Sure, very little has actually changed, except stuff is much more expensive. If you use the same equipment you had in 2012, you would be just fine.

7 years ago you could KQ at a 70.3 or by coming in 10th+ in your AG at a full. Now you just have to win the damn race!

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Too old to go pro but doing it anyway
http://instagram.com/tgarvey4

Happy to hear that you are cleared to begin some racing! I hope your health continues to improve.

The basic tenants of racing still hold true. If you have that down then the equipment just optimizes on your training.

The new trend is tri suits with sleeves down to the elbow. Apparently fabric is faster than skin. Better get one if you want to be a cool kid (pink, maybe!)

There are “super bikes” now that offer people at the tip of the spear the last little bit of aerodynamic advantage they seek. But for the rest of us, your old bike would probably serve you well still.

I have a cervelo P2 from 2013 and from everything I’ve read, it’s still a very fast bike. Unfortunately, it’s rider isn’t very fast. I could get some cool aftermarket cockpit to make it more slippery, but I haven’t bit the bullet yet.

Good luck!

If you’re canadian, stuff was more affordable then cause the loonie was on par with the US dollar. Now everything seems unaffordable... ;-).
Louis :-)

The biggest change, in my opinion, is the arrival of electronic smart trainers. Like the Wahoo Kickr, Tacx, etc. And the software that goes with them, particularly Zwift and Trainerroad.

Training on a bike indoors has gone from a fringy-demeaned method of training, to often the method of choice, superseding outdoor riding (in relative volume) for a surprisingly large number of pros and amateurs. It's now widely accepted and even encouraged to train a lot on your smart trainer.

The bike tech has made marginal improvements, but a lot of the tech is for the expensive stuff. But some noteably changes that are aimed squarely at AGers without $$$$:

- Carbon wheels have dropped in price. Zipps and ENVEs still cost $$$$, but there are a lot of legit brands like FLO that cost about half that. If you are willing to take the risk as well, you can even order 50mm and upward chinese carbon wheels for $350 a set, and these are from vendors with full customer service and 5-star Amazon reviews, not some sketchy outfit that disappears after a few months.

- Favero Assioma power pedals. Game changers. For $450 (single pedal), you get a powermeter that can be easily swapped between bikes. Great reviews all around. Powermeter prices have gone from $1000 range minimum in 2012, to $1000 being the upper end thanks to competition.

- Disc wheels are going to become the new standard, like it or not.

- Oh, and Shimano went from 10-spd to 11-spd in 2012, so you might want to check your groupset if you're going to buy parts/upgrades to make sure they work. (I still run 10 speed on my 2008 Cervelo p2c and will for the foreseeable future.)

I took ten years off and came back this year. My observations so far.
1. No one rides outdoors anymore. Only on the trainer playing a video called Zwift.
2. Trainers now cost $1,200.
3. Clinchers tires are in tubulars are out.
4. Do not pump your tires up more than 100 psi.
5. Everyone trains on their race wheels.
6. Nike running shoes now cost $250 plus
7. Everyone races in tri-suits with sleeves.
8. Running times are the same but bikes splits are much faster
9. Everyone has a power meter.
10. There is an Ironman event every weekend and you have to sign up a year in advance.
11. Most of the independent races have gone away or converted to Ironman brand.
12. Bike rims are now wider
13. Bike cassettes went from nine speed to 11 speed and your nine speed wheels will not work with 11 speed.

That's it for now

And tubeless tyres & rims are the new clincher+tube.

Ok let's not get TOO crazy here! Tubeless has definitely not replaced clinchers yet!

Fair point !

To balance out... not really a technical point, more of an attitude one:-
Every roadie STILL thinks disc brakes are basically 2x mobile superheated bacon slicers designed purely to cut off their foot/ arm / head (after branding them of course) whilst the 2 chain driven oily circular saws less than 3/4 inch from the right calf rotating at 90+RPM (and somewhere between 9 and 13 of similar but smaller ones on the back wheel) are perfectly safe.
(Half Pink... but yet 99% quarters true).

Poser alert, triathletes never called anything a "mini triathlon."

Well for a guy who raced 6 ironmans being allowed to race a tri that is 200m swim, 7 mile bike and 2 mile run it is a mini.

By “disc wheels” you mean wheels with disc brakes.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

So true. Love it!

Everything except a year in advance. Big races like IMAZ took longer to sell out this year then 2012, and I’ve signed up for North American Ironmans like Santa Rosa on site a few days before.

Get a trucker hat and you're good.

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"Good genes are not a requirement, just the obsession to beat ones brains out daily"...the Griz

Just use what you have for now and save the money. You are doing a super sprint not competing for a podium at an ironman.

every one is talking about gear/tech changes, and i agree with all that, but how has the sport changed? at least on a local level i feel races are disappearing, and participant numbers are down. Ironman is eating up and spitting out all good local halfs. overall competitiveness is down. sure there are still top guys, but the depth is pathetic compared to 10-15 years ago. anecdote> Hyannis sprint tri on cape cod has been running for 40 years. when i started out there would be about 20 guys running under 6min/mi. there would also be 20 or so people signed up as "elite." now maybe 2 or 3 run under 6min/mi and almost no one signs up elite (not pro card type elite, just open elite) god bless george bent for still kicking that race's butt for 20+yrs
on a positive side, super league is awesome. exciting to watch, new formats (S/B/R/S/B/R or S/R/S/R/S/R etc ) and some real racing. now if that type of racing spread, that would be a great thing for the sport!

I noticed too when I went looking for races a couple of the race companies are either not in business anymore or only putting on running races now, and resultls from last year are like you said much smaller than in past. I can remember back in the late 90's when age groups would have close to 50 people in them at some races.

Meanwhile, Open Water Swim races are exploding ... at least in Florida. You could easily set up a season of OWS events from March to November.

   "at least on a local level i feel races are disappearing, and participant numbers are down."

That's because after a year or two of only riding the trainer or running on a treadmill people say "this sport sucks."

Lionel Sanders

This just summarized triathlon history!

That's a real shame, I have always loved the sport from my first one in 1994 to the last one I did in 2010. I have been around a lot of sports and for the most part I have found Age Group triathletes to be some of the best people I ever met. I have raced all over the world and had so much fun. My wife is a Pro athlete in a different sport and she deals with a huge amount of politics all the time.

My first Ironman was Canada in 1998, you filled out an application and mailed it in $300
by 2000 you had to get in line the day after the race to signup and pay for next year or you would not get in.
Plus Ironmans were limited to like 1200 people not 2500 like now. I can imagine starting the swim with that many people at once, there was never room with 1200 in the swim.