Buying kit and equipment

Clothing

A limited selection of Club kit is available to purchase – usually on a Saturday.  If you require something specific, it is worth asking in advance so we can check availability and bring it along for you to try if we have it.  It is not compulsory to purchase any of these items.

• Technical T-shirts
• Hoodies
• Trisuits
• Buffs
• Bobble hats
• Beanie hats
• Swim hats

If you intend to do a number of races, you may wish to invest in a trisuit, number belt and lock-laces – all of which save you time in transition.  You can wear your trisuit for the whole race and your number belt (with your race number attached) can quickly be pulled on, rather than having to put on a t-shirt after the swim portion of the race (to cover your bare torso if a male and/or to display your race number pinned to the t-shirt).  Lock-laces or similar in your trainers will help you get those on more quickly – no fiddly laces to tie!

You may wish to get a trisuit in Club colours, however, you may find a more suitable generic selection in places such as Decathlon or online from Wiggle, ProSwimwear or Sigma Sports.  These are also great for other sports supplies, as is Sports Direct.

KidsRacing.co.uk is also a good source of kit for all three elements of triathlon.

Advance Performance, in Cambridge, may also have suitable clothing and offers gait analysis for runners if needed.  The selection of trainers for children is not great, but they always offer helpful advice.

You can also easily pick up things such as child-sized number belts and lock-laces from Amazon.

Second-hand items may also be advertised for sale/given away by other Club members.  Often this is done via the Junior Club’s Facebook group.

Bikes

A mountain bike is fine, though swapping the really knobbly tyres for smoother ones is a cheap and simple upgrade that will make a huge difference.   We strongly suggest you use a bike with V-brakes or disc brakes.  Most races are on grassy terrain and caliper brakes tend to collect grass/mud and easily get clogged up, unlike these other types of brake.

If you are looking for a road/cross bike you can make excellent savings by purchasing a well-looked after second-hand road/cross bike, rather than splashing out on a new one.  There is a good second-hand market for these types of bike.

Junior Club members often advertise their outgrown bikes via the Junior Club’s Facebook group.

There are also many other places to pick up second-hand bikes, such online via Gumtree, and a number of Facebook groups:

• British Triathlon East Junior Race Series
• EasternCross
• Preowned Islabikes For Sale
• Preowned Frog Bikes Community

You may also want to encourage your parent to attend a bike maintenance course with a company such as Outspoken!, which is based locally.

Or if they are more confident and want to have a go themselves, there is also lots of useful information on the British Triathlon website, as well as on those of Sustrans and British Cycling.  See the Web resource section for useful weblinks.

Other kit/equipment

There are many sources for other types of kit and equipment, such as cycling shoes/pedals, wetsuits, etc.  Ask other Club members what they like and where they recommend shopping for these items.