It's like anything - it doesn't have to cost a lot of money to do triathlon. What I have learned though, is that it tends to be people with a lot of money who do it.

Another point - you are literally the poster boy for someone for whom it SHOULD be easy. You've worked on lots of bikes, 'in every imaginable condition' so you've had the chance to make all your mistakes, try out things, try various tools, over, and over again.

That opportunity does NOT arise for a typical new triathlete who has no bike background, and has one, perhaps two bikes to work with. With which they typically do NOT want to do a half-baked job on their race bike (less risk taking for sure.)

Even for me, with my learned experience from that whole cockpit+drivetrain upgrade, I've forgotton at least half of it in the year+ that I've gone without doing it again. I changed a front FD cable for a race this past summer, and it was almost as annoying as the first time around, getting it through the internal cable path, readjusting the FD tension screws, remembering which direction they go, forgetting to put on the anti-chain-drop fangtool and having to redo it all, etc.

It's different when you have to use the stuff on a regular basis like a shop as compared to an AGer who rarely works on their bikes since once is usually good enough for a year+.

I don't disagree. But, that's why I ask the question, "how interested are you in learning to do this?" Before I recommend it to someone. I also tend to coach/teach noobs how to do it...rather than just send them off to youtube. That's also why there's a progression of jobs to attempt. Eg, adjust an RD or replace a chain...rather than starting with an entire group swap.

Give them a tri-wrench and a phillips screw driver, and tell them..."if you can't do it with these...call me first."

You previously stated and it should be reiterated, delayed maintenance, whether it is your bike or your car, costs a lot more than doing it as preventative maintenance.

Corroded hardware is just the tip of the ice berg...

As for the cost of the sport, it is as cheap or expensive as you want it, but a bike is full of wear parts and needs annual maintenance.

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Pactimo brand ambassador, ask me about promo codes

If you believe some of the posts around here, you've missed around 468 chain removals, waxings, and re-installs. (Don't try to make them all up the same weekend.)

To kinda get back on track....maybe....

How many people seriously contemplate taking up tri, but don't own a bike? I don't know any. But, I also don't know anyone who decided not to because of the bike.

Yeah if you don't own a bike, there's a bigger hit on startup cost. But, I see a shit-ton of "starter bikes" at the local sprints. Practically the entire homer-bucket crowd is riding a walmart special. We have a really good local RD that puts on some very fun sprints....these things are packed with these homer-bucket types.

I also don't see people in the USA not doing things that they want to do simply because of cost. People spent all kinds of crazy money (using Credit / Monthly payment plans) to do stupid shit. $70k bass boats, $1000 guns, $100k RVs, $10k wave-runners. If people want to do something they will hock their Mom, or put it on the 21% APR/ minimum payment plan.

All of the athletically oriented people I know that don't want to do tri, they mention the time commitment, and the swim. They all talk about how complicated ith must be to train for 3 sports, and they all express a fear or distaste of/for swimming. Even a 300 yard super-sprint swim is daunting...even to people who run 26.2. I think most normal people would rather run a marathon than swim 300y in a pool. A 750m sprint, or a 1500m Oly...nope. That's where people tell me I'm nuts. They stand on shore and look out at the corner buoy 300y off shore, and they go "nope! not doing that. Good luck!"

I just don't know anyone who has said, "I'd love to do a tri, but I don't own a bike and those things are EXPENSIVE! If the bike were cheaper, I'd be all over that shit." The only people I know that bitch about the cost of triathlon are triathletes (or maybe former triathletes)---but, those costs are largely their own making.

I'm probably guilty of being one of those types...but, that's friggin funny.

It is a sport that rewards the Type A personality. The more you can plan and execute, the better the race experience (kind of). People that can plan and execute a race plan, most likely are doing that in other parts of their lives.

I think I am the only person that does anything approaching athletic endeavors in my company, I am constantly questioned as to why I would spend so much on my last road bike ($10k... It was a big splurge and major upgrade from my caad12) All of these people own $30k or $40k fishing boats, atvs, RVs, $60k trucks to haul them around and god knows what else that get used once or twice a month... I am on my road bike 4 or 5 days a week all summer. I work with people that put less miles on their motorcycles.

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Pactimo brand ambassador, ask me about promo codes

Let's be clear as well though - I do agree with you that SWIMMING is far and away the limiter for most folks to tri.

And swimming in general, is EXPENSIVE. Yeah, I know - you have a free lap pool in your complex, or you have a $2/week super cheap pass to some awesome public noncrowded pool complex, so it costs you nothing. Good on you.

But for most others, pool access is hard, and expensive. I live in Norcal, where tri is really popular compared to most of the country, and I have to shell out $1000+/yr for YMCA pool access for a craptastic circle swim with marked limited hours, and pool temps that I'm pretty sure are in the mid to high 80s all the time.

And logistically, pool time is very tough on the schedule, with all the prep and driving time. If you're a pure swimmer, it works out better, but as a triathlete who's not spending 2 hrs in the pool each session, that 20 min drive to and back from the pool can kill your weekly schedule.

And no, I don't want to hear from all you folks now who want to reply to me saying "my drive is 1 minute", or "my pool is basically free", or "I get free pool access at work", or "I have no kids so going to masters at 6AM before work is no problem". I get it - it works fine for YOU. But for sure, it's a major hurdle for the majority, me included, and I'm way more serious that the average triathlete about it.

Actually, they pay me to swim there...because of my magnetic personality.

This is why I am a one and done IM. It was definitely a fun experience don't get me wrong! I just can't commit to travel to the pool as it wrecks my family's schedule. I really did enjoy learning to swim and improving up until race day, just can't do it long-term any more. Such is life!

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"If it costs you 30 minutes at Maryland so what" -dwreal

LOL!

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"If it costs you 30 minutes at Maryland so what" -dwreal

Ironically, I actually think that swim/pool access for IM is less critical than it is for Sprint/Oly, despite the much longer swim distance, in that you can really suck on that IM swim but still have a solid overall result (due to disproportionate bike/run distance vs swim), whereas in Sprint/Oly, if you are weak on the swim, you really take a hit in the results.

For me, the vast majority of my gains in tri over the past 7 years have been in swimming, at all distances. Running has actually worsened a bit, but was compensated by a small gain on the bike, but those gains are small compared to what I've added on the swim.

I often wonder why I subject myself to swimming just to do this sport, but at this point I've invested so much time and effort into it that I might as well go all in. Part of the things that keep me going in swimming are that it's the only part of tri training I actually do with other people around (even if I don't talk to them - I get lonely otherwise! Darn kids and family schedule....) and the reality that I'm expecting to pivot to more swimming as my already-arthritic ankles eventually give out. Hopefully my shoulders will last...

Swimming will be 100% the reason I leave tris and stick to dus. I'm committed to a 1 and done IM in 2021 but I'm really not sure I'll be signing up for a single triathlon after that. Swimming is a nightmare even for someone who a. has a very affordable ($30 a month), very uncrowded (I get cranky when I have to share a lane with 1 other person), very convenient pool (I literally pass my gym on the way home from work). It adds minimum 20-30 minutes to my training which is killer when you're already cranking out 10-12 hour weeks. Running adds virtually no time to training logistically and cycling slightly more but training mostly indoors cuts that down too.

Perhaps we have different realities.
I wasn't talking theoretically about what I imagined would be needed. I've only brought any of my bikes to a bike mechanic for a couple of spoke replacements, and a BB replacement in 9 years of cycling. I've moved things around, replaced chains, brakes, cables, cassettes, chainrings, fitted power meter, pedals, mudguards, swapped and adjusted the bar, stem and saddle for fit. Fitted clip-ons and forward seatpost to my road bike prior to getting a dedicated tri bike, and plenty other little bits and pieces. The only dedicated tools I recall needing was the chain whip, cassette lockring tool, and a dedicated tool for the a power2max power meter which came with the meter....

Re-cabling can be a bit fiddly and take a couple of hours, not a big deal. I don't remember anything else being the least bit demanding except for one seized pedal.

You've listed a bunch of costs that are parts, not tools. If needed, you'd be paying for those no matter who does the job. You also mentioned tools that you probably didn't need, and in one case didn't even find useful. Maintenace should never require a drill!

Your horror stories puzzle me!

I made my first chain whip from an old chain, a couple of screws and a stick of wood. I used a screw driver and a hammer to remove my first lockring. :-)

Pink, as its meant sorta tongue-in-cheek...because most people won't be that hard core. But, it IS still true.

I fully expect LH to be driven into an apoplectic fit, though. Nay...I might even hope!

So you dont want to hear back from anybody who disagrees with this massively one sided opinion of yours that simply fits your narrative and circumstances? haha classic. Oh and you conveniently put yourself in the majority rather than the minority.

I have no idea of what Norcal is like, but the set up sounds terrible. My £25 per month (which is typical) leisure membership covers gym/classes and a 25m pool to 3 separate leisure centres within 10 minutes drive. The closest one being just 1 mile away. A further 10 minutes and I can pay to use another 3 swimming pools / leisure centres from neighbouring boroughs. They are all public pools, not top of the art performance centres; if I wanted a 50m olympic pool, well thats an hour away in the capital. But the membership to that is about the same price and an amazing deal if you live pretty close to it. I dont even know anywhere which would come close to £1000 per year. We also have several lakes/ponds/rivers nearby which can be used for open water sessions.

Now we've covered off either end of the spectrum, we can probably agree that on average swimming cost/time isn't THAT bad either! Unless you want it to be... like the rest of the sport.

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@the.lazy.triathlete

https://www.strava.com/athletes/18691068

My cost estimates were not just for tools, they were tools + parts. Pretty sure I've said that from my initial post. You are the one that limited it to only tools. Although to be totally honest, all the various tools I've purchased for my cockpit + drivetrain overhaul, including the bike stand, exceeded $500.

And I consider that a good result for bike costs, meaning on the low end (I didn't buy anything extravagant, name-brandy, or high end for tools.)

Nope, I still stand by what I said.

Swimming is expensive and time-consuming. Definitely compared to running, and if you live in a not-easy-access area, still expensive even compared to cycling . (I've spent $12kish over 10 years for YMCA pool access - my TOTAL bike expenditures might just exceed half that, and that includes the extravagance of 3 powermeters!)

I know my area really does suck for pool access, but remember - this is Norcal, which has probably an absurdly high # of triathletes compared to the rest of the USA (possibly world). I'll bet a huge percentage of ST forumites live within 2 hrs of me just based on what I see mentioned in posts that a Bay area native would recognize. So even if pool access is not good here, it's the norm for a lot of triathletes and STers.

I had in mind this part of the post by you that I was initially disagreeing with:

"Easily several hundred dollars for bike maintenance alone, and if you do it yourself and have to buy the tools to even do the maintenace, you're looking at $500+ right off the bat...."

You mentioned components and consumables later which was my very point. They're not a cost of doing your own maintenance. They're a cost of maintaining a bike, regardless who does the work. Perhaps we have crossed wires and you're talking about cost in general while I was simply addressing the assertion that you can't do your own maintenance without a fortune in tools.

I don't accept that bikes are necessarily anywhere near as expensive as you suggest. They can be, but it's mostly by choice, whether to achieve the last tiny bit of performance, bling factor, or convenience.

Tom-with all due respect, you live in a bubble. And, the things you state below asr based on a handful of interactions with probably les than 100 people. It's ok, I live in that bubble too. You are using the fact that people show up at triathlons with crappy, "starter" bikes to show that others who don't even own such a bike can afford such a bike, and thus can afford triathlon. The people you see at these races can afford triathlon, at least at a basic level. The people you know can probably afford triathlon at least at a basic level. The average american cannot. The poverty rate is like 12%--those people can't even afford food and clothes. The poeple you and I interact with do not remotely represent what the average American can/cannot afford. Now, I don't know that those people would do triathlon if they could afford it any more than you, but they are much more likely to try basketball or soccer because it requires nothing more than a $10 ball to play those sports. The argument that money is not an impediment to triathlon (even at the cheapest possible equipment) is just insane to me.

Regardless of whether such an impediment actually exists, my bigger point raised above was that triathlon participants consist of wealthier individuals.

Oh, good lord. Poverty rate? Really? You quote the poverty rate, and refer to the average american in the same paragraph. Those are NOT the same two people. The people below (or anywhere near) the poverty line aren't doing endurance sports---at all. Yeah, they might play a pickup game of some ball-sport....but, they aren't going for a long run on Saturday, or to the pool to swim 2500scy....let alone doing a brick or signing up for a Du/Tri---that fact has nothing to do with money, if they had the money they still wouldn't give a shit about tri. That's just a straw man.

The average american DOES spend disposable income on some leasure activity, which could be spent on tri. Some of these average americans even participate in the local fun run/walks, and might go for a family bike ride on Sunday.

There are many, many, many more people out there who CAN affort tri...who are generally interested in endurance sports...who choose not to participate in triathlon. Why? My contention is because its a logistical cluster-fuck of planning, and constant exercise, and most people hate swimming.

Maybe you exist in a bubble. I'm exposed both personally and professionally to a wide swath of demographics...from low-wage, union, hourly employees missing half their teeth because they can't affort to go to a dentist (even though they might own two jetskis)....to VPs. NO ONE ever says, "man that triathlon looks expensive!" They might whistle at a 50mi ride, or a 15mi run. But, you mention 1000y of swimming, and the response is universally "Oh, HELL TO THE NO!"

So, yeah....maybe they can't afford it, maybe they can. But, it never enters the conversation...because they'd never even attempt it.

Ummmmm, no. You don’t even realize you are in a bubble.

"I made my first chain whip from an old chain, a couple of screws and a stick of wood. I used a screw driver and a hammer to remove my first lockring. :-)"

Were we separated at birth?! I took my first freewheel apart when I was 10 using a similar method.