We Did A Triathlon In The Cheapest Kit Possible & This Is What Happened

Doing a triathlon is expensive. It’s renowned for its bling and shiny, high-end gear.
Entering a triathlon can cost a small fortune. But what if we set ourselves a budget of £200 each, to enter and get all the gear required for a triathlon? Follow Mark and James as they take on this exciting challenge. Can they complete a triathlon on an even smaller budget and still perform well? Watch the video to find out!
00:00 Doing a Triathlon on a Small Budget
00:29 The Cotswold Lake 62 Evening Triathlon Series
00:59 Finding the Cheapest Kit Possible
02:40 Julian House Bike Workshop: Finding Our Bike
03:34 Our Budget Tri Kit
04:51 Getting Ready for the Sprint Distance Triathlon
06:05 400m Swim
06:36 16km Cycle
07:35 4.5km run
08:42 Can you do a triathlon for under £200?
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Which part of our budget triathlon challenge did you find most surprising?
Let us know in the comments! 💬
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[@gtn]

Which part of our budget triathlon challenge did you find most surprising? Let us know in the comments! 💬

[@fayecooper4277]

That you could possibly run in those trainers 😂

[@Leeroy49]

Definetly the bikes. Good guy who's running that shop helping out the not so wealthy among us.

[@gpersonaltrainer]

Cheap, leaking goggles. If you don't see where you are going, the swim leg will be a nightmare.

[@shahilj]

Would have loved some feedback on the shoes. You guys looked fine at the end so seems these weren’t bad

[@ngdawgs1]

Loved these budget vids!! Shocked at how well the bikes worked for that kind of money 🤩! N great sprint finish 🥳🥳🥳. James definitely would’ve won with the extra money 💴😜

[@tomwhite1431]

I don't remember seeing Speedos included in the budget, Mark.

[@lcre0002]

I'd look the other side and give Mark a pass on that one, @tomwhite1431 Dignity has no price LOL :D

[@tomwhite1431]

​@@lcre0002 I'll forgive but I'll never forget 😅

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Given the alternative was Mark being arrested for public indecency, I'll allow it.

[@youytubey]

Zoggs better

[@bighammer3464]

If they were second hand they’re ok 😂

[@billcodey1430]

For anyone wondering, official results have James beating Mark by a second. 6th and 7th overall respectively. 🙂

[@xtotaldestructionx]

Just goes to show that it's not the gear, it's the engine

[@benarahsounds9171]

Thanks so much, I don't know why they always leave the important info out if the video.

[@MilesDavison]

Would love to know their splits!

[@dsm1891]

you should do a "buy this not that" video(s) to guide beginners and alike into making value for money purchases. i.e. some kit its worth spending a little more money on, but what should you look out for

[@user-ng3rf7wz1d]

My first triathlon was 8 years ago. I bought a trisuit for £10, used an old bike and helmet. £5 googles, £15 supermarket trainers. The event cost £20 to enter back then. And I loved every second of it!

[@MakoBeauty]

My first local sprint triathlon in 2016, I used my sister's single speed bike, my regular tennis shoes, my mom's friend's old trisuit from when she raced in college in the 90s, and my old pool goggles. I bought a race belt, and a helmet, and that was it!

[@oanna.m3125]

The low-budget triathlons are my favorite videos of the channel! Keep it up! 😁

[@GavinWren]

Someone at Brighton triathlon was riding a Boris-style hire bike so you don’t actually need to buy a bike at all 😂

[@RossHbn]

It's good to see the seemingly high financial barrier to entry being obliterated here, especially for beginners like myself who have no dignity anyway. I salute you. 7:37 - I'd love to know what they were thinking. Fair play gents.

[@dimrub]

Well, they answered the question of how much would it cost to buy a ridiculous kit (goggles that leak and running shoes that are better for napping than for running). A more interesting question to answer is how much would it cost to buy a minimal reasonable kit, one you can use for a bunch of events without suffering too much, and then upgrade one part at a time.

[@Helena-dk9er]

@@dimrub That's a great question! Instead of spending on an expensive, impractical kit, why not start with a minimal, versatile one and upgrade over time? With a financial advisor like Margaret Ellen Whitlock, budgeting for these upgrades can be seamless.

[@batagnam]

There is one piece of kit for which you should'nt cheap out, that's the helmet. Could probably find one with certifications for around 30€

[@Jett125]

Norseman in the suit. Easy.

[@timjurgens1499]

The real point of this video is at 7:23 You have all whacky gear and you are still as fast as the guy with the tri bike, zipp wheels and aero helmet. What makes you fast? Training does ;)

[@DiggerPrints0814]

I think just the cost to compete is crazy (Yes i know insurance's etc these days) but sometimes even these smaller events, just the cost to compete puts a lot of people off.

[@MattRose30000]

Those bikes are a steal

[@jonathanzappala]

When I did my first, I bought a $15 pair of half tights for shorts, and a $20 pair of goggles, aaaand a new $1000 road bike. Hey, my previous bike was stolen so I wasn't using the $20 junker I replaced it with haha. I don't think shoes count, everyone has a pair of shoes they can run in. The registration for my first tri was $15, but I went out of town that weekend and did not do it, then I did my first tri with said purchases 8 years later.

[@oliverschmidt1988]

what!? 100 pounds for such a bike?! impossible !

[@claudiofiero8523]

These ones were both a steal 🥲 At least in Italy the post-2000s roadie barrier is about 150-200€

[@TomK32]

Suggestion for a future rule: Every pence not spend should be a time bonus for the one who received the cheap kit. Just to make sure every penny is spent on high quality kit ;)

[@PepeDalinShow]

I just did a triathlon yesterday. I'm already a cyclist so I just had to buy the shoes and googles. So I bought a $60 running shoes and $20 goggles. I swam with my bib shorts. That's it. It was so fun I had a blast. Haha

[@iggalan]

The two bikes look surprisingly good for the price. But the running shoes look painful 😱 . Good video, for the next same concept but move up a notch on kit (but maybe same bikes) please 😂

[@pauljaffray6437]

My favourite video 😂. Did my first duathlon today, and my kit probably cost around £300. 3rd on the first run and watching all the TT bikes fly past me and catch some back up on the last run. Loved it ❤

[@MarvinNeumannOfficial]

I love these kind of videos! So much fun! :D

[@winklertribe5268]

Mark, Your commitment to us (your viewers) by wearing that ridiculous trisuit is heartwarming and hilarious! Thanks for this fun episode!

[@haakonwibe9379]

Haha this is brilliant! Top stuff, and inspiring in a real way - I might sign up for a sprint soon

[@jcoterhals]

This was a fun video, guys, mostly because it looked as if you had fun too. Liked that you actually competed!

[@irog3032]

We definitely need a 70.3 in the pink suit

[@amandalinderoth5922]

the close ups on the pink trisuit was absolutely gold, laughed every time

[@raymonwaszink]

This video was a lot of fun to watch!😄😂

[@t_h_visuals]

It was great to see you all at the event. Thankfully I didn’t see the speedo shot. It was a cracking evening.

[@9blowtorch]

The things you do for us! 🤣❤

[@Leeroy49]

I'd say James has really arrived at the madhouse called GTN :) Great fun.

[@sebastienbrochard9812]

Don't know about the Norwegian Method ... but Mark rocked the Norwegian transparent suit! Well done guys!

[@MsAmira1988]

This was hilarious!

[@keithdoran89]

Keep the pink trisuit! It looks so lonely on the side of the road at the end of the video! Thanks for a classic video!

[@LewisPlotts-qy2pg]

Hilarious and educational at the same time.

[@eea6967]

I did my first tri on a borrowed bike with no brakes. Finished top 10 in my AG. Not bad for someone who hadn’t trained a lick.

[@DavidFritzIII]

Mark in the Maglia Rosa!

[@jlore6344]

These are always awesome. That poor local triathlon is going to become known for wild costumes because of you though. .. actually James' suit did not look bad.

[@alastorphoenix8701]

Nice finish 😃

[@pmouxo01]

😂😂love them!

[@Customisbetter2]

Best outro ever! lol

[@Choedron]

Oh, that pink thing was pretty 🤣😂

[@jamiefuhrman403]

Would be cool to do a comparison video with the most expensive top of the line gear you can find (or be loaned by sponsors)!

[@Crojach]

The dude on 7:24 has a front wheel worth 3 times you both spent 😂😂

[@sinancetinkaya]

Mark you got all eyes on you 🤣

[@fisharefriends598]

This would be better than GCNs effort. They’d get the btwin but upgrade it with ultegra components and carbon parts out the bike bin

[@gpersonaltrainer]

2nd at the a London Duathlon in 2007 and 3rd in 2008 (fun race) riding a Giant Defy 2. 😂 1st in the mixed team in 2011, at Dorney Lake, riding a Trek 1.7. 🤣 Btw, 6th place (of the day) in the overall running leg. Invest in training, but get the best bang for your buck... it will make your life/race, much, much easier. 😉

[@Bwillig78]

Wait what places did you get though? Leaving us with a cliff hanger

[@andreemurray7039]

A tricky question what would say a resalable budget would be if starting out?

[@mdb_8982]

Class Act 😂👌🏾

[@VictoriaHardy00]

This is so cool. It’s how I feel in a 70.3. Maybe you can do the same for that!

[@VictoriaHardy00]

And his bike is better than mine!

[@camilog.719]

now do a full distance with this kit :D

[@JustKeepFlowingYes]

How did you guys place and what’s your times?

[@DavidFritzIII]

Would like to know if you all had any unexpected blisters or discomfort. Despite all the greif you both gave this low cost kit.... it wasnt actually so bad seeing as how you bought all of it for 1/3 the price a top end trisuit

[@blackschnauzer5126]

Recently done first ironman sub 11 with a road bike with aero bars. Thoughts on upgrading to tri bike for the sub 10 ?

[@tonyBobb5209]

Well done Mark! Id say an aerodynamics helmet is a wise purchase. Regarding TT bike, GTN created a video where they purchased a Cervelo P2 and carried out a few upgrades all for less than £1,000.

[@na-dk9vm]

Congrats. My goal is sub 12. Could you tell me your training program up to the race and how long you trained??

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Switching from clip-ons to a dedicated TT bike will NOT gain you an hour on the bike. However, there are some compromises in fit, positioning and handling trying to adopt a aero position on a road bike. Getting a good position on a dedicated TT rig may be more comfortable, and have you getting off the bike with your leg muscles in better shape to have a good run.

[@Borntoberolled]

I would suggest you change the seat post to something like the profile design fast forward or the redshift dual position seat post. You can achieve a pretty similar geometry to a dedicated tri bike by doing that. You can compare your geometry to that of a canyon speedmax or any other tri bike on a website called 99 spokes. It kind of puts things into perspective.

[@blackschnauzer5126]

@@na-dk9vm I trained for about 7 months but I already gotten into running, I was only new to cycling so I trained mostly for that

[@iberiksoderblom]

A lot of fun for 200 pounds 😀

[@gregorybalint]

and once again it has been proved that it is not the kit but training that matters....

[@ardnax]

Yay, love that you actually did go for a swim in it 😁 although cheating slightly...

[@sean7456]

peak content

[@Lukas-rd4ul]

you selling either one of the bikes ?

[@muhamadirfaan3329]

5:04 could be worse could be 🌈

[@bobgug8626]

This was good fun but in reality you wouldn't want to skimp on decent shoes.

[@gubz_]

That’s a nice bike for 100 pounds

[@RadlagerTV]

Didnt your food cost a thing?

[@SwimBikeRunFastest]

Bargain. 20 years ago I did my first tri. It cost £8. I was on a £350 second-hand bike with toe clips, a decathlon tri suit and a wetsuit I won in a competition. Pretty sure I used my astro-turf football boots. I ran under 12 minutes for 3k. Ive never run that fast ever again.

[@SwimBikeRunFastest]

Still got that Cannondale caad 3. Its done 1000s of kms

[@michaelhatch1994]

It's a sprint, you only need a swimsuit and a T shirt, no Trisuit needed and Walmart do better shoes for $20. You guys don't know "cheap"!!

[@michaelhatch1994]

Maybe you should do a season of local and cheap Triathlons and rate or review them for the "fun" element. Like Park runs, there needs to be a different way to go about this.

[@scotts6067]

If I wore that pink suit I would have to kick my own ass

[@louisscheepers5709]

😂

[@david431987]

you did not peed yourself?

[@alkisromeos8904]

There is no such thing as triathlon on a budget. I mean, a government's budget, yes.

[@YesYesToThat]

Now do a test to see if an out-of-shape dude can do it with expensive pro-gear 😛

[@BroDuke1]

You guys gotta hire some more women for these videos 🤢

[@user-cr7mn1th4g]

you should do a "buy this not that" video(s) to guide beginners and alike into making value for money purchases. i.e. some kit its worth spending a little more money on, but what should you look out for