and they have a better bike, then you have other issues. Stop worrying about what everyone else has.

The future is now! That's already possible, more or less, thanks to The Pro's Closet.

That's not a bad thing. There's a reason people choose leased vs owned and used vs new. More options for consumers are better.

Indeed.

Yeah, I get some pieces here and there from questions asked by others, but quite often there are conflicting answers, and threads turn into 2-4 peeps arguing about what is best, leaving the OP out of the conversation. But Hey! This is free information, so I really can't complain.


That's why I always get off on the left side of my bike ;) I'm pretty good at triggering people though. Just for laughs I'd bring along the pocket sized bottle and after a ride bust out a rag and offer to give that dirty chain few good squirts just to make those dudes lose their minds lol

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

I have a hard time believing the justifications for the high-end price elevation that’s occurred over that last few years. Brands and retailers can talk about aerospace-grade materials, R&D, etc until they’re blue in the face but it still won’t square.

You can buy a brand new motorcycle for $6,000 -$15,000 and those products use expensive materials (magnesium, carbon, etc); have sophisticated electronics; involve design/mould iterations; must meet far more stringent safety standards and require far more human and robotic production steps than a bicycle. They’re also subject to same supply chain cost increases, freight from Asia, exchange rate fluctuations, etc.

I’d say the price increase is a combination of what the market has demonstrated it’s willing to pay and universal price-jacking across the category. In consumer goods we’ve seen this sudden leaps in price across brands in other categories over the last decade or so (eg. Down parkas, mobile phones, dress shoes, etc.).

Personally I won’t buy new anymore. Lots of good resale inventory. In my city there are over 2,300 used road bikes listed for sale today...

If prices are too high, why is it near impossible to find a new high-end bike in stock right now?

Price is the intersection of supply and demand. I think the motorcycle comparison misses this.

if this were true, then bike industry companies would be known for very high operating margins and soaring stock prices. They aren’t. It is a niche market, and manufacturers are spreading very high design and manufacturing costs over a small number of unit sales.

BLACKACK! you get paid 2 to 1 (yours is post 21)

I agree. If someone wants to do tri's then they'll figure out a way to do it. Otherwise it's just excuses. My daughters running coach thought that he'd get into tri's just after he got out of college, but quit after doing wildflower LC 'cause I got passed by all these guys on $10,000 bikes. The sport is too expensive.

Starting when I was a junior in HS (when dinosaurs still roamed the earth) I wanted to race motocross. Dad said "you can have anything you want - as long as you pay for it" which basically translated to "get to work." I wanted it bad enough, so that's what I did. When I first started racing (and not winning) I deluded myself into believing the fast guys always had the expensive go fast stuff. That is, until I saw the kid who's brother helped him get a bone stock bike, blow everyone into the weeds - he ended up being a 2x World champ. He had the talent, drive/passion. A priceless lesson I got to learn before I hit my twenties. Same holds true for triathlon.

Heck my last motorcycle (road bike) costs about the same as a tri super bike and could go over 180mph!

Enjoy the journey

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________