Wetsuits, Tri bikes & race wheels

My wetsuits were well worth the money.  In WI we don't see reasonable water temps until late in the season. 

I have a regular road bike with the stock Bontrager wheelset.  I plan on purchasing a set of Flo 60s when the pre-order is available.  My stock wheels are crap, I've had the cassette body replaced twice already and they just keep dying (bearing issues).  I plan on using the Flo 60s as my all-purpose wheelset. 

The question of whether or not these items are a waste of money is a matter of opinion.  To me, these items are worth the cost.  To someone else, these things may not be important.

Race wheels: use prior to and during every race, maybe 40 times a year.

Tri bike: the onliest bike I ride these days.

Wetsuit - don't own one.  Water temp here is around 78 degrees all year...so it's a crap shoot on race morning if you're even allowed to use one.  If I did own one, I would probably use it maybe 1-2 per year.

Tri bike - I do about 2/3 of my training on my road bike.  So I'll put maybe 1500-2000 miles on the tri bike each year.

Race Wheels - this is my first year with race wheels, and I'll use them about 7-9 times by season's end.

Wetsuit: Bought in 2007 and probably only used ~10 times. 

Tri-Bike:  Current one bought in 2010, but I have a few thousand miles on it and use it for racing and training.

Wheels:  Probably not the best value item.  I have a bunch; Zipp 404s, Hed Jet 6s, Hed Jet 9 Front, Hed Disc.  I just got the 404s, but they're intended for every day riding.  The others get plenty of use at every race so at least 5-10 times a year. 

All of it is worth the money to me.  Why else do I go to work every day if not to spend money on stuff that makes me happy?  When I can no longer justify these purchases, I'm going to quit my job and start doing something less stressfu. 

I use my tri bike 3-4 times a week and my road bike 1-2 times a week right now.  I use my wetsuit several times a year.  I don't have race wheels.

I was going to say that the wetsuit was necessary and the others were not.  You can complete a tri with a road bike and non-race wheels but a wetsuit may be required. I love my tri bike though.  Surprisingly, I love my road bike too!

Wetsuit - Don't own (considering)

Race Wheels - Don't own

Tri Bike - In purchase process, I'll report back but I have a feeling lots of seat time

Wetsuit - Absolutely necessary up here in Lake Placid if you want to swim outdoors more than one month out of the year.  (Even with a wetsuit you're only looking at about a 3 month season.)

Tri-Bike - A necessity. I love being in aero and having an aerodrink and my road bike is simply too long for me with clip-on aerobars.  (Learned that one the hard way.)

Race Wheels - One look at my logs will show that I am nowhere near the point at which I need to start worrying about things like that. (Still not much of an engine.)

wetsuit---always, except pool training, Northeasterner here, wetsuit is a necessary evil

tri bike----use it weekly, alternate between roadie and TT bike, till August, then roadie and Cross bike

race wheels---TT race wheels only at Tri's and TT's (disc/Trispoke), probably 6-10 times a year, bike race wheels (60mm carbon clinchers) weekly from March till September when bike race season ends, and i have 3 sets of race tubulars for my Cross bike (56mm carbon Tubbies), which get used weekly depending on what course conditions dictate what tread pattern. yeah, i know....too many wheels....

Totally depends on the year.

When I'm doing tris, I use my wetsuit any time it's legal. I wouldn't swim without it. It was $100, so not like it was a huge investment, esp. amortized over years and years and years.

My tri bike, I typically use in two cases: one, for racing, and two, on the trainer. It's my normal trainer bike unless i have the race wheels on it.

Race wheels...I use every time I race. Anywhere from zero to 10+ times a season.

So...excluding the trainer time, if I am riding my tri bike, I'm riding the wheels. And if it's a tri, I'm in the wetsuit.

Wetsuit
Race last Aug: Water was 72°F and I did want the hassle, so I went without.
Race this weekend: Water is 56°F, and I'm borrowing a suit.
I plan on doing these same two races every year.

Tri bike
Still working on the engine, plus I don't plan on doing many tris.

Race wheels
Still working on the engine. 

Tri Bike, bought new, but not the latest model and saved 50%

Wetsuit, bought new Orca, entry model for $200, used it for my first tri and know it'll be used on the next 3 at Flagstaff, Parker and Powell.

Race wheels / Aero Wheels, do I need them, no, will they help (physically -mentally) yes, can i justify the cost, not really being so new to the sport, but i'm working on getting some