We Did A Triathlon On A Budget & This Is What Happened!

We all know triathlon is expensive. Of course, it is! It's three sports, each requiring some equipment, on top of entry fees and various other costs. But how cheaply could you do your first triathlon? We set Mark and James the challenge to race a triathlon on a budget of just £300!

We all know triathlon is expensive. Of course, it is. It is three sports, each requiring some equipment, on top of entry fees and various other costs. You can of course buy a £10k bike for your first triathlon.

But assuming you don’t have that kind of money lying around and want to get into triathlon, how cheaply could you do your first triathlon? We set Mark and James the challenge to race a triathlon on a budget of just £300!

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[chefkoch]

I just checked the race results - turns out Mark and James came in 2nd and 5th (out of 90). Looks like legs, lungs and head can still beat a lot of equipment.

[PackBackerTom]

Did my first triathlon race (sprint) with the equipment I already owned: a swimsuit and goggles, an older cross bike, helmet, shorts, T-shirt and worn out casual shoes. No wetsuit, no trisuit, no bike shoes, no race belt (used pins instead), no watch, no sunglasses, no water bottle or gels (took anything at aid stations). And still enjoyed it!

[eyenoball]

ah, the GCN eurobike. the gift that keeps on giving

[andyc]

A rental wetsuit is a great option. Also, as a beginner I think you could use flat pedals and cycle in running shoes, lots of people do. Good vid though.

[Stevie]

Absolutely loved this. Can we have more Top Gear style challenges like this please. Really demonstrates the fun in the sport and makes it seem so much less intimidating 😊

[llamas]

Depending on the length of the event - you can do your first tri in a swimsuit, then pull on some shorts/Tshirt. Also depending on your experience with cycling and clips you don’t need cycling shoes - I did 4yrs of tri biking with my running shoes as clipping in was too intimidating. As much as this was a fun video it did feel like it was more like pro on a budget vs newbie on a budget 😂

[tecmalo]

I really hope, that this is the Eurobike from the GCN office and not another one 😅

Also I laughed out loud, as I realized that my shoes (personally primarily a runner) cost 3/4 of James total budget 😂
But awesome video none the less

[ClamBuster]

beautiful video... a couple of years ago at the weymouth 70.3, a guy at my hotel was doing his first ever triathlon (he had trained) on a carrera he bought for £120 second hand, in trainers. when he'd finished i just told him he was a hero, and that he now has a duty to spread the word of cheap triathlon'ing

[absmit]

Reminds me of how triathlon used to be in the 00’s pre aero era 😁 so much fun

[drexeldragon]

Great idea for a video. Triathlon can appear to have a high barrier to entry, and watching the pros with all of their expensive gear can make it seem very intimidating, so it's important to show how new folks can get into the sport without going bankrupt. Pretty great result too considering they are training exclusively for a marathon right now, no?

[andrewmetcalfe]

Having done the sport on and off for over 30 years, in my view there is a real sweet spot in terms of ‘bang for buck’ spending on the most expensive bit of kit - the bike. I’m writing this BEFORE I watch the video deliberately, and will ad additional comments afterwards. Based on my experience, spending a modest amount on a well fitted road bike is the best option for a beginner: just ad clip ons for another $US50-150 and the sweet spot should be at around $US500 these days (I actually spent $2, 000 Australian dollars back in 1988 for a custom built steel framed bike. A tad expensive, but options were significantly more limited back then. The good news is that bike is still alive and in use, but the same principle applies to the multitude of good ‘off the rack’ purchases that can be made today).
If it turns out you are really into triathlon, buying a specialised TT bike is the next option. Forget about $10, 000+ bikes: most manufacturers produce ‘cheap and cheerful’ variants for less than $3, 000, which when coupled with good race wheels (a whole extra expense) produce bikes that are 99.5% as good as what you see the professionals ride.
I mentioned race wheels? If you are really really into triathlon, and have some actual talent, save up for the big spend: obtaining the best races wheels your budget can afford. That purchase is probably 2-3 years down the track from the time you start (unless you are super talented, in which case a sponsor may even lend or give you some).

[automotive]

This is one for the ages. What a great video. You CAN do a triathlon on a budget, you DON'T need to wear a weird one piece or a speedo from 1977 and you can still be fast and place granted you've got the lungs the arms and the legs.

[SaBlackRah]

Funnily enough I did my first triathlon last week end (ironman 70.3 distance). Didn't want to splash on a new bike so I went with my dad's old road bike (a nearly 30 years old aluminium frame). I did get some weird looks getting it in place in transition. 🤣 Yet it went round! 👍

[michellecrooker]

I started doing tris in April of this 2021 - for my first one I used a bike I already had (a cruiser - you know, the ones you see people ride on the boardwalk at the beach), the same shoes for bike and run, although they were decent running shoes (~$120 USD) and purchased a tri-suit from Amazon (~$40 USD) - since then I have upgraded the bike (bought a used one from a friend - it has more than 7 gears and it's quite a bit lighter so much better on hills) - the upgraded bike we got for $250 USD and my wetsuit (previously purchased for a late season swim race) was $134 USD, I also recently upgraded my helmet for $50 USD - overall total for my current equipment is $594 USD - however for my first tri - the cost was $160 USD as all I purchased for that one was a tri-suit and shoes.
I'm still doing tris with just the one pair of shoes (I can't clip in yet, so no need to have bike shoes).
The main expense I run into nowadays is entry fees - one way I found to make this cheaper is to volunteer. I volunteered for a swim race a few months back and next weekend am swimming for $15 USD vs. $115 USD, another race I'm doing, I'm volunteering in the morning and running for free in the evening (saved $80-$95 USD).

Really enjoyed the video - y'all did great - as I'm new to all of this I really have only two goals - 1. Don't die and 2. Don't be last - so far - I have managed #1 and mostly managed #2 - but at least I finish. 😁

Considering I started swimming with my face in the water last September, hadn't run until last fall, and only occasionally biked upwards of 3-5 miles I'm happy with not dead, not last.

My next tri sprint is on Sunday (9/12/21) it's a 750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run - my first was a 300 m pool swim, 10 mile bike and 5k.

[rosserobertolli]

I did my first 1/8th triathlon on my old (modified) dutch granny bike (single speed, coaster brake, floppy frame and foam on the handlebars to lie on). I averaged 38.8 km/h and climbed in the ranks during cycling, meaning I surpassed more tri and race bikes than they overtook me. With a flat course, the right gear ratio and sort of ok aero position you are 90% there. Had a lot of fun (of course partly thanks to my duct-taped luggage rack and untrue rear wheel, rubbing it in the face of the carbon bikes I passed) and my next triathlon will most likely be on a compareable bike, even though I own a more capable TTish bike now.

[tobiasbegee]

This is such a great video! I am preparing for my first triathlon and was feeling very self conscious about how budget all my gear is. Now I know it is plenty to have fun and enjoy! This gives me confidence going into the Tri-adventure! Thank you very much!

[AnaFerreira-nnqm]

I did 3 sprint triathlons this summer with running shoes during my bike and a single speed (Big Shot) that I paid 50$ a few years ago. 😄

[bluefishhh]

Surprised you opted for both running and bike shoes...for a cheap, first triathlon, flat pedals and one pair of shoes would have been a good saving.

[kellyfrey]

Thank you for showing a great job on the transitions! I learned so much from watching the transitions on this video! Seeing it in action is so helpful!

[Macwood]

I did my first triathlon on a borrowed road bike and crummy wetsuit from my local pool and my running shoes that I had used all of track season… and I got hooked on it!!!