Overlooked demographic?

Triathlon Forum
21

Blame the media, Blame the media!!! Oh wait thats what were supposed to do about our fear of crime. (AH!!! I’m actually picking things up from school)

If you think about it, it is market driven. Triathlon is a small market, like it or not, USAT has what 40,000 members? So for kicks lets say there are 250,000 triathletes in the US. Compare that to the number of cyclists, I can’t even guess how many. Triathletes are niche market within a niche market. To make matter worse, the local tri club on their website claims that their median member income is $90k per year, I heard once that the average income for a triathlete is $60k per year. Basically people have too much $$ to spend, so it makes for sense for companies to market high end gear.

Now to rant of a different subject. I’m going to try to justify not having an entry level steep tri bike now. I’m sure everyone knows someone that has done just a couple tris and gotten out of it, or done more than a few and is riding a slack angle bike. Part of the problem is that triathletes as a whole haven’t defined what they want, you have slowman preaching steep angles, Cobb pitching the “slam” (slacker than road angles), and then you have people riding road bikes. How many people do you think want to ride steep? I ride steep, 80+ degrees when hammering, I don’t know many triathletes but of the ones I know, all of them ride shallow. So steep riders are a niche inside of niche inside of a niche group. Just because most of the people here are well accomplished triathletes preaching riding steep don’t think that everyone or even 1/2 want to ride steep. I would venture to guess that 66% of triathletes ride at less that 76.5 degrees, so if their marketing in the right place I would say it is.

Do we need a cheap steep angled bike? Sure we do. Is there a real large scale market for it? Probably not. Your probably only taking 15,000 people in the US (~ 33% of 40,000 annual members) that want to ride steep, then consider atleast 1/2 make 60k a year, that leave 7,500 in the entire country, not exactly a large market. Then consider that probably less than 1/4 buy a buy every year, so now where only talkin 1800 people. Not exactly a market you can make $$ in by selling volume (the way you make $$ selling cheap).

Ok thats enough ranting and speculation for now.

On final thing maybe it just shows that those in the know think newbies should be on road bikes. KIDDING!!! (please don’t kill me, please)

22

Is it really an issue of an overlooked demographic or the tendency to super size?

23

Pluto

Don’t inherently disagree with your theory, but as is often the problem with demorgaphicly drawn infrences you can never be sure if the behavior drove the market or the market dictated the behavior.

I look at this issue a bit differently. If you suffered through my previous post you might pick up my theory that triathlon is a small, fringe sport because of the pressure points caused by lack of information (or appropriate information differentiated by consumer group) and price/cost.

*** I admit there are many other reasons for the current nature of triathlon as a sport but don’t intend to go into that here***

Thus only affluent folks are drawn into the sport. Admittedly this is a huge presumption and does not fit everyone, but the demographics of the average triathlete do point to higher than normal income.

Thus my notion that it is not the consumer and their ability to pay that drives up product costs, but rather it is the high product cost that drives only affluent people into triathlon.

Because the market for tri related products (bikes and wet suites for example) is relatively small from BOTH the producer and CONSUMER end I believe that the producer has the upper hand in this business relationship. Not untill some manufacture can under-cut their competitors so significantly so as to gain a huge share of the currently small market pie, or the market pie grows significantly larger, does the overall CPI basket of triathlon goods drop in price. If this can’t occur we may not see the growth in the sport that I do believe there is the potential for.

I realize I am throwing a chicken and egg conundrum into the debate. But I do believe that until we are able to grow the participant base significantly, there will persist inherent dilemas related to the producer v. consumer issues in triathlon.

Anyone what to back/partner with me on starting a revolution in growing participation rates in triathlon AND establish a product producing company to meet these consumers needs???

24

Is it really an issue of an overlooked demographic or the tendency to super size?<<

HAHAHAHAHAHA

What the hell was the original question?

FWIW, I raced on the same bike for 13 years. Lot’s of people I know did the same.

clm

25

Ok 1 more post.

I agree with Hid. If you look around there are really not many cheap sports you can do yourself. I’ve done most of the sports Hid talked about and a couple more, all expensive.

All said and done, I’ve spent about as much on triathlons (minus the road bike, I would have bought anyways) as I have on other sports, skiing, ice hockey (considerable more here), paintballing, or cycling (road and mountain). When you compare the costs vs time for a sport. Tris aren’t that expensive for the amount of time spent.

Ok, I’m done now, I swear I am.

26

“First information hurdle is the training. Ya - to some degree it should start off as simple as - get your fat ass off the couch and work out 3 to 5 times a week - or more graciously get your self swimming 3 times a week for a total of 1 hour, run a total of 10 miles a week and bike 3 times a week for a couple of hours. Don’t kill your self, if it hurts slow down, make sure you have a rest day or two in your week. In 6 to 8 weeks check back in for more training info and program refinement. This is a simple plan, but for someone who is just starting out it needs to be this simple”

I’ve given this advice several times and have found that it’s generally unappreciated or ignored. People seem to WANT something complicated in my opinion. I get this vacant/skeptical stare when giving the advice described above.

Best training advice I ever got came from a roadie friend of mine just as I was getting into this: RTFB .

27

Robert

This is the heart of what I think is going on!!! Your ‘in the tri club’ because I see you as a person with huge focus on defined goals. That is GEAT!!!

But not everyone can be that. It does not take much to get someone, someone scared, to NOT start on a new adventure let alone keep with it.

Here in lies our sports biggest problem.

Keep rock’in you are awesome!

28

“Expensive” is in the eye of the beholder. When I first began to develop an interest in bikes and triathlon, and realized that bikes could cost the same or more than a Hyundai, I had sticker shock. I had no idea you could spend more than say, $500 for a bike. And I thought that $500 was a lot!! Then I started researching bikes to find out what to get, and it’s intimidating - seat tube angles, bottom brackets, bike geometry, derailleurs, saddles, aero bars, components, pedals, etc etc… there’s so much to learn and it all has a cost. So many choices and no idea what’s best for me. I wasn’t looking for top of the line, but I didn’t want to waste my money on something I’d grow out of right away, either. Also felt kind of foolish walking into a bike shop, a late 30’s woman -at the time- with my 3 kids in tow, and telling the kid working there I’m looking for a bike to race in triathlons. I felt like an idiot.

Anyway, the fact is, you can’t do tris as inexpensively as you can run, bike or swim separately. What’s expensive to me (now I’d think that a $5000 or $6000 bike is expensive, not $500) might be cheap for someone else. Then again, someone else will think $1000 is too much.

Do you really need all the gear?? We’ve all seen people at races on mountain bikes and wearing “sneakers” (not running shoes). Hopefully they’re enjoying themselves because that’s what it’s really all about. But I think that most people who do it are competitive and don’t want to be at the back of the pack, and want the appropriate equipment to help them do well.

If you’re determined to get into the sport, you’ll find a way to do it. If I did it, anyone can. Could it be easier? Yep. Can it be cheap? Not really. Like some other posts here mentioned, most sports aren’t cheap. Heck - I paid $200 for gear so my 8 year old could take 5 hockey lessons, and it turns out he doesn’t like the sport. Oh, well! Thank goodness it’s track season and all he needs is running shoes for that! And drum lessons… geez, how much are drums??? They can’t be more than, say $80… right?

29

Interesting…

Couple of questions if I may -

Do there folks ever really get the more refined training info/plan?

Do they understand it if they actually received it?

Are they able to impliment it?

If so - for how long?

What is there general frustration level after say 1 months of executing a more ‘complicated’ training plan?

Just wondering and hoping to refine my ideas.

thanks

30

I’m just going to throw something out.

Everything in life shouldn’t be easy. Everything shouldn’t be handed to people. Some things are supposed to be hard.

Part of what I find interesting about the combination of sports is that it is a difficult balance, and only you (through time and hard work) can master your personal balance.

I think everyone means well but this thread is starting to sound like people want mail-order MBA’s. “Send a photo and $600 to the address below and we will send you a finishers photo and medal. The first 50 orders will also recieve a limited addition finishers t-shirt!”

31

Hid

This ain’t mail order baby - pony up to the bar, pay your due and relish your MOPer & BOPer status.

If I passed on impression that everything in triathlon should be easy, well my bad.

However I don’t think the the gatekeeper of the tri community should be measured by the sweat and hard work of an individual simply attempting to open the door, walk into the party and begin the process of playing with others.

Nothing about this endeavor of triathlon is easy, but to limit access by feeling that it should be hard to get started, well possibly this is why we have concerns over growth and participation.

32

This is a great thread.

Yeah, Tibbs, I guess you could categorize me as frugal. Or cheap. Or whatever. How about somewhat shocked at the amount of money people put into this sport?

Now don’t get me wrong. I have no real problem with the fact that your typical entry level tri bike costs $1200 to $1500. I mean, I don’t dispute that as a fair price for a bike like the Dual, or Kilo, etc.

I also don’t have a problem with the more exotic bikes that cost three or four times that amount. I’m gratified that such bikes just exist- they’re art, beauty. They’re inherently good things.

I have no problem with people who spend more on a bike than I did on my family car. It’s their money, and as long as they aren’t neglecting to feed their children or something, they can spend it how they like.

But, for myself, personally, just me- I have a hard time justifying that amount of money on what is essentially a recreational activity.

Realistically, it costs about two grand for a full tri set-up. Figure a bike like a QR Kilo, pedals, bike shoes, helmet, shorts, running shoes, wet suit, and you’re looking at at least $2000.

Two thousand dollars might sound pretty thin to some people. To me, it seems like a lot of money. It isn’t that I’m poor- I have a reasonably well paying job. But I have a wife, two kids, and a house, and every thousand dollars I spend on fun stuff for me is a thousand dollars I don’t have for things like toys, home maintenance, savings, dinner with the wife every month or so, a three day road trip with the family once or twice a year, a plane ride back East to visit our families. . .etc etc. You get the idea.

Plus which, I like triathlon mainly because it’s a way to push myself. It really isn’t about the bike. I need a bike because you can’t do tri without one, that’s all. It’s a vehicle to me- utilitarian. I need the least expensive bike I can get that isn’t complete garbage. I need it to shift without dropping the chain, and I don’t need the frame falling apart the first time it hits a pothole. And I guess I need it to stop when I hit the brakes. And that’s about it.

Frankly, a bike like the Tsunami is pretty appealing to me. Except, I don’t know that it isn’t garbage- I’ve never heard from anyone who actually owns one. Impressions, anyone?

33

Don’t give me too much credit. I still have a few toys, but I’ve kind of capped my gear with what I currently have. I may add a doodad here or there, but for the most part, I’m as outfitted as I’m going to be (I do have a set of race wheels; Renn disc and an aero front I bought from bunnyman for $60 – I sold my wetsuit to buy the disc!).

As far as goals go, my main goal is to have fun at the tri game. That means I’ve streamlined (and simplified) my training. I’m trying to rest more and spend more time with my family. So my main goal is to make my training more efficient, to make each workout count. I want to go faster, and that’s where my training is aimed. But I want to have fun in the process.

This has got to be about having fun. Nobody pays us to do this. The ROI we can have is fun. That makes it all worthwhile.

RP

34

Triathlon is far from easy. The training itself is difficult. Balancing training with all the other rigors of everyday life is difficult. Sometimes, even traveling to and from races is difficult. I don’t think anyone wants tri to be easy. However, many of us would like for it to be less complicated. There is a big difference. Much of the information about equipment and training is conflicting, ambiguous and pure hype. Training information can often be hard to decipher. I don’t mind doing a hard workout; I just want to understand what it is that I’m doing, why I’m doing it and what the purpose of said workout is. Sometimes that’s hard to figure out from the resources I have available to me. Of course I could get a coach, but then there’s more coin.

We don’t want it easy, just simple. Big difference.

RP

35

Several people on the forum have bought bikes from Chuck’s. Some bought Tsunamis. I think I remember the Tsunami getting good reviews.

36

bump
.

37

“Anyone what to back/partner with me on starting a revolution in growing participation rates in triathlon AND establish a product producing company to meet these consumers needs???”

My number is 214 674 5510 :wink:
.