What Gear You Need For Triathlon
What’s essential and what’s just a nice-to-have
So, you’ve signed up for a triathlon or you’re thinking about it. Whether it’s your first sprint tri or you’ve got your sights set on an Ironman, the right gear can make training and racing a whole lot smoother. But don’t worry: you don’t need to buy a bike that costs more than your car or pack your house into a transition bag. Let’s break it down into essentials (what you really need) and nice-to-haves (gear that can make life easier or a bit more comfortable).
General triathlon essentials
GPS watch - Technically speaking, anyone can do a triathlon without a watch to record your pace/speed/time and other metrics. But when it comes to executing the workout session and racing in your zones (more on that here), it’s a good idea to look in real time at your metrics to ensure you’re not under or over cooking it. This has the potential to mean you either not achieving your potential or race day isn’t going to go the way you hope.
HRM – as above for the GPS watch, a heart rate monitor is now an essential item to track your exertion. Most GPS watches have a wrist-based HRM built in. A nice-to-have is a chest or arm strap HRM which can offer additional running metrics such as chest oscillation and power estimation.
Swim
Nice-to-haves
Wetsuit – Not necessary if you’ll be training and/or racing in warmer waters. If you’re planning to race in a wetsuit or when it’s mandatory (your coach can help with race selection), and like goggles, you’ll need to try different types on to get the right fit. Seek advice from your coach or from a dedicated swim specialist for the correct wetsuit for you. Avoid surf or diving wetsuits as these will be more restrictive and heavier.
Anti-chafe – essential if wearing a wetsuit to avoid chafing. Also make sure to choose an anti-chafe that is compatible with wetsuits.
Tinted and clear goggles – tinted are useful for early morning or evening open water swimming when sun glare can affect your sighting. Conversely, clear goggles are useful on an overcast day.
Paddles, pull buoy and fins – great if you want to do drills in the pool and work on weaknesses. If you join a swim squad, often the coach will have spares you can borrow.
Essentials
Swim suit / shorts – obviously these are essential for swimming! Guys should opt for skin-tight trunks or jammers. Loose baggy shorts will slow you down. Women can opt for either a one-piece suit of two-piece. Bikinis are designed for sunbathing and splashing around not swimming, so a swim-specific two-piece is essential to avoid potential embarrassment.
Goggles – visit a swim shop to try goggles on. Different people fit different types of goggles. Try them on to get the right fit for you.
Swim cap – cheap from a swim store or your local pool. Races usually hand one out to wear on the day, but before your first race you’ll need one to hold your hair back from getting in your face. There’s a high chance any swimmer or triathlete you know will have a large collection of swim caps, they might even gift you one!
Pool membership – not strictly necessary if you have access to your own pool, or a lake/ocean. A pool gives you the opportunity to train in a comfortable environment no matter the weather or time of day.
Bike
Nice-to-haves
Time Trial (TT) bike – designed for aerodynamics in non-drafting racing. A TT bike has fixed aero-bar extensions for aerodynamics. Not necessarily required if you have a road bike with clip on bars.
Indoor trainer - you can hook up your existing road or TT bike to an indoor trainer to ride indoors. This is useful for those specific workouts, particularly high intensity intervals, which would be difficult to do on busy roads with junctions and traffic lights. An indoor trainer helps you get the ride in if the weather outside if yucky.
Race wheels - Deeper rims made of carbon which can improve aerodynamics.
Aero helmet - shaped to be more aerodynamic than a traditional road helmet.
Race tyres - Lighter and thinner tyres which offer less friction and more speed.
Power meter - this device is usually located within the pedals or crank arm and records power output (watts). Training and racing
Bike computer - this device can sit between your bars and display customized metrics such as distance, speed, power, heart rate etc. Not necessarily required if your watch can record and display the same metrics.
Comprehensive bike fit - worth getting from an experience professional who will analyze your position on the bike and optimize it for best comfort and aerodynamics.
Essentials
Road bike + clip-on bars – if you’re racing a triathlon up to a sprint distance this can be done on an bike (e.g. city/hybrid or mountain bike). Anything above a sprint you’ll want to be on a road bike as a lighter frame and skinnier tyres will provide free speed. If you’re planning a race where you can’t draft off of other athletes, clip-on aero bars will help reduce your profile and therefore drag.
Clip-in pedals – not required at all if racing up to a sprint distance, trainers and flat pedals are fine. But anything longer then clip-in shoes are a must as these will help with an efficient powerful pedal stroke. Never ride clip-ins for the first time on race day, plenty of practice is required first and your coach can support you.
Helmet – this is a non-negotiable no race will let anyone on the bike without one. There’s no need for an aero helmet that makes you look like a storm trooper, a well-ventilated standard road helmet will do and preferably one that’s not second hand as you never know if the previous owner had dropped or crashed in it.
Bottle cage and bottles – hydrating and refuelling is essential to training and racing.
Repair kit – carrying a spare tube, pump (or CO2 cartridge) and tyre levers is essential when you get a flat. It’s also important to know how to use them!
Floor pump - easier to pump up tyres and more accurately than a hand pump.
Bike cleaner, degreaser and chain lube - you’ll want to clean you bike after it’s been wet, degrease the chain and then apply chain lube. You’ll need to apply chain lube every 200km.
Cycle kit – there’s no need to break the bank buying expensive kit. You can buy sleek kit at a reasonable price. At a minimum you’ll need bib shorts with a chamois pad (don’t get shorts without the bibs, the bibs go over your shoulders and hold the shorts and chamois pad in place), a zip-up jersey with pockets in the back and socks. You can double-up the same bike socks for running.
Warm and dry layers – depending on where you’re riding you may need gloves, headband, gilet and/or an underlayer and a jacket. A tight fitting breathable top will also work to keep you warm.
Chamois cream – helps prevent chafing and saddle sores in the downstairs region. A chamois cream with natural anti-bacterial properties is helpful as you can imagine a sweaty and warm groin area during training and racing isn’t going to be pleasant!
Glasses – to keep the eyes protected from the sun and wind, plus any bugs and dust that.
Lights – essential if you’re riding in the dark so you can see the road and other road users can see you.
Saddle – you’ll need a seat that suits you. Everyone’s bodies are different and different saddles exist to cater for this. A visit to a bike shop will help find one that fits you. Riding a bike on a saddle that doesn’t fit is uncomfortable, miserable and will probably give your saddle sores.
Simple bike fit – getting fitted to your bike at your local bike shop (or even check out a youtube tutorial like this one) will make you ride efficiently and comfortable, and importantly keep you injury free.
Run
Nice-to-haves
Multiple pairs of run shoes – having a set of racing carbons and daily trainers will help for different speeds/workouts. See our guide here for more info.
Hydration pack – great for longer runs where you need to carry fluids and nutrition. Not necessary if you’re happy to plan a run route which has water fountains or a loop where you can leave a bottle.
Elastic laces - to save you tying laces in transition between the bike and the run.
Essentials
Run shoes – never buy shoes based on looks or the cheapest price. First things first, visit a specialist run store where the staff will assess your gait and recommend a selection of shoes for your feet size, width and pronation. Running in shoes that aren’t specific to your feet and pronation are a very easy way to get injured quickly. If you’re only going to get one shoe, a ‘daily trainer’ is best. Have a look here for more advice on running shoes.
Run kit – comfortable shorts that extend down the thigh with or without a liner as this will avoid inner thigh chafing, t-shirt and/or singlet/vest, run or cycle socks and sports bra (if that applies to you). Avoid cotton as this will hold sweat and chafe.
Cap – keeps the sun off and also stops sweat getting in your eyes. Avoid cotton.
Sunglasses – you can use the same pair for cycling.
Racing
Nice-to-haves
Tri suit - Useful to swim, bike and run in and eliminates the need to change between disciplines.
Essentials
Tri belt – now this isn’t strictly essential but will make your race experience a lot more seamless. Instead of pinning your race number to your bike shirt and run shirt you can switch numbers between the bike and the run.
Recovery and Nutrition
Nice-to-haves
Supplements - triathletes burn a lot more calories so its useful to ensure you’re getting the right minerals and nutrients. These aren’t a substitute for abandoning a healthy diet of whole foods.
Foam roller and/ or massage ball - good for rolling out the muscles
Gym membership - worth having if you want access to a treadmill, stationary bike or weights. The majority of beneficial strength work for triathletes can also be done with body weight at home.
Essentials
Carbohydrates - absolutely essential as a source of energy before, during and after training and racing. Carbs can be consumed as a liquid, gels, and /or solid bars.
Electrolytes - when you workout your body sweats out key electrolytes, not just salt, like sodium, magnesium and potassium. It’s important to replace these.
Protein - important for muscle growth and recovery.
For more information on nutrition, check out our page here.
Final thoughts
Don’t feel pressured to get everything at once. Start with the basics, see what works for you, and build from there. The best gear is the stuff that fits your needs, your budget, and helps you enjoy the journey. It’s entirely possible to get equipment for a reasonable price:
Ask friends and family who may have unwanted or spare equipment
Check out Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Gumtree, etc for deals
Your local
Purchase during sales
Ask your coach for advice
Need help figuring out what’s worth investing in? That’s what coaching is for and we’re happy to guide you through training and gear choices. After all, triathlon should be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.