BE REASONABLE

I’ve been reading your magazine for a year or so and as a middle-aged mediocre participant I feel the need to get this off my chest. I appreciate lots of your articles and there are some great tips, BUT equipment and clothing reviews always seem to focus on the upper end of the market – wheels +£2k, bikes + £2k, etc. I’m sure you will point out that you do review some cheaper brands but not as a rule.

I can’t imagine that mortals like myself can get away with shelling out thousands on kit, so is there any chance we could have a regular review of reasonably priced kit? Richard Bakehouse 220’s Matt Baird replies: Testing kit of every budget is always something we try to achieve, Richard, and is one of the reasons we run features on budget tri-suits, helmets and why I, a fellow mediocre participant, tackled my first Ironman in 2018 with a £1K kit budget cap. But I’m sorry you think we haven’t found the right balance throughout the year, and the next few issues you’ll see reviews of cheaper race wheels from UK brands Walker Brothers and Revolver, sub-£1K road bikes and more affordable kit from the likes of Kalenji, Dhb and Aropec.