tri expensive

How Do We Afford This Sport?
August 28, 2010 By admin
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triathlon expensiveMan, this sport is expensive! After you’ve dropped $10,000 a bike, $3,000 on a set of racing wheels, $2,000 on a CompuTrainer, $3,500 on a treadmill and another $1,000 on your triathlon kit, you can barely pay for 1st class tickets to Germany!

I’m kidding of course . . . at least for some of us. One of the guys in my age group bought a house on the Big Island so he could train there for the Ironman World Championships (I’m sure that’s the only reason too!).

This sport is expensive but it doesn’t have to be that bad. When I counsel new athletes I tell them to just spend what they can afford. You can quite literally get into this sport for hundreds, not thousands of dollars.

If you look hard you can find some good deals on new and used bikes (caution with the used bikes – have your local bike mechanic check it out in advance) as well as deals on new and used wetsuits.

You can also find good deals on race entries. Not every race is $600 like the new Ironman Texas race next year or the $120 a lot of race directors charge. Some of the great local races are as little as $60 and you get the full triathlon effect (pain).

And don’t worry; you won’t be the only one out there with a 10-year old bike. There are plenty of others just like you that can’t afford the new Cervelo or Trek as well as those that just want to dip their toes in the water, so to speak.

Once triathlon has its “hooks” in you, you’ll want to step up your gear, however. Depending on where you’re racing, your first purchase might be a new wetsuit. Get one that fits (not too tight or loose) because fit is everything. Then, concentrate on getting the best bike you can for the money. You’ll feel faster when you’re on a new ride whether you are or not.

I typically do about 10 races a year which amounts to about $2,500 a year! (Now I wished I hadn’t done the math.) It’s a lot but it’s a small investment to fuel my passion.

Be careful with your money but keep on racing!

Cheers!

http://www.triathica.com/how-do-we-afford-triathlon/