In other news:

"Water is wet"

:)

Don’t need a wetsuit for the swim. Swedish goggles or Speedo Sprints (if you need padding) are about $5. Our local tri club organizes swim practices - that runs about $120 ish for 8-10 week sessions (3 sessions per week). Or you can do open lane swim for $3 per swim. The lakes are free. They also have wetsuits for rent.

You can find a functional second-hand version of my triathlon bike ( Cervelo P2K - aluminum frame) for about $4-500, bike shoes are available for under $100, you can usually find closeout running shoes for not too much money. My local Walmart sells Bell helmets.

swim in a pair of tri shorts ($50-ish) and throw on a t-shirt with your number on it in T1.

It only gets really expensive if you need to keep up with the Joneses.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

Is it expensive? Yes. But only as expensive as you make it to be.
This assumes ypu buy all your shit in one go.
For example, most people have a bile they can use in the beginning to feel it out and see if tri is for them. Bike helmet as well.
All items you listed.can be bought cheap used except running shoes.
So no it is not as easy to picl up as running. But not.as.crazy as people want it to be either.

I started while in school and gradually increased my gear.

I think what you meant to say was:

Triathlon "at the minimum level and manner that I am willing to do so in order to impress my 'friends' and strangers on social media with all the cool stuff that I have" is expensive.

You're right.

There are a lot of extras in your list that you don't need, plus you can find cheaper items...

- Don't have to have a wet suit (save $250) and can easily find $15 goggles (save $15)
- You can get bike shoes for less than $150 (save $50)
- Running shoes....you can find a decent pair for $75 (nix the elastic band)...(save $45)
- Don't have to have a trisuit, you can use a cheap pair of bike shorts and a jersey (save $30)

That's almost $400 in savings that you could do easily, and now you're down to $1680. Still a chunk of change, but it can be done.

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

Grab an old bike or borrow one. I got third in my age group in a local triathlon riding my 9th grade bike with a bent frame. (1986 Schwinn LeTour) You don't have to have great equipment to still have fun.

Swimming: I have never paid $30 for a pair of goggles, you can buy an Xterra sleeveless for $100 or less.
I use goggles that are $3.

Cycling: yes that cost some money. Your estimates seem about right except for shoes (1200usd+150usd+60usd+40usd)

Running: any running shoes are going to cost $60 to $100

Trisuit? is there something wrong with tri shorts and tri jersey? That's what I used for my first 8 years

Race entries: It is what it is.

Triathlon is expensive. Insanely expensive. I think your estimates on what it takes to get to the starting line are actually quite conservative considering slow-twitch just recently did a series of articles on "entry-level" bikes that scost more than your entire total there.

And it's only getting more expensive.

What is entirely fascinating to me, though, is the major players in the sport seem to be working really hard to cater towards a wider group athletically EG cancelling swims when there are tiny waves, not enforcing draft rules, essentially zero doping controls for age groupers, etc. at the exact same time as the sport is becoming more exclusive financially.

It's an interesting dichotomy. To me at least

fortunately, you don't need to buy a new "entry-level" triathlon bike in order to get into the sport. I actually don't like calling the P2, PR3, etc "entry level" bikes. They aren't entry level.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

I recently finished my first year. It can be as expensive as you want. What do you need to start as bare minimum

1. Swimming goggles
2. Running shoe's
3. Bicycle (I know I'm Dutch so I have 3: city bike, MTB + race), my race bike I bought for 400,- euro

A fee of 30,- a euro a month. I get back: 6 swimming sessions a week, 2 running sessions, 1 bike session all under the guidance of a trainer. that's not much for what you get back to be frank.

When my brother and I did our first triathlon in 2010, we did it on entry level Trek road bikes that we had bought earlier for around $800. Swam, biked and ran in jammers using running shoes on both the bike and run. My brother even won the first-timer division.

Awesome!

I've bitched and complained about the price of new triathlon bikes (they are getting out of hand) but it's more about the message being sent, that you "need" all this crap, and a $1000 wetsuit, and $250 run shoes, and the list goes on, just to show up at the start line of your local race and be competitive. You don't.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

The one point I agree with you on is the bike. It is both a logistical challenge and an area where, if you’re wealthy, you can buy significant performance. This is definitely a detriment to the sport.

Define "significant".

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

In the world of competitive hobbies I would say it's on the cheaper end. Any kind of motor racing is going to be more expensive. Equestrian, bass fishing, sailing, water skiing etc. are all going to run into more money than triathlon. Even golf if you want to join a private club is going to be a ton of money.

Start listing competitive hobbies cheaper than triathlon I think you would run out pretty quickly.

Yup, virtually any sport where you have to pay a fee / incur expenses every time you go and practice is going to add up really quickly. Serious amateur golfers (with FT jobs) might play a couple of rounds per weekend, maybe hit some balls midweek . plus a set of clubs every year (my dad swears that they wear out..)

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

Those are all rich people's hobbies. You probably hang out with rich people if you think they're normal.

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

I'd guess that most people who start doing triathlons have either swum, biked or run before.
Most will have a bike, so that cost wouldn't count again. If you have a bike, you should have a helmet. Click pedals might be new.

Otherwise if someone did decide that they want to start from zero and do a triathlon, your list would be pretty fair. It's not cheap, but I wouldn't recommend someone who doesn't do any of the three sports to buy everything to do one race then give up. I usually count bikes as my best buys. I spent 600€ on a used road bike which I rode for 10,000km then sold for 400€. That's value!

If you're willing to race in the summer, or swims where you don't need a wetsuit - certainly 68 degree water or warmer, then:

Swim: you're going to do it in your bike shorts, but for training.. $25 training suit. $5-10 for goggles, $3.25 is you wear swedes
Bike: Used aluminum road bike worth riding, like Scott/Cannondale could be had for $500 equipped with pedals, if not add $50, clipless cycling shoes $75, tri jersey and bike shorts $100, satisfactory helmet $50, glasses $20, water bottles $10
Run: A trainer type shoe $75

There's your $900 triathlon starter kit. Getting into any hobby for under a thousand is pretty good. As far as training and race entry fees, take golf as an example - training fees are like greens fees. You have the clubs, the balls, the shoes, but you need to pay to practice and play.

Throwing "competitive" makes it a bit harder, but off the top of my head...
Running
Ow Swimming
Bowling
Rock climbing
Gaming (yes, that's a competitive hobby)
Dance

Add in "non competitive" hobbies that are cheaper and the list is endless.

Something worth noting is that all but one of those more expensive hobbies requires access or purchase of a large motor vehicle...

Also, I would disagree that golf is more expensive.... Sure, there are places it's 500 bucks a round, but there are also mini courses where it's 15 bucks, and a decent set of irons will last a lifetime.

Find me a 15 or 30 dollar tri in California.

I consider 5+ minutes over 40k significant.

Do you think someone just starting the sport, maybe capable of a 1:10 or 1:20 bike split over 40k, would think the same thing? i.e. if someone gets 15th rather than 20th in their AG and goes 2:45 rather than 2:40,because they aren't riding a $10k superbike is that going to somehow make their enjoyment of the sport less? Or are they going to say "Hey, that was fun!"

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

If your point is that a sport that requires biking, running, and swimming costs more than a sport that only requires running, well, that's obvious. But people I know who are serious runners have a lot more invested than a single pair of shoes. Most serious runners have multiple pairs of training shoes, and have to replace them on a regular basis as they fairly limited useful life. On top of that, many have an expensive pair of race shoes that will last two seasons at best. Around here, you need a drawer full of clothing for various weather conditions (climate dependent), a quality treadmill and/or a membership to to local gym. Yes, the barrier to entry is low, but you can spend a lot on running if you want.

The big capital expenditure in triathlon is obviously the bike. The difference between a bike and most running equipment is that the bike is an asset that has residual value. Yes, it takes cash up front to get one, but, whether you later decide get out of the sport, or you decided you love the sport and want to upgrade, you can recoup some of your investment by selling the bike. Select wisely, and your actual cost of ownership can be quite low. For my first season of triathlon, I bought a new entry level (Sora equipped) road bike that was two model years old. It had a retail price of $890, I paid $425. 3 years later, when I was ready to upgrade, I sold that bike for $350. I'd spent about $100 in maintenance, so my total cost of ownership for 3 years was ~$175. Even if you only race 5k's, you're likely to go through more that $175 in shoes in 3 years. By the way, I podiumed in my first race on that bike. Would have likely won my age group, had I not stopped to give somebody my flat kit.

In the last two seasons, I've purchased a nearly-new triathlon bike and nearly-new road bike. MSRP for the pair was be $3898. My total investment is $2075, and I'm confident I could liquidate the pair in a week for $1800.

I've been equally judicious in my selection of other equipment. I shop for deals and am patient. I did my first race in a swim jammer I already owned and tech T shirt; later found a tri top for $25 and tri shorts for $20. Got tri-specific bike shoes for $40, and a wetsuit (which I really didn't need; haven't yet used it in a race) for $100. All new. Planned to safety pin my number on my shirt at my first tri, was pleasantly surprised to find a number belt in the SWAG bag. Goggles? you can get by for $4. I'm first and foremost a competitive swimmer. I spend about $16 a pair for goggles, and only spend that much because I need ones with a vision corrective lens.

At the local Sprint, ~75% of people just show up and race on the bike they already have; there are lots of hybrids and mountain bikes in transition. And those people seem to enjoy themselves every bit as much as the casual trotter who does the local 5k race in ~30 minutes.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

Triathlon is only expensive if you want it to be or if you are starting from scratch. Do you already ride a bicycle, run, swim? You don't need a tri-specific bike, I rode my road bike with a set of extensions bolted onto the handlebars for 5 years and 2 70.3 events before I bought a tri specific bike. The only other tri specific thing I bought was a wetsuit, which I bought on sale for $99.

On the cost to register, yeah, I get that. All of the sport registrations are getting expensive though, with the exception of the century rides in my area. A 13.1 race is running around $100 while a century ride is usually $50 or less.