Time Trial Skinsuit help for US based rider

burnthesheep

I've decided to try out the regional time trial series here this year. They run one ITT per month through the warm months.

Given that triathlon is more active in the US than time trial, by far, I'm mostly finding sleeveless and short sleeved triathlon suits.

I'd rather not blow a ton on a Bodypaint 3.0, new.

I've cruised the UK and EU based websites looking for new stuff, but am not finding too too much. Lots of Chinese knockoff crap that looks like a Bodypaint, but is clearly an Ebay scam job.

Any advice on where to look would be appreciated, with links.

I'm willing to spend about $125 new or $75 used. NO team replicas please. Against rules for some of the races.

Grill

Go used then. Used BP3 or NoPinz (preferably the Tripsuit, but the supersuit is still quite good) can be found in that price range. Check out the UK Time Trialling FB page for deals.

fenix

Don't overlook the sleeved tri suits. They'll be fast and you're more likely to get it fitting right than a second hand kit from across the pond.

burnthesheep

That is a good point. I made a post in the US triathlon forum looking for a used set.

Could always use it to try out a sprint tri or duathlon.

I assumed some of them were swim specific for some reason.

fenix

The pad will be minimal compared to bib shorts - but we ride 112 miles in them so they're not that bad.

daniel_b

Galibier are very well regarded, and very reasonably priced.

Review of one of their suits for the OP here:

http://road.cc/content/review/199436-galibier-rapide-aerosuit

fenix

Very reasonably priced !

poppit

https://www.velotec.cc/

Grill

A lot of slow recommendations on here... As you were.

trivial_poursuivant

What is your previous TT / Tri experience? Have you done much before? If just starting out I’d concentrate on just finding anything that’s not flappy. Bollox to expensive suits at this point. I’ve mentioned in another thread I used to ride in a long sleeved under armour shirt with bibs. Very aero at a fraction on the price and no worrying about pin damage etc. Skin suits are marginal gain territory which imo can wait if it’s just regional series as you mention.

Grill

How do you know it was 'very aero'?
The delta between a good and bad skinsuit is enormous and is pretty much the best watt to £ investment you can make.

trivial_poursuivant

Grill wrote:

How do you know it was 'very aero'?
The delta between a good and bad skinsuit is enormous and is pretty much the best watt to £ investment you can make.

Ok it was skin tight therefore not flappy .

Are you suggesting the difference in cost of skinsuits make a difference? That’s utter bullshit. An expensive suit that doesn’t fit well is worse than a well fitting cheap one. Expensive top end ones are pretty much Taylor made to the rider (if you look at pro riders) which we are not. In the realms of the competition level mentioned a guy on an Alu frame with clip on bars has as much chance of setting the best time as a guy on a Bolide wearing a £200 suit and helmet.

I would think you of all people should know, your position is primary, fancy suits and helmets help a good position the don’t create it.

scott_w1987

Velotec

Grill

The difference between my fastest and slowest skinsuit is ~20w (not to far off the difference between the fastest and slowest helmets I've tested). Simply because it isn't flappy does not a fast skinsuit make.

As the OP hasn't mentioned aero testing (likely due to budget although he could just Chung test himself), the position is a crapshoot. Fast skinsuits are almost always universally fast (focusing on what one thinks is the 'right fit' isn't always the wisest as too stretched will slow down a suit and others, such as the Castelli BPs, tend to have a wing effect on the pit that works well event though it looks/feels odd).

trivial_poursuivant

Budget mentioned is $125 - he ain’t getting a top end skinsuit for that. I’d say you wouldn’t even get a middle of the road one like a San Remo for that. So it’s budget stuff. So keep it simple, keep it comfortable.

As for the UA shirt, I had better results sometimes than wearing a full suit. Cos it fit very well and is quite slippery. You can be snobby about it but it works - on a budget.

Grill

San Remo is awful. It's actually pretty easy to get a fast suit within the OP's budget, you just have to look.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Castelli-Body-Paint-3-0-Long-Sleeve-Speed-Suit-Barely-Used/182991688544?hash=item2a9b279360:g:t1cAAOSwUoNaSSKU

Also, trying to prove that your UA undershirt is fast based upon results against an untested, and likely slow, skinsuit, is pointless. You have to test and validate in order to prove such things, otherwise such an assertion is no more valid than wearing 'lucky socks'. You can be fast on a budget. If I could do it all over again I wouldn't have spent a quarter of what I have and I'd be just as aero.

trivial_poursuivant

Grill wrote:

San Remo is awful. It's actually pretty easy to get a fast suit within the OP's budget, you just have to look.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Castelli-Body-Paint-3-0-Long-Sleeve-Speed-Suit-Barely-Used/182991688544?hash=item2a9b279360:g:t1cAAOSwUoNaSSKU

Also, trying to prove that your UA undershirt is fast based upon results against an untested, and likely slow, skinsuit, is pointless. You have to test and validate in order to prove such things, otherwise such an assertion is no more valid than wearing 'lucky socks'. You can be fast on a budget. If I could do it all over again I wouldn't have spent a quarter of what I have and I'd be just as aero.

Think you’re still in snob mode. It’s regional TTs. It’s a club 10 in all essence. Who has time for all the blah you just came out with. As for my experience, if it performed well I’m happy. I’m not about to be booking time in the local wind tunnel to figure it out. I’d say spend more time on things that matter and are free, like position and strength training than buying a suit to save a few watts. At this level its not the most important thing.

Grill

You think I'm in 'snob mode' yet you belittle the events the OP is entering? Okay. So what if it's a regional or club TT? Just because it doesn't cost the earth to enter or doesn't have thousands of people entered in it doesn't mean that it isn't important to the OP to perform as well as possible. I wish I had someone tell me about the importance of a good skinsuit when I was starting out. It's low-hanging fruit, so why not pick it?

And why on earth would you spend time on position you haven't validated? Of course the OP could field test, and I would highly recommend doing so, but there is quite a large time commitment involved which is why people pay for aero testing services.

burnthesheep

Thanks for the advice.

I went with a Galibier. Fair price, in stock, reviewed by several online bike websites......etc... Right at $100 USD with free shipping.

Now off to look at used helmets.

FWIW, "regional" in this part of the US throws a LOT of people into the bunch. Regions are large. They have slow cats all the way up to pros in the series. But that's not what I'm concerned about.

I'm a nobody, but based on the training I'm on now I'll be over 26mph. I'm also an engineering nerd, I dig the data and tech a little. So there's that aspect to it also. So the equipment and fiddling can be part of the fun.

It's just that the fun still has to have a bit of a logical budget.

philbar72

direct question to Grill, what is the best bang for buck skinsuit available then? thought the Nopinz ones were very good, also Bioracer? or am I completely out of touch?

poppit

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/group-tests/best-skinsuits-for-cycling-360975

scott_w1987

philbar72 wrote:

direct question to Grill, what is the best bang for buck skinsuit available then? thought the Nopinz ones were very good, also Bioracer? or am I completely out of touch?

Velotec.