I Love the '80s Week - Day 5: Timex Ironman Triathlon 737-A
As "I Love The '80s Week" draws to a close, I'm wearing my classic Timex Ironman Triathlon watch. This one I bought in the late '80s or early '90s specifically for bicycling. As I mentioned before, I could have probably bought a G-Shock for about the same price at the time, but the connection of the Timex to the Ironman Triathlon race made it a natural pick. When I was about 13 I got a mountain bike, but lack of mountains, trails or any other off-road areas meant I did a lot more road biking, so I purchased a road bike soon thereafter. Also, during that time period mountain biking was still gaining popularity while road biking was already huge, so it was easy to find on-road rides with clubs or groups. So yes, back to the watch, it has seen thousands of bike miles and excelled at being unobtrusive, durable and legible. The strap broke at some point and the watch was tossed in a drawer for a number of years, but a few years back I found an identical replacement strap and replaced the battery and it has worked great ever since. Recently, Timex issued a 20th Anniversary Edition celebrating 20 years of Ironman Triathlon models. I also have one of those and will probably be wearing it soon.
As "I Love The '80s Week" draws to a close, I'm wearing my classic Timex Ironman Triathlon watch. This one I bought in the late '80s or early '90s specifically for bicycling. As I mentioned before, I could have probably bought a G-Shock for about the same price at the time, but the connection of the Timex to the Ironman Triathlon race made it a natural pick. When I was about 13 I got a mountain bike, but lack of mountains, trails or any other off-road areas meant I did a lot more road biking, so I purchased a road bike soon thereafter. Also, during that time period mountain biking was still gaining popularity while road biking was already huge, so it was easy to find on-road rides with clubs or groups. So yes, back to the watch, it has seen thousands of bike miles and excelled at being unobtrusive, durable and legible. The strap broke at some point and the watch was tossed in a drawer for a number of years, but a few years back I found an identical replacement strap and replaced the battery and it has worked great ever since. Recently, Timex issued a 20th Anniversary Edition celebrating 20 years of Ironman Triathlon models. I also have one of those and will probably be wearing it soon.
I've been wearing one of that exact model for the last 13 years. It has taken more than a lickin'.
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ReplyDeleteI wore my 737-A every day for 14 years, until last week when one of the corners that holds one of the wristband pins broke. I guess I could still use it as a pocket watch, but I'm tired of glancing at my wrist in vain several times a day.
ReplyDeleteIts first battery lasted six years, the second eight so far. It was on its tenth wristband or so. I shall miss it deeply.
Thanks for the post!
heelo Jason,, i must tell u , u have a very gud taste of watches. i my self a big collector of watches but still i cud not have this watch as its not available in India. iam searching this watch. if u can tell me where i can have this ....
ReplyDeletegud collection....
Sorry ranjan, I don't know where you could find one of these now (or even the 20th anniversary reissue) other than eBay. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteI was looking recently for a digital watch with a decent backlight as i go night fishing and camping a lot. I couldn't find one i liked when i suddenly remembered i had this watch from my youth and in a junk box somewhere. Today i found it, got a new battery for it and a new strap is on order! I forgot how much i liked this watch and am really pleased to find it still working after all these years!
I found one of these in a large ballpit at a place called the discovery zone when I was kid it was a sort of new pricey watch back then only a year old.
ReplyDeletethe wrist band broke off and I guess who ever owned (AKA the adult) lost it in the ball pit and I grabbed it on accident on the bottom of the pit and I have been wearing it when i need a watch ever since I found it 20 years ago when I bought a new wristband for it.
When I was a kid everybody asked me how I got the pricey watch I was wearing I liked it because I could swim with it.