Expensive sport or not?

Triathlon Forum
1

you guys are giving me mixed messages. you say that you are only going to buy a new bike every x number of years. “i’m not in the market for a new bike.” what you really complain about is the cost of your local races going way up.

but when i poll you on this (at right) almost twice as many say you want discount on equipment than want discounts on local races.

so, are you really going to be buying new expensive stuff? or is it that you’re just making excuses for why you’re not racing as many local races as you used to?

2

A discount on my mortgage bill, car payments and local grocery store so I have more disposable income?

The limit isn’t whether we have the money. Its’ the perception of what is a reasonable amount to spend. We can probably all make sacrifices and spend more, but convincing family to sacrifice for our selfish hobby, is challenging to say the least.

3

I voted races and grassroots. However, I’m on low budget these days and not in normal demographic here these days. Sorry, I’m not going to be buying new expensive stuff.

But even when I had money, race fees bothered me even though $50 v. $150 for a race was nothing compared to what I was spending on equipment. But for some reason I seemed to apply a different value metric to race fees. Maybe because the race fee is an expense that once spent is gone, whereas equipment can be used for a long time. I run and bike regularly so I’m not willing to pay so much for an activity I can do for free. Local sprint triathlons are $75+ and I can do two or three cross races in the fall for that money.

4

You can do well with smart choices in equipment. You dont have to have the latest and best. Sure you still have fantasy about a better bike / wheels etc.
But yes the cost of races at any level is expensive especially if you need to travel/stay in an hotel. I prefer to race many local park runs and small tt which are dirt cheap compare to local tris. I will only do one big im branded race a year and one or two non branded 70.3. I try to make of each race a road trip so I it doesnt feel like all the travelling cost go towards the race only and this is also a good way to include the family.
I do spend a fair bit of money every year on all things tri, but I dont smoke, I dont drink, I ride to work so dont have a car. you do need a decent income to be able to do this sport.

5

You can do well with smart choices in equipment. You dont have to have the latest and best.

You could be kicked out of triathlon for talking that nonsense…

6

I think the cost tolerance is different for a high tech item that you can own, touch, and then maybe later resell.

Vs the cost tolerance for an experience, like a race, that happens but leaves you with nothing material to speak of.

(No judgment on my part as to which is better or truly more valuable, just that our human psychology evaluates them quite differently.)

I think most, but not all, triathletes might be a touch more tolerant of the costs of durable goods (long or moderately long lasting tri gear) vs the more rapidly escalating costs of various races.

7

I think it’s as above, the ‘perception’ of the discount.

There’s no hard and fixed number for a race fee. It could be the stratospheric Escape From Alcatraz, or it could be the much lower cost local tri that your YMCA puts out.

Most race ‘discounts’ could easily be explained away as the RD just upmarking the ‘list’ cost of the race, and then offering a discount. For example, if his race was to cost $200, he can mark it up to $220 for no reason at all, and then offer “10% off discounts”.

You can do that as well with durable goods, but since there are multiple suppliers, you can often quickly internet search as to whether a ‘deal’ is really a deal, or is just taking off an upmarked cost as above. So I think people are more prone to feeling they got a real discount on solid goods, versus the race discount.

I know for a fact that when I joined my first local triclub, I figured that the “10% off all local races” would easily pay for the membership cost of joining. And yes, I did sign up for those 10% discounts with the races I signed up for and got them! Unfortunately, most of the time, that 10% off discount code only emerged in the month before race day - so if you were trying to do the Wildflower triathlon with 10% off club code, you were already locked into the higher-priced race cost (due to closer race day), and/or the race was sold out already. I also found similar or greater discounts quite easily for all the races I did on the internet - no club membership required. So I’ve been duly underwhelmed by race discounts.

8

I think it’s as above, the ‘perception’ of the discount.

There’s no hard and fixed number for a race fee. It could be the stratospheric Escape From Alcatraz, or it could be the much lower cost local tri that your YMCA puts out.

Most race ‘discounts’ could easily be explained away as the RD just upmarking the ‘list’ cost of the race, and then offering a discount. For example, if his race was to cost $200, he can mark it up to $220 for no reason at all, and then offer “10% off discounts”.

You can do that as well with durable goods, but since there are multiple suppliers, you can often quickly internet search as to whether a ‘deal’ is really a deal, or is just taking off an upmarked cost as above. So I think people are more prone to feeling they got a real discount on solid goods, versus the race discount.

I know for a fact that when I joined my first local triclub, I figured that the “10% off all local races” would easily pay for the membership cost of joining. And yes, I did sign up for those 10% discounts with the races I signed up for and got them! Unfortunately, most of the time, that 10% off discount code only emerged in the month before race day - so if you were trying to do the Wildflower triathlon with 10% off club code, you were already locked into the higher-priced race cost (due to closer race day), and/or the race was sold out already. I also found similar or greater discounts quite easily for all the races I did on the internet - no club membership required. So I’ve been duly underwhelmed by race discounts.

In more experience, “race discounts” have not been worth it. Makes me sick the number of times I took the bait with the discount, and then was not able to make the race, or the
price became cheaper.

I just now for most any race I do, unless it is a huge discount like HITS gave, I just pay on race morning, including races like Wildflower. I save overall a lot more money this wave
than trying to use a “discount”.

Of the 7 races I have done this season, only 1, the HITS, did I pre sign up for. Have not signed up yet for the next 2 I do in the next 10 days.

9

A discount on my mortgage bill, car payments and local grocery store so I have more disposable income?

The limit isn’t whether we have the money. Its’ the perception of what is a reasonable amount to spend. We can probably all make sacrifices and spend more, but convincing family to sacrifice for our selfish hobby, is challenging to say the least.

There are several races that I just won’t do because they feel like a ripoff (Alcatraz, etc.). There are races I’m skipping because $150 for a sprint is just crazy IMO. It’s not that I don’t have the $150, I’m just not willing to spend that much on a sprint; I’ll race less and do the local sprint series that’s $60. I definitely race less because races have gotten more expensive.

Expensive equipment doesn’t lessen my involvement in triathlon. Sure a new $10K bike with the latest wheels and electronic shifting would be nice, but my 5y.o. tri bike with 105 is fine. If I won that $10K bike in some magic lottery/raffle, it wouldn’t make me race more, and even though I have the $10K to spend on a bike I just don’t see the value.

10

I voted races and grassroots. However, I’m on low budget these days and not in normal demographic here these days. Sorry, I’m not going to be buying new expensive stuff.

But even when I had money, race fees bothered me even though $50 v. $150 for a race was nothing compared to what I was spending on equipment. But for some reason I seemed to apply a different value metric to race fees. Maybe because the race fee is an expense that once spent is gone, whereas equipment can be used for a long time. I run and bike regularly so I’m not willing to pay so much for an activity I can do for free. Local sprint triathlons are $75+ and I can do two or three cross races in the fall for that money.

Seconded. I voted race entries. I take excellent care of my equipment so that it will last a long time. I can more easily justify a new bike that I plan on having for years and years and years, versus a race that costs almost $200 that is over in a day. Yes, the experience is part of it, but it just seems harder to justify when I have no control over how long I’ll have “it”.

11

As above as well.

Couplefew random observations:

Yesterday, the wife signed us up for a 15k trail run this weekend. 4 days before the race, cost was 40 pp, includes a t shirt, medals for finishing (wheeee), support, and grub. I spaced on signing up for a local sprint, which will take LESS time to conplete, and reg cost is 190, and thats still 4 weeks out…

So almost FIVE TIMES as much dough for a shorter race…

So maybe discounts aren’t as important as a reasonable price tag.

Also, when I started back in the early 90’s, tris cost 20-40 bucks, about the same as a crit or RR. To me, the value has gone down.

Hell, there are STILL 60 dollar sprints out there… semper tri on pendleton is 60, and it’s same county as the 190 one…

12

you guys are giving me mixed messages. you say that you are only going to buy a new bike every x number of years. “i’m not in the market for a new bike.” what you really complain about is the cost of your local races going way up.

but when i poll you on this (at right) almost twice as many say you want discount on equipment than want discounts on local races.

so, are you really going to be buying new expensive stuff? or is it that you’re just making excuses for why you’re not racing as many local races as you used to?

We are buying expense stuff and racing a lot…

I bought a BCM TMO1 with ENVE power-tap wheels & a TM02 with a regular powertap wheels. Next fall I’ll be upgrading my son’s bike. Probably to another Felt (not sure which one) with ENVE wheels as well.

Just bought a new Garmin 500 as my 705 died. Need new sneakers soon as well. Wetsuit is fine. Probably buy new riding shoes as well.

We’ve already done 3 races this year (including 2 that involved travel) and have already paid for 5 others (3 involve travel) and will probably add another 4. Hopefully getting to North Carolina to race Johnson’s race.

None are longer than Olympic, none are WTC so we support “local” races - just not always “our” local.

We live by salt water and prefer to swim in lakes so we have to travel.

13

Damn right it’s expensive.

Per USAT’s website: https://www.teamusa.org/usa-triathlon/about/multisport/demographics

Income
Average income: $126,000
12.9% have incomes under $50K
14.5% have incomes $50-74,999
16% have incomes $75-$99,999
23.4% have incomes $100-$149,999
12.1% have incomes $150-$199,999
8.4% have incomes $200-$299,999
5.5% have incomes over $300K

Spending (discretionary income)
50% of dollars spent on bikes and bike equipment
17% of dollars spent on race entry fees
8% of dollars on fitness clothing
11% of dollars on athletic shoes

$2,274 spent on bikes in past 12 months
$564 spent on race fees in past 12 months
$524 spent on bike equipment
$370 spent on training, running and athletic footwear
$277 spent on nutritional supplements

14

Yet amazingly, if you cut out that 12-month bike expenditure, costs go down a lot. It still ain’t exactly cheap, but it’s nowhere near the stratospheric range that those figures propose.

15

I dont think its expensive at all compared to other racing sports. Be happy gas powered motors are not involved.

16

I get to enjoy that bike a few times per week ~48 weeks a year. The local race lasts one day.

$ per hour of enjoyment is MUCH different.

17

I don’t think its expensive compared to a lot of things. And when you add in the time we spend “practicing” (even for the 7-8 hour guys like myself) - per hour is really cheap.

18

Races here in NZ are reasonably priced. Except IM that by comparison costs a squillion for what you get…

I don’t seek discounts on race entries because generally they are priced fairly. Also, races like the “World Famous in New Zealand”, ‘Rotorua Half’ already provides significant early bird discounts.

For large ticket retail items, I look for discounts, but rarely ask for them. I learned years ago, it doesn’t how much you save, it’s how much you spend that counts. Also, I had a friend years ago. He bought a VCR (I said it was years ago!) for about $1500. Ouch. Carrying it back to his car he saw the same one in a store for $1300. I asked if he was pissed off for getting ripped off? He said he wasn’t ripped off. He said he looked at the VCR and decided it was a reasonable purchase at $1500 so he bought it. Since then, I haven’t bought anything unless I thought it was worth what the seller was asking.

On the other hand, I was clever enough to fly from New Zealand to the US to buy my latest Cervelo, and still save money compared to buying it here. I didn’t ask for a discount at either store.

19

I don’t think its expensive compared to a lot of things. And when you add in the time we spend “practicing” (even for the 7-8 hour guys like myself) - per hour is really cheap.

I agree with this. You might even say that practicing/training keeps you from doing other expensive things.

Well engineered bike parts and gadgets have a lasting appeal to me. I purchased my 2014 NP3 and have since upgraded it to pretty much my ideal bike, which makes me enthusiastic about riding it.

Race enjoyment is fleeting, primarily in the moment and doesn’t necessarily turn into a long term value in terms of experience unless you’re getting podium finishes or prizes (which I don’t). There is some value in riding on a closed course without interruptions, benchmarking, achieving course records, etc., but the costs make that a bit of a luxury given that you can achieve some of those goals in training for free.

20

I guess I go against the grain of most of the responses. Perhaps that I’m much older… I prefer to have my money go towards experiences. Sure, I’d love that new Speed Concept, but I make no where near enough to make that happen. I have enjoyed what little money I made and the profession I’m in, so I’ll be working for a lot more years!. In 32 years in the sport, I have only had 2 new bikes. I have been extremely fortunate to have purchased great used bikes from pros or ager’s who took great care of top end equipment.

Now on to races…I would much prefer racing and spending the bulk of my money there. I would love to travel the world and race at least every month if I won the lottery. My pleasure is not in having that bike that all drool over, but hanging with the best sportsmen and women in the world. I have made more friends from all over the world through racing, and just being around the sport makes my day. Travel is a super bonus.I’ve been fortunate enough to race at some very high profile races and some awesome countries. If I never got another new tri bike it would be ok, but let me race until there are no more miles left in this body…