Budget advice for first tri ever
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Iron Dan posted 48 weeks ago.
One thing that you will definitely need is a pair of goggles for the swim. You don't need anything fancy, just something that will keep the water out of your eyes.
For the bike, is it possible to borrow a bike from a friend? If not you will need to spend a majority of your money on a bike. Look to get something used on craigslist. You will also need a bike helmet.
For the run all your really need is a pair of running shoes.
Another thing you need to think about is what pants you are going to wear. You need to be able to swim in them, then bike in them, and then run in them and have them be comfortable for all the events.
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tsilcyc posted 48 weeks ago.
I recently finished writing about my first triathlon.
I quote:
"Not really knowing what the proper tools are for triathlon, I show up on race day with the following: Trek mountain bike equipped with giant nobby tires, baggy North Face hiking / water shorts, Asics wife-beater athletic shirt and some sort of trail running shoe which I now believe were too small for my feet."
If you want to read the rest, it can be found here:
http://www.felog.net/users/teamsln/myfirsttri.asp
Get the necessities and don't get hung up on the gadgets. Enjoy the experience!
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catwood posted 48 weeks ago.
tsilcyc, Great report and advice and congrats on the tri!
If possible, borrow a bike for your first race and save until you have $1000 to spend on a bike.
Otherwise,
The cheapest new roadie that I can find is this:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4698938
I'd definitely get this over a mountain bike.
$200 Bike
$30 Helmet
$25 Bike accessories (pump, water bottle cage, water bottle)
$40 Speedo Endurance Jammer Swimsuit (high quality, durable, versatile will work for training and racing)
$5 Goggles
=$300 Budget
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theShiba posted 48 weeks ago.
catwood seems to have a great idea for the "budget". I will re-emphasize thought that if you can borrow a bike from someone it will probably work out better for you.
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Anton posted 48 weeks ago.
Talk to the folks at the Local Bike Shop...they may have a bike you can borrow or rent. Many good bike shops will loan you a bike at a reasonable fee as they see it as a chance to get you to buy from them later on.
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
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FlashRedGLS1.8T posted 48 weeks ago.
I did my first tri this past summer and there are some good ideas on here.
I'd first try to borrow a bike. If that doesn't work look on craigslist or ebay. You'd be surprised at the deals that are out there. I still use my 17 year old columbus bikes, bike. Works pretty darned well. So if you have to buy a bike, this is where the bulk of your $300 will go.
Also, you can get a pair of tri shorts pretty cheap. I have quite a few pair now and they are great for the swim, bike and run.
Goggles is really the only necessity, besides the bike and running shoes. Everything else just makes doing the tri a bit easier.
Goggles
Bike
Running shoes
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tsilcyc posted 48 weeks ago.
FlashRedGLS1.8T wrote:
I did my first tri this past summer and there are some good ideas on here.I'd first try to borrow a bike. If that doesn't work look on craigslist or ebay. You'd be surprised at the deals that are out there. I still use my 17 year old columbus bikes, bike. Works pretty darned well. So if you have to buy a bike, this is where the bulk of your $300 will go.
Also, you can get a pair of tri shorts pretty cheap. I have quite a few pair now and they are great for the swim, bike and run.
Goggles is really the only necessity, besides the bike and running shoes. Everything else just makes doing the tri a bit easier.
Goggles
Bike
Running shoes
and a Helmet
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scottbland247 posted 48 weeks ago.
thanks for all the help guys (and girls) I really appreciate it. I hit the pool for the first time today (roughly 10 weeks out from the proposed tri) and I am really scared. Even a 50m absolutely killed me. I stayed in the pool doing 25m repeats trying to concentrate on form (I brought an buddy who used to be a swimmer with me) but I have a lot of work to do before I can do 400m in a lake.
I guess if it was easy everyone would do it.
It is better to hurt from doing something than from doing nothing...
First Triathlon (400m/20k/2.75mile) 1:39.15 including 33 minutes in the water
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kakman posted 48 weeks ago.
take a look around ruth kazez's site - mabe try this http://ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html
/k
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dollfin04 posted 48 weeks ago.
scottbland247 wrote:
thanks for all the help guys (and girls) I really appreciate it. I hit the pool for the first time today (roughly 10 weeks out from the proposed tri) and I am really scared. Even a 50m absolutely killed me. I stayed in the pool doing 25m repeats trying to concentrate on form (I brought an buddy who used to be a swimmer with me) but I have a lot of work to do before I can do 400m in a lake.I guess if it was easy everyone would do it.
Exactly! I did my first "long" bike ride outdoors today (60 minutes). I've been training in the gym for the past month because it has been really icy out. I kind of feel like I want to puke right now, but it was awesome! Some days will feel awful and you'll wonder what the heck you were ever thinking. And then you'll have an great one! Besides no pain, no gain right?! :)
http://dollfinkate.blogspot.com/
"No Pain, No Gain!" ;)
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tsilcyc posted 48 weeks ago.
dollfin04 wrote:
scottbland247 wrote:I kind of feel like I want to puke right now, but it was awesome!This is the quote of the week.
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scottbland247 posted 48 weeks ago.
thanks for the advice on the ruth karez site......im probably going to have to up my pool time commitment to three times a week to pull it off. I had been hoping to get by on two.....I mean how hard can swimming be right?.....ummmm.....yeah......pretty dang hard
I will not bypass watching swimming at the olympics anymore......I will give them the respect they desreve......my whole torso hurts
and it is awesome to hurt from doing something rather then from doing nothing
It is better to hurt from doing something than from doing nothing...
First Triathlon (400m/20k/2.75mile) 1:39.15 including 33 minutes in the water
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kakman posted 48 weeks ago.
scottbland247 wrote:
now THAT, is the quote of the week :)
and it is awesome to hurt from doing something rather then from doing nothing
/k
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longhair posted 48 weeks ago.
I started participating in this sport just less than two years ago, and I hear ya...I was also terrified of the swim. To boot, I used a wet suit that is designed for scuba diving and snorkeling...translation...it absorbs water, offers no buoyancy to speak of for swimming, and makes your arms feel like lead. Out of 132 participants, I was 120th out of the water. 26 plus minutes of cold agony in the Mystic River (Southeastern Connecticut) in early June.
Moral of the story...I got through it, and so will you.
If you want some swim tips, the total immersion web site has some free video clips to help you out. You will do better to have a good swimmer coach you a bit, but not everyone has that luxury.
A piece of advice, one I wish someone had given me. On the day of your event, get there early, and drink in the entire atmosphere. Get past the flashy bikes and take a good look around...it might be the most interesting mix of people you will ever see. I have yet to meet a jerk at any of the tri's I have done. Everyone seems pretty cool. One friend of mine who is lightyears faster and more experienced than me told me the following,"We are all on the same path. Some are just a little further along than others. "
Best of luck to you, and welcome to the sport. You will not be disapointed. Post how it went after your event.
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scottbland247 posted 48 weeks ago.
thanks for the encouragement longhair......it has seemed true that the atmosphere is a lot more friendly in the tri forums than some of the running forums i've been in
and it will definately help to get there early and get over the shock of that many people with that much more stuff than I will have
I kind of expect to feel like the guys in "cool runnings".....did anyone see that?
It is better to hurt from doing something than from doing nothing...
First Triathlon (400m/20k/2.75mile) 1:39.15 including 33 minutes in the water
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rmeyer33 posted 46 weeks ago.
$300 is questionable. Look for deals:
http://www.sprinttriathlons.com
Go cheap and have fun...
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Iron Dan posted 46 weeks ago.
scottbland247 wrote:
I kind of expect to feel like the guys in "cool runnings".....did anyone see that?
Just don't put an egg in your pants and you will be OK ;)
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scottbland247 posted 45 weeks ago.
just bought a garage sale bike to get me by for a while........does anyone recognize panasonic? it's light for a $75 dollar bike but i'm imagining is very bottom of the totem pole
It is better to hurt from doing something than from doing nothing...
First Triathlon (400m/20k/2.75mile) 1:39.15 including 33 minutes in the water
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Sully800 posted 45 weeks ago.
I've certainly heard of panasonic, but don't know anything about the brand. I believe it was actually a curbside rescue that the person fixed up into a decent bike. Anything for $75 is pretty low on the totem pole, but just remember Lance's motto: It's Not About The Bike.
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scottbland247 posted 45 weeks ago.
its def a road bike.......gear shifts are on bottom frame bar though (up near the fork) its kind of strange.....ill find the model number and take a pic
It is better to hurt from doing something than from doing nothing...
First Triathlon (400m/20k/2.75mile) 1:39.15 including 33 minutes in the water
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Triguy98 posted 45 weeks ago.
scottbland247 wrote:
just bought a garage sale bike to get me by for a while........does anyone recognize panasonic? it's light for a $75 dollar bike but i'm imagining is very bottom of the totem pole
http://www.yellowjersey.org/pana.html
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/japan.html#panasonic
In a nutshell- highly praised bikes that just didnt catch on here. You arent riding a piece of crap, just an older bike. It wont hold you back for your first couple years, assuming it is sized right
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
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ChunkyB posted 45 weeks ago.
scottbland247 wrote:
its def a road bike.......gear shifts are on bottom frame bar though (up near the fork) its kind of strange.....ill find the model number and take a pic
That's not that unusual. Those are called down tube shifters (that bottom tube is called the down tube), if I'm thinking of the right thing. Those were what everyone had until they came out with brifters. A lot of people love down tube shifters because there are less moving parts, and there's less that can go wrong. Can't wait for some pics.
"The melting point of wax means nothing to me": Thrice
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Sully800 posted 45 weeks ago.
Down tube shifters are very efficient at actually shifting the gears, they are just inconveniently placed. You always have to take a hand off the handle bars to shift, and if you're using aerobars its a more cumbersome maneuver. The road bike I used in my first two years had down tube shifters and they worked fine but I found them to be very inconvenient. It's still a good way to get into the sport though!
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Triguy98 posted 45 weeks ago.
Sully800 wrote:
and if you're using aerobars its a more cumbersome maneuver. The road bike I used in my first two years had down tube shifters and they worked fine but I found them to be very inconvenient. It's still a good way to get into the sport though!
One could get teh Profile Centrury bars and the Swift Shift accessory, using the same shifters that are currently on the bike.
http://www.profile-design.com/products/accessories/swift-shift/
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
I'm scheduled to do a sprint tri in orlando,fl in march and currently have no equipment (at all) with the exception of some good running shoes. I've got a real tight budget and have maybe $300 to spend on equipment before the first race. What do you recommend I spend it on. I obviously need a bike of some sort, and I think I can get by without a wet suit (it might be cold but it is Orlando), but I'm a little overwhelmed by all the gear and gadgets that get pushed on these sights. Any advice would be appreciated. (on a side note, I don't care about looking like a silly newbie so vanity equipment doesn't matter to me)
It is better to hurt from doing something than from doing nothing...
First Triathlon (400m/20k/2.75mile) 1:39.15 including 33 minutes in the water