Premium skinsuits feature special fabrics designed to reduce drag and manipulate airflow.įabrics are strategically placed and seams are also carefully considered and premium suits are often developed in the wind tunnel. It’s a big investment so finding one you can wear in a wide variety of racing disciplines can help! From this list, the best pure road racer was the NoPinz Pro-1 suit, best all rounder was the Kalas option and the best pure time trial suit was Rule 28 long sleeve suit (though it’s a little delicate) and base layer combo - which has the advantage of being able to be worn under any jersey to save a few watts if needed! What to know about skin suits for cycling What is a cycling skinsuit?Ī skinsuit is designed to be the most aerodynamic clothing you can wear. Skinsuits are quite personal, and finding the right one can be a bit of trial and error. ![]() On top of that, each suit was washed a multiple times as a means of analysing the potential longevity of the suit, keeping an eye out for damaged seams and other general signs of wear and tear. We tested these skinsuits by racing in them, riding hard in them for long rides (chain gangs, road races and just long hard rides) as well as putting them through their paces on the turbo - as a means of exposing a small capacity for dissipating heat. The netted area on the pockets is big enough such that if you’re doing a time trial, you’ll be able to put the number pin through that instead of the actual suit - this suit could be used for both road and time trial! It was designed with pros in mind - worn to two stage wins by Jasper Phillipsen in the Tour de France. The storage is neat too, with three smaller pockets large enough for 3 gels each along with netting behind which you can pop your race number. ![]() I didn’t get a chance to race in this suit, but did wear it on the turbo and found the heat dissipation was quite effective. The chamois is thick and remains comfortable for long rides. The suit was made in conjunction with Vorteq and, when on, is very similar in feel and texture to the Rule 28 suit with baselayer, but without the baselayer. This is one of the most impressive road suits I’ve ever seen. The pocket was also fairly delicate, ripping slightly during what I would describe as ‘normal’ use after only a few weeks. I am sure the aero cost of two pins through mesh is negligible but something feels wrong about putting pins through a £349.99 suit with a number pocket. It has an open bottom, which means getting the number in and out is easy however it requires pins or the number slips out. The set up is fully UCI legal and Pogacar was spotted donning the base layer (£149.99 alone) in the first time trial at this year’s men’s Tour de France race.įor me, the only thing that let this suit down slightly was the number pocket. This is a pure time trialling suit and comes in at £349.99 with the base layer included. The black, long sleeved suit was comfortable, even in the heat, both with and without the baselayer. The skinsuit has smooth sleeves, but that baselayer adds a texture to the arms of the suit (and any other smooth sleeved skinsuit you choose to pair it with). For me, I managed a road bike ten mile personal best in this suit (with the base layer) despite being 50W down on my normal 20-ish minute power (this was not all going to be due to the suit, but it will have played a role). I used this for a couple of ten mile time trials. ![]() The most interesting feature about this suit is the baselayer you can (and in my opinion, should) purchase alongside. This is usually a big investment and most riders want something they can wear for longer races as well as something that’ll last at least a couple of seasons. As well as speed, skinsuits need to be comfortable and robust. This difference is often small but usually upward of 5W.Īnd there's a variety of reasons one might want a skinsuit, racing, time trials or taking Strava KOMs very seriously and most of these options have custom club kit options as well - so if you’re reading this you’ll have that in mind. All skinsuits are basically faster than even the best bib shorts and best jerseys simply because there’s less material flapping around in the wind. With all of that said, comparing suits isn’t pointless thanks to one general fact. Probably in an indoor velodrome or wind tunnel too, as the differences between suits can be small. If you’re really concerned about which suit is fastest to the final watt - you need to test them on you. The reality is, the results probably aren’t super relevant to you.
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