skin suit/

ckel101 said:

what is a skin suit, the reason i ask is that my local club / team has them for sale and im tryin to figure out what they are

It's a one-piece suit, with the cycling shorts sewn to the jersey and a zipper in front for getting in/out. They usually fit rather tight and are used for time trials and crits, where aerodynamics are important, as you won't have any extra material flapping in the wind, and they will prob provide smoother airflow around your body. How much they *actually* help in real life is debatable, but in wind tunnel tests they seem to cut fractions of a second off in, for example, a tt. They can be valuable as psychological tools tho (if you think they make you faster... 😉 ), and to psych up before an event.

Unless you are in absolutely perfect shape you will look like a complete tool in one, we all do....lol

Traffic Jammer said:

Unless you are in absolutely perfect shape you will look like a complete tool in one, we all do....lol

Wearing a skin suit and not being race-trim is one of the true marks of weekend warrior excellence.

I remember watching a 'cross race this fall, and some dude in the B field, as wide front-to-back at his waistline as side-to-side, was decked out in a skin suit and mixing it up mid-pack, throwing accelerations off every corner and jiggling up the run-up like an offensive lineman who'd picked up a fumble. By far the crowd favorite of the entire event. Wasn't top ten, but definately had more guys behind him than ahead.