Skinsuits

[DavidCH]

Has anyone been a daredevil? They are supposed to save milliseconds which probably add up in a century ride.

It seems like some of us want the ultimate (finger on the nose). I know the TT DF tribe spends millions in order to be number 1 ... Like the Brits with Team Sky... They have had a great year with the Tour De France and the Rio Olympics. I can't help but think if a team like that trains with recumbents as well that the recovery time at the top would be less so more competitions won.

But I am at the moment thinking about skinsuits. At night if I am cycling I see all sorts of stuff in the air, when cycling fast during the day I have to use glasses and visor to stop my eyes from being sore. I see big insects, bees and wasps fly over like a barrier of a cushion of air in front of me, there must be consciderable resistance. Anything to reduce this must be good and some of this skinsuits to increase airflow do look appealing; if you gain 10 seconds after 100 miles then that's appreciable for not too much money outlayed, surely?

Perhaps it could be a moment for a Cruzbike skinsuit to hit the market?

 

[bladderhead]

I look like a big enough twit on that bike already.

 

[DavidCH]

Naaaaaa ... Don't believe it. It's a perception thing. You think you're going to look like a pokermon monster ? Or are you going to stand in the shoes and say I am going to win this.

Quite compelling argument. If your serious about winning, you would try everything, right?

 

[bladderhead]

I suppose if you insist on wearing one of those things then it is a good idea to ride a recumbent instead of a DF. On a recumbent nobody can see your bum.

 

[RojoRacing]

In the mtb world a skin suit is a sign of going full on roadie, friends don't lets friends go full roadie. It could help me get to 70 mph though.

 

[ratz]

Well as I hide from skin cancer (bad family history) I go out with full SPF leggings and arm sleeves on most rides, and in the fall it get's cold so I were warmers on the early morning stuff. Having logged a lot of miles that way; no one every looks at me like I'm weird, they are either walking over to admire the bike or going; what the hell just passed me. For the most They quickly do the math on the position I'm in; prone in the sun, and figure it out really quickly. I can tell when I do the rare ride with bare legs how much turbulence I'm saving just by the hair on my legs blowing in the wind; which becomes very noticeable . I'm not about to measure the milliseconds but there definitely some savings; that would add up when you start getting into the 400+ miles range; below that I doubt it matters

 

[trapdoor2]

Gee, I'm just looking forward to the day when I don't have to contact Omar-the-tent-maker to buy clothing...much less a skinsuit.

However, I am pleased to find that I can now fit into my Pearl-Izumi bib-shorts again. After a bad experience with a large flying/stinging insect flying up my shorts, I went to spandex. I do need to find some SPF leggings/sleeves but I worry about them being too hot (high humidity here so they don't provide cooling as advertised).