Triathlon Purchases by Ability & Experience

An author asked me today what purchases I'd suggest triathletes make to help them improve and grow based on their ability and experience levels. This is a tough one as there are many, many possibilities and points of view. And, of course, not knowing who the athlete is makes it all that much more difficult. Trying to make suggestions for fictitious people is always difficult. There are many "it depends" on this. But, nevertheless, here is a quick and dirty list off the top of my head of suggested purchases for triathletes by their levels of ability and experience (which can be a bit of a contradictory combination--for example, athletes with lots of experience don't always have lots of ability).

Newbie

Primary purchases advise: Focus on the bike and learn about triathlon.

1. Join a tri club. This is the cheapest and best investment you can make for becoming a triathlete.
2. Buy a basic tri bike. Used only. Don’t buy a new bike. Ask around at bike shops, races and tri clubs. Keep it to under $500, if possible. Wait a year for a better bike. You'll learn a lot.
3. Buy aero bars. Clip-ons are great if your bike didn’t already come with these.
4. Custom bike fit. Having a decent bike and riding efficiently and effectively are not the same. A professional bike fitter will make you much more comfortable and faster.
5. Rent a wetsuit for races. Find out what you like and don’t like about them.
6. Read Your First Triathlon by Joe Friel. (A bit of self-promotion--with more to come...)

Intermediate

Primary purchases advise: Refine swim and run techniques, become more aero on the bike and get professional help to improve faster.

1. Buy a nice triathlon-specific bike. Focus on getting one that fits you better than the first one you bought. Sell last year’s for close to what you paid for it.
2. Join a masters swim group with a stroke-knowledgeable coach on deck or take swim lessons with an instructor who uses an underwater camera. You'll improve faster by working on technique than on "fitness."
3. Buy a training plan for your A-priority race. This is an inexpensive way to get guidance from a knowledgeable coach (go to www.trainingpeaks.com).
4. Buy “fast” race wheels. Look for used ones before buying new.
5. Buy an aero helmet. Besides wheels and frame, it will make your overall race time faster than any other purchase you can make.
6. Buy a good wetsuit based on what you learned after renting a few the first year.
7. Read The Triathlete’s Training Bible by Joe Friel.

Elite

Primary purchases advise: Focus on purchases that will help you to improve your limiters along with your planning and analysis of training sessions and races.

1. Hire a coach. If you want to race fast you need someone who knows how to get you there. It will take you half as long to achieve high goals with a coach as compared with self-coaching.
2. Buy a power meter for your bike. You may not think you need it. You’re wrong. For your first such a purchase, ask around for used ones. It’s best to have one that can be easily changed between triathlon and road bike, assuming you have both. The longer your race is, the more important it is to have one to race on.
3. Read Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Allen and Coggan so you learn how to use the power meter.
4. Buy a speed-distance device for running. You can then do more training based on pace rather than heart rate or perceived exertion alone.It will also improve your ability to analyze your running.
5. Buy WKO+ software (available at www.trainingpeaks.com). This will allow you to upload your heart rate monitor, power meter, speed-distance device and any other training hardware you may have to one source where you can analyze it without having to learn how to use several companies’ software.
6. Hire a nutritionist to tweak your diet. This will help you to recover faster and therefore train harder.
7. Read Your Best Triathlon by Joe Friel. 

Comments

[Mike]

Very helpful, thanks Joe. I'm wondering why you wouldn't get a power meter much earlier, though - somewhere between late Newbie and early Intermediate? Especially once you start buying/sticking to an ATP.

PS - appreciating the ride info on Twitter, too.

[Sheila Leard]

I agree with hiring a nutritionist, but it should be a sports dietitian. Anyone can be a'nutritionist'. An RD that is CSSD,Board Certified in Sports Dietetics is trained to go in depth to the nutritional needs of a Triathlete.You can find one in your area at www.scandpg.org.

[Sarah Trejo]

I just posted this to Facebook, Joe. A fantastic write up that I think would really help new people (and folks at any level) focus on what to spend their hard-earned money on. Triathlon isn't cheap and this is a really fantastic way to help zero in on what is important at each level. Thank you as always for taking the time to share your thoughts and knowledge with us. Even though I'm not racing much these days, I still love reading your blog because it's always so informative.

(p.s. love all the work Jim Vance is doing for Training Bible coaching, as well!)

[dylan watson]

Sheila, that is a good point you make about the Sports Dietician, as a nutritionist would not necessarily know anything about the needs of a triathlete.

[greg Hinrichsen]

I know the truth when I see it, Thanks for the post. Guess I will have to splurge for that power meter soon. Are they easy to move between bikes?

[Joe Friel]

Greg--PowerTap is the easiest to move between bikes. Just swap out rear wheel.

[Luis]

which is the best heart rate monitor?

[Joe Friel]

Luis--HR is the same on all of them. So comes down to what features and functions you want.

[Clement]

Hello Joe,

I'm currently in my second year of triathlon. I've read 'Your first tri' to complete my first sprint triathlon and I've bought and read 'Triathlete training bible' to create my-self an ATP. My goals for this seasons are to improve my time on a sprint and to run my first olympic distance by the end of the season.

I'm currently in my prep period and I live in quite hilly place. That means it's sometimes difficult to stay in HR-Z1 and Z2. Moreover it rains often and the wind is often strong.

So my question is this one :

I've enough money for only one choice. What should I buy between a combo "Powertape SL + Edge 800" and good indoor trainer ?

Thank you

[Joe Friel]

Clement--A Powertap SL built up into a wheel will cost at least US$1200. Once you have that you can get a cheap trainer for less than US$50. The power meter makes any trainer much more useful.