My thought for the end of the week. A friend of mine is a casual BOP triathlete and says he wouldn’t get a disc because he’s not worthy, meaning that he feels he’s not fast enough to be worthy of being seen at a tri with a disc. I explained to him that a disc will make anybody the same % faster and slower riders will actually shave off more time than faster ones. He didn’t get it. He’s afraid that somebody might think he’s a poser because he’s not fast, even with a disc.
This “I’m not worthy” mentality has popped up on the forum numerous times. IMO, for example, you don’t have to ride like Bjorn or Basso to be worthy of a new Cervelo P3C with Zipps. You’re worthy if you can afford to buy the bike. I’d love a new P3C but I’m not worthy because I can’t afford one, not because I’m just a lowly MOP AG’er. So for now, and I’m sure the next several seasons, I’ll just have to “make do” with my four year old P2K and CH Aero cover. Would I be much faster on a new P3C? Doubt it very much. Would I be cooler? Now that’s the real question.
No such thing as being “not worthy” when it comes to tri toys. If you can afford them go for it because that makes you worthy. But do realize that they by themselves probably won’t make you a lot faster. And if some people think you’re a poser then let them eat their hearts out over your nice new tri toys that you’ve decided to spend your hard earned cash for and that they can’t afford.
That’s my end of the week rant. TGIF. Now it’s time to buy some beer for the weekend.
Hey, he can’t justify the cast of the disk wheel because of the results he gets at the races. Whatever. It may well be that he just cant afford it, and this is his way of not having to admit that he can’t afford it.
Good post. Best line: “But do realize that they by themselves probably won’t make you a lot faster”. I experienced this today- I was way off my 40k PR even though I now have better equipment now than I did when I set the PR (404 rear is now a Renn disc and I added aero shoe covers). Granted it was a windy day, but I felt like poo. It’s all about who’s the strongest rider.
hey…I’m a relative newbie, MOP/BOP, and I completely understand what your friend feels like. do I daydream sometimes about having a trispoke or something aero and carbon to mount my tires on? yeah. but would I feel like a fish out of water actually riding on them? hell yeah.
]The “I’m not worthy” argument exists in every other sport, where generally, moving up in category (getting better) is correlated with getting better equipment. Other equipment-heavy sports have a completely different population of athletes than does triathlon. Triathlon is a rare sport in that most people self-sponsor their own equipment, and that the majority of athletes are older people with jobs and money that allows them to buy themselves any equipment they can afford. In other sports, newbies are kids who start training the sport on cheap equipment, warranting upgrades only as thet get faster/better. As they generally belong to some club, school or national team, their speed has a direct correlation to the type of equipment they get, as obviously the sponsor/club prioritizes the faster athletes.
People who have spent a good amount in this sort of system understandably feel like posers if they have equipment substantially above the level correlating with their actual speed.
