The most popular triathlon kit: is your bike, wetsuit and shoe choice on the list?
Choosing new triathlon kit often means relying on reviews, recommendations and plenty of anecdotal advice. Now, a new study has provided a data-led snapshot of what athletes are actually using on race day, revealing the most popular brands across bikes, wetsuits, wheels and running shoes.
While the pros grab headlines with cutting-edge bikes, prototype equipment and the latest carbon-plated shoes, a new study has revealed the kit choices dominating the age-group field.
Analysing the equipment used by 1,800 triathletes at the Outlaw Triathlon Series, the research reveals the brands most commonly found in transition, from the wetsuits swimmers trust to the bikes carrying athletes through the longest section of the race.
So, is your kit part of the triathlon crowd, or are you racing against the trend?
The wetsuit brand dominating the swim
Huub emerged as the most popular wetsuit choice among Outlaw competitors. The British brand has long been a familiar name in triathlon, with previous 220 Triathlon testing highlighting the Huub Aegis X 3:3 as one of the most recommended wetsuits.
Zone3, Raceskin, and Speedo rounded out the most popular wetsuits, with DHB, Orca, and Blue70 also spotted on the start line.
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Who’s leading the bike race?
While Canyon may dominate the headlines at the professional level thanks to athletes such as Sam Laidlow breaking Challenge Roth records, Giant/Liv proved the most popular choice among Outlaw competitors. By a healthy margin, too – Giant/Liv won the bike race, with a 19.4% share.
Trek was second, followed by Canyon, Specialized, Planet X, and Cube.
Behind Giant/Liv dominating the bikes, it is no surprise the Taiwanese company also ride away with the most popular wheel brand.
Finally, which shoes are taking people to the finish line?
Despite Adidas’ recent success at the elite level, Asics was the most popular running shoe brand among Outlaw competitors, followed by Adidas, Hoka and Saucony.
With triathlon stars including Flora Duffy, Sam Long, Hayden Wilde and Lucy Charles-Barclay racing in Asics footwear, it’s perhaps no surprise that age-group athletes are keen to follow in their footsteps.
Completing the top 10 were Nike, Brooks, New Balance, On, Puma, Mizuno and Topo.
The data was collected through manual recording in transition areas pre-event, supported by teams identifying brands across key categories during live racing. To help ensure credibility and robustness, Outlaw said they worked alongside Loughborough University Triathlon Club to support validation and analysis of the dataset and the research was supported by Core Collagen.
So, are you a triathlon trendsetter or part of the majority? The answer depends on what’s sitting in your transition bag.
Lead image credit: Outlaw Triathon
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