Getting to know.....the Amphibian who likes to stay out of the water

woody1

AKW wrote: »

Not a chance.

We got really good quality stuff in from 2XU and you may as well be idle, all you end up doing is having to justify the price of good gear. The amount of people who appreciate the quality of that level of gear are thin on the ground and a lot of those (out West) are habitual online buyers anyway so you can't compete. (You'd end up being a 'try it on for size' shop too)

this gives me a good lead into the question i wanted to ask
why is triathlon gear , clothing in particular , so expensive, tri shorts for 80 quid ? cycling shorts anything from 80 to 180,( i know this is the top quality stuff ) is there a view out there that triathletes will just buy the name / brand , regardless of the price.. i can see that theres a bit more thought / engineering going into a pair of runners and therefore cost can be justified , but shorts and jerseys ??? i got some louis garneau stuff free when a friend was a rep for them here and i can see the difference in quality to the cheaper stuff but the price difference seems to be way over the top..

edit.. not giving out about you or a.k. by the way, i just think you might have more of an insight than the rest of us ..

pgibbo

No starter or dessert????? :pac:

Do you think there is the potential for a Base2Race type academy in Galway? Discuss

Do you see yourself getting in to coaching if the kids show an aptitude for triathlon/athletics as they get older?

sconhome

Back to the meaty questions.

Dory I haven't forgotten about your request. Is there anyone you want me to write a SWM / SWF for? Having done a bit of research I keep getting loads of ads on Facebook for singles in my area!! :rolleyes:

Regarding the survey, socks have been pretty good this week. The new year would be expected to be fairly good with everyone getting new gear for Christmas From August onwards it can be a bit of free for all with socks.

sconhome

woody1 wrote: »

this gives me a good lead into the question i wanted to ask
why is triathlon gear , clothing in particular , so expensive, tri shorts for 80 quid ? cycling shorts anything from 80 to 180,( i know this is the top quality stuff ) is there a view out there that triathletes will just buy the name / brand , regardless of the price.. i can see that theres a bit more thought / engineering going into a pair of runners and therefore cost can be justified , but shorts and jerseys ??? i got some louis garneau stuff free when a friend was a rep for them here and i can see the difference in quality to the cheaper stuff but the price difference seems to be way over the top..

edit.. not giving out about you or a.k. by the way, i just think you might have more of an insight than the rest of us ..

In one word 'globalisation'.

If you take the top brands of clothing there is a lot of R&D that goes into developing fabrics so that innovation has to be recouped in some way.

Saucony brought out a jacket a couple of seasons ago which was the lightest water repellent breathable fabric I've ever seen. It is based on a hydrophyllic structure found in botany and on butterfly wings. I also saw it in a Discovery channel program recently. Amazing development.

Some info on it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25004942

So all the 'big' boys spend the dollars developing things and have a certain amount of time to recoup their spend. Its doesn't take long for developing countries to seize on the opportunties. Just this morning I got a message from a guy in Punjab region offering me sublimated cycling jersies for $10 all pro team knock offs.

If I gave you the choice of a €120 Specialized jersey or a €35 Specialised jersey would you spot the difference? Similarly bike frames from China etc etc.

There will always be people who value quality goods just as there are always people who take quantity over quality. Finding that balance is the key thing and avoiding false economy.

People still perceive the bigger the spend the better the quality. Not always the case but take a €45 pair of tri shorts put them against a €120 pair of shorts (with compression, cooling, support & squeeze :rolleyes: ) it comes down to what do you actually need as opposed to desire.

Same thing with shoes. The top shoes are the ones with all the latest developments, these then filter down to lower tier shoes over a number of seasons. Similar to how Formula 1 developments find their way into family cars.

Without a rant forming. Ireland is so tidy a piece of the jigsaw, we are dependent in the main on UK distributors covering Ireland the market is too small for Irish distributors to make a living from it. As a result we have a landbridge where shipping, handling, currency exchange and VAT make an impact. In an ideal world we would get distributed from European distributors and be on a par with the continent re pricing.

Good question, thanks.

sconhome

pgibbo wrote: »

No starter or dessert????? :pac:

I was too concerned about what I did to think about the detail!! Given the choice I'd go dessert over starter. A nice strawberry roulade would fit the bill nicely. The whole thing now, not just a slice

Do you think there is the potential for a Base2Race type academy in Galway? Discuss

Yes but who would pay for it?

Looking at Dublin (1,219/km2)and surrounding counties population density (±80/m2) you can see there is a huge difference with Galway ±34/km2.

Location would be a key factor and ever taking the recent incidence of my own cycling club cancelling turbo sessions due to people not turning up, a B2R type would be prohibitively expensive to be a member of or it would have to be so oversubscribed as to be nonsensical to manage.

I did think of it and scoped out a great unit upstairs from where we are. The sums wouldn't stack up, and unless I can do it right....

Do you see yourself getting in to coaching if the kids show an aptitude for triathlon/athletics as they get older?

You know what they say about the best hurler being the one in the ditch.

It's possible, but I doubt it. I'm not a coach, I could possibly be taught to coach (no disrespect to the good coaches out there) but I would definitely work with the coach(es)

I do get tempted by the TI coaching courses that pop up every now and then, also with the AI coaching program. I think I would prefer to find a college and follow a Sports Science degree and maybe go down the road of biomechanics as I thoroughly enjoy the area . Again application is important and ideally not in a shop setting.

tunney

woody1 wrote: »

this gives me a good lead into the question i wanted to ask
why is triathlon gear , clothing in particular , so expensive, tri shorts for 80 quid ? cycling shorts anything from 80 to 180,( i know this is the top quality stuff ) is there a view out there that triathletes will just buy the name / brand , regardless of the price.. i can see that theres a bit more thought / engineering going into a pair of runners and therefore cost can be justified , but shorts and jerseys ??? i got some louis garneau stuff free when a friend was a rep for them here and i can see the difference in quality to the cheaper stuff but the price difference seems to be way over the top..

edit.. not giving out about you or a.k. by the way, i just think you might have more of an insight than the rest of us ..

Cycling shorts go to 300 euro plus.........

My thoughts on paying for quality.

I am going for a ride tomorrow (yes Dory and Oryx feel free to misinterpret as I hope that both interpretations will be valid) and I will wear expensive Assos gear as it will be cold - jacket, shorts, leggings, base layer and gloves. All Assos. All ten years + old.

I cycled to work today, I wore shorts, a jersey and a jacket. I paid top dollar for all of them when I bought them. they are 22 years old.

Get quality gear and look after it and it lasts a lifetime.

tunney

pgibbo wrote: »

No starter or dessert????? :pac:

Do you think there is the potential for a Base2Race type academy in Galway? Discuss

Is there demand in Dublin long term?

Green&Red

tunney wrote: »

Is there demand in Dublin long term?

I've been out with a couple of them over the last few weeks and they seem to love it and be ridiculoulsy into it. I suppose you'll always have people willing to make that level of sacrifice when they can see the results

sconhome

tunney wrote: »

Is there demand in Dublin long term?

I think there is enough volume of people going through the sport to ensure that demand will always be there.

The issue would be if they outgrow their appeal and try increasing charges due to 'supply and demand'. They seem to have an accomplished training school that is producing the results they need to justify the setup.

If triathlon dried up tomorrow they could tweak the setup and coaches to host other classes or personal training easily enough.

IMO

woody1

tunney wrote: »

Get quality gear and look after it and it lasts a lifetime.

i dont disagree ( entirely ) i have had the buy cheap buy often versus buy quality buy once argument often ...
i was lucky in that i got a lot of good quality gear free for a while, im getting a shock now that i have to buy my own stuff.. i just have my suspicions that there may be a premium on this type of gear because of the demographic thats buying it ..

anyway back to gear related questions..
why are triathlon clothes sizes so small fitting.. im a medium size in most things , occasionally a small in t shirts ..but an xtra large tri suit and jersey are all that will fit me,someone got me a medium jersey for xmas and its a closer fit on my 5 year old than me .. is it to make skinny triathletes feel bigger..

catweazle

woody1 wrote: »

i dont disagree ( entirely ) i have had the buy cheap buy often versus buy quality buy once argument often ...
i was lucky in that i got a lot of good quality gear free for a while, im getting a shock now that i have to buy my own stuff.. i just have my suspicions that there may be a premium on this type of gear because of the demographic thats buying it ..

anyway back to gear related questions..
why are triathlon clothes sizes so small fitting.. im a medium size in most things , occasionally a small in t shirts ..but an xtra large tri suit and jersey are all that will fit me,someone got me a medium jersey for xmas and its a closer fit on my 5 year old than me .. is it to make skinny triathletes feel bigger..

I would agree a little with the premium on quality clothes but having listened to the Aldi/Lidl brigade when I started out, I am now fully on board as regards high quality. Their baselayers and jackets are fine for running but in my opinion its worth spending the premium for cycling

Is that not just a lot of the stuff is done in the European sizing which is smaller, I am a comfortable medium in UK and US sizes but European sizes a medium could be hit and miss with me and I may have to go with a large

mossym

akw:
how did you manage to turn your answers to the questions into general enough tri topics that the thread has now become a general discussion thread and you're getting off the hook extremely lightly?
are you always this cunning?
can you ever be trusted?
there was no motorbike, was there?

sconhome

woody1 wrote: »

anyway back to gear related questions..
why are triathlon clothes sizes so small fitting.. im a medium size in most things , occasionally a small in t shirts ..but an xtra large tri suit and jersey are all that will fit me,someone got me a medium jersey for xmas and its a closer fit on my 5 year old than me .. is it to make skinny triathletes feel bigger..

catweazle wrote: »

Is that not just a lot of the stuff is done in the European sizing which is smaller, I am a comfortable medium in UK and US sizes but European sizes a medium could be hit and miss with me and I may have to go with a large

mossym wrote: »

akw:
how did you manage to turn your answers to the questions into general enough tri topics that the thread has now become a general discussion thread and you're getting off the hook extremely lightly?

I have no idea how that happened and wonder how the questions above should be answered.:)

sconhome

mossym wrote: »

are you always this cunning?
can you ever be trusted?

Always

there was no motorbike, was there?

http://www.biker.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=29250

PS I wasn't about to tell a lot of bikers I was buying an engagement ring either!

Dory Dory

AKW wrote: »

Back to the meaty questions.

Dory I haven't forgotten about your request. Is there anyone you want me to write a SWM / SWF for? Having done a bit of research I keep getting loads of ads on Facebook for singles in my area!! :rolleyes:

Regarding the survey, socks have been pretty good this week. The new year would be expected to be fairly good with everyone getting new gear for Christmas From August onwards it can be a bit of free for all with socks.

Hmmm....SWM/SWF ad....so many to choose from. But, I suppose I would suggest either catweazle or tunney....or if you're really feeling frisky I would say write an ad for each of them as I see them on opposite ends of the spectrum, and that would be great fun.

Ah....socks. Yes, that makes sense!!!

Here's another meaty question for you - they say that any publicity is good publicity. So, do you think your shoe sales will go up after this week of being in the spotlight?

tunney

AKW wrote: »

I think there is enough volume of people going through the sport to ensure that demand will always be there.

The issue would be if they outgrow their appeal and try increasing charges due to 'supply and demand'. They seem to have an accomplished training school that is producing the results they need to justify the setup.

If triathlon dried up tomorrow they could tweak the setup and coaches to host other classes or personal training easily enough.

IMO

Suppose thats what I was asking. Triathlon is a cyclical sport, its on the way down at the moment. Business models that cannot adapt to the cycles (i.e. running going up as well) are somewhat doomed.

tunney

catweazle wrote: »

I would agree a little with the premium on quality clothes but having listened to the Aldi/Lidl brigade when I started out, I am now fully on board as regards high quality. Their baselayers and jackets are fine for running but in my opinion its worth spending the premium for cycling

I have a running jacket from aldi and running tights. i keep meaning to throw them out.

I paid 150 euro to my dealer AKW for a Tempest running jacket, best investment. Its never too wet or cold, you just are wearing a cheap jacket. (big deal if all your running is beside the sea)

sconhome

catweazle wrote: »

I would agree a little with the premium on quality clothes but having listened to the Aldi/Lidl brigade when I started out, I am now fully on board as regards high quality. Their baselayers and jackets are fine for running but in my opinion its worth spending the premium for cycling

"You are dead to me!"

tunney wrote: »

I have a running jacket from aldi and running tights. i keep meaning to throw them out.

I paid 150 euro to my dealer AKW for a Tempest running jacket, best investment. Its never too wet or cold, you just are wearing a cheap jacket. (big deal if all your running is beside the sea)

Made man!

Dory Dory wrote: »

Hmmm....SWM/SWF ad....so many to choose from. But, I suppose I would suggest either catweazle or tunney....or if you're really feeling frisky I would say write an ad for each of them as I see them on opposite ends of the spectrum, and that would be great fun.

Ah....socks. Yes, that makes sense!!!

Based on the above exchange I am going to have SO much fun with this!!

Here's another meaty question for you - they say that any publicity is good publicity. So, do you think your shoe sales will go up after this week of being in the spotlight?

If I at least managed to embarrass CW into buying quality shoes locally it would be an achievement.

catweazle

tunney wrote: »

I have a running jacket from aldi and running tights. i keep meaning to throw them out.

I paid 150 euro to my dealer AKW for a Tempest running jacket, best investment. Its never too wet or cold, you just are wearing a cheap jacket. (big deal if all your running is beside the sea)

Yeah you are probably right, however unlike my cycling - I am hardy enough when it comes to running. Probably a remnant of awful awful nights GAA training in the wind and rain as a kid- I rarely miss a running session due to weather

catweazle

Now lets pick things up as its friday and AK works weekends

1) Do you try and be choosy on what races you help sponsor or do you feel obliged to sponsor all of them in the area. Its rarely I don't come across a splash of yellow at any race I enter.

2) Do you feel cycling publicity suffers a raw deal re peds compared to other sports. With the untold rewards of making it as a footballer and along with some other sports I find it impossible to believe there is so little caught

3) Is your enjoyment of running ruined by looking at inefficient ungainly strides and thinking they could be so much quicker

4) Is Conor looking at going long next year - there's a man if he can hold his run together might have a shot at a sub 10

5) With BTH striding into the West's race scene like a colossus this year - who are the local lads that will have his number

6) Have you cycled too or back (or both) to Limerick for work yet and how long does it take

7) What was the best heavy metal concert you were ever at

8) Who was the most famous person you have ever met

sconhome

catweazle wrote: »

Now lets pick things up as its friday and AK works weekends

Look at you all organised with bullet points!!

1) Do you try and be choosy on what races you help sponsor or do you feel obliged to sponsor all of them in the area. Its rarely I don't come across a splash of yellow at any race I enter.

There is a certain obligation to support as many races as possible, it is one of our key advertisement systems, word of mouth referral being the most important.

With suppliers and brand support governing how and what can be spent we are having to be much more picky about race support and criteria are having to be introduced to ensure that as a business AK gets a return from sponsorship.

That splash of yellow you see is usually me far off in the distance

2) Do you feel cycling publicity suffers a raw deal re peds compared to other sports. With the untold rewards of making it as a footballer and along with some other sports I find it impossible to believe there is so little caught

Low hanging fruit and all that when it comes to journalism and something to get righteous about. There is no doubt that PEDs are rife in all aspects of sports performance whether they are performance enhancing in the traditional way or recovery enhancing to allow repeat perfromances.

With the amount of money hanging on being just that 0.5% better than the next guys and such a short space of time to grab that money, you can understand the temptations that are there.

Triathlon is such a young sport that thankfully the vast majority of triathletes are happy to vilify anyone that is cheating or doping. I'd hate to imagine our sport had the use of PED's been more ingrained in the fabric of the foundations.

3) Is your enjoyment of running ruined by looking at inefficient ungainly strides and thinking they could be so much quicker

Only so long as I am passing them!

I'm not good enough of a runner to pass remark on anyone like that but I do think it from time to time and wonder how much improvement could you measure in someone? how would you conduct a thesis on it? a load / return investigation and effiency. I firmly believe that propulsion is far more enhanced in a firmer forefoot shoe as there is less energy absorbed by the shoe.

On the other hand I'm all for people running as naturally as possible and to stop over-thinking it. Too many people are confusing things for themselves by reading too much off the internet :rolleyes:

4) Is Conor looking at going long next year - there's a man if he can hold his run together might have a shot at a sub 10

There's a man who's fallen off the face of the earth with the arrival of Nr 2 !!

That lad is so strong on the bike he will achieve a sub10 before either of us! Despite the size of his frame he consistently makes up positions and gains on the bike. He is also a pretty consistent runner and certainly knows how to suffer.

5) With BTH striding into the West's race scene like a colossus this year - who are the local lads that will have his number

I have his number! That's what smart phones are for

I hope he comes in quietly, it will dramatically shake up the local scene when he bursts out of the water. I'm not sure what's happening locally though in regard RG & MG but I know MG is aiming for NS again this year. Is that star in decline? ? Hard to know.

One to watch for sure.

6) Have you cycled too or back (or both) to Limerick for work yet and how long does it take

Yes, last summer. 3:16 (https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/user/calendar/item/analyze.ftl?id=185522023&r) but I went the long way round when you consider Padraig Marrey went Galway to Limerick in 2:14 (http://www.runireland.com/articles/postman-sets-new-record-bike-week) he's a Garda escort though

7) What was the best heavy metal concert you were ever at

FooFighters, Chili Peppers and QoTSA in Slane was brilliant. Metallica at the Top Hat in Dun Laoghaire was on the And Justice for All tour in '88. My first proper concert and with Danzig as support it was very 'exotic'.
For unfettled adrenaline you have to go to a Slayer show (RIP Jeff)
Best in showman terms any Iron Maiden concert or The Cult.

The Cult '89/90.

8) Who was the most famous person you have ever met

Does Michael D Higgins meet the criteria?
Pearse Brosnan (Remington Steele days)
Liam Neeson (during filming of Cal)
Met Marianne Faithful many years ago at Guiness' estate in Wicklow but that's infamy
Missed out on Haile trip recently to Manchester.

Bar Marianne the others all became famous after I met them

Thanks CW. Have a good one.

Bugsy2000

AKW wrote: »

In one word 'globalisation'.

If you take the top brands of clothing there is a lot of R&D that goes into developing fabrics so that innovation has to be recouped in some way.

Saucony brought out a jacket a couple of seasons ago which was the lightest water repellent breathable fabric I've ever seen. It is based on a hydrophyllic structure found in botany and on butterfly wings. I also saw it in a Discovery channel program recently. Amazing development.

Some info on it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25004942

So all the 'big' boys spend the dollars developing things and have a certain amount of time to recoup their spend. Its doesn't take long for developing countries to seize on the opportunties. Just this morning I got a message from a guy in Punjab region offering me sublimated cycling jersies for $10 all pro team knock offs.

If I gave you the choice of a €120 Specialized jersey or a €35 Specialised jersey would you spot the difference? Similarly bike frames from China etc etc.

There will always be people who value quality goods just as there are always people who take quantity over quality. Finding that balance is the key thing and avoiding false economy.

People still perceive the bigger the spend the better the quality. Not always the case but take a €45 pair of tri shorts put them against a €120 pair of shorts (with compression, cooling, support & squeeze :rolleyes: ) it comes down to what do you actually need as opposed to desire.

Same thing with shoes. The top shoes are the ones with all the latest developments, these then filter down to lower tier shoes over a number of seasons. Similar to how Formula 1 developments find their way into family cars.

Without a rant forming. Ireland is so tidy a piece of the jigsaw, we are dependent in the main on UK distributors covering Ireland the market is too small for Irish distributors to make a living from it. As a result we have a landbridge where shipping, handling, currency exchange and VAT make an impact. In an ideal world we would get distributed from European distributors and be on a par with the continent re pricing.

Good question, thanks.

Good answer, thanks.

Did you find the transition hard into the Pure Cadence? I love the Adrenalines & Ravenna but I just couldn't take to the Pure range at all.

Green&Red

FooFighters, Chili Peppers and QoTSA



Heavy metal????

sconhome

Green&Red wrote: »

FooFighters, Chili Peppers and QoTSA



Heavy metal????

Ha ha , valid point.

It kinda of leaves Metallica or Megadeth (Olympia) as the best I've been at. The one I looked forward to most was Anthrax but that was a non event as they didn't like being spat at! :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

griffin100

AKW wrote: »

Ha ha , valid point.

It kinda of leaves Metallica or Megadeth (Olympia) as the best I've been at. The one I looked forward to most was Anthrax but that was a non event as they didn't like being spat at! :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Jesus, I think we spent most of our youth at the same concerts WASP or Slayer at the Top Hat in the late 80's by any chance???

sconhome

griffin100 wrote: »

Jesus, I think we spent most of our youth at the same concerts WASP or Slayer at the Top Hat in the late 80's by any chance???

Both!!

Ah they don't rock 'em like they used to in the Top Hat

catweazle

AKW wrote: »

"You are dead to me![/

If I at least managed to embarrass CW into buying quality shoes locally it would be an achievement.

oops I did it again

I had penciled in a visit to you a while back but the sister from the states came home on a rare visit and had two pairs of new balance for me (she works for them)

tunney

catweazle wrote: »

Yeah you are probably right, however unlike my cycling - I am hardy enough when it comes to running. Probably a remnant of awful awful nights GAA training in the wind and rain as a kid- I rarely miss a running session due to weather

I've done the Hurling training in the train and haul and sleet, I've done the rugby training in the snow. In those situations you wore the team kit. You suffered like a (insert filthy comment) but when running why suffer needlessly?

pgibbo

tunney wrote: »

I've done the Hurling training in the train and haul and sleet, I've done the rugby training in the snow. In those situations you wore the team kit. You suffered like a (insert filthy comment) but when running why suffer needlessly?

He doesn't suffer the cold. He's usually wrapped up like the Michelin man wearing a woolly golf hat :pac:

sconhome

Not much left for me to say or do here (unless you have more questions).

It's been an interesting week and while I wouldn't normally be so introspective I enjoyed sharing my time and thoughts with you all. I'm astonished to think that there was enough interest to make a full week out of it so, thankyou all.

Dory set me a challenge to test my creative writing skills so here goes

Dory Dory wrote: »

Hmmm....SWM/SWF ad....so many to choose from. But, I suppose I would suggest either catweazle or tunney....or if you're really feeling frisky I would say write an ad for each of them as I see them on opposite ends of the spectrum, and that would be great fun.

First, the legal bit

*This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Can swim, can't bike, will run.
Single-ish White Country Gent is seeking an adventurous, understanding female companion for a weekend celebration of a life milestone. My look's are not important but you must be of supermodel caliber and ideally have an openminded twin sister.

Looking for a man of steel?
How about your very own IronMan? Do you like to party hard all afternoon? Ability to nap in public is a plus. Must be a strong personality as debating is a favoured pasttime. Time wasters won't be tolerated.

You can make up your own minds about those