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So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits?
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Just came across the protest of team FDJ regarding the sewn-in air pockets in the suits of SKY at stage 1 of the TDF.

http://www.skysports.com/...dusseldorf-dominance

Are they legal for Tri?
Last edited by: windschatten: Jul 2, 17 22:59
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Re: So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits? [windschatten] [ In reply to ]
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If they're legal for the Tour then can't see why they wouldn't be legal for tri.

Where you can buy them from and how much they'd cost would be another matter of course!
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Re: So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits? [windschatten] [ In reply to ]
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Would it be a DQ if you let the air out of someone's skin suit?
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Re: So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits? [windschatten] [ In reply to ]
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A few things to bear in mind for "legality" for use in tri's. 1. They are full sleeved which, depending on the swim, would be illegal. 2. A proper skinsuit like this takes about 15 minutes to get into and there is not a cat in hell's chance of standing up and running in it. 3. Castelli has confirmed that the "dots" are only effective at speeds above 50kmh - absolutely useless for a triathlon where even the best do not go that fast.

I don't see it as too much different to the "trip" sleeves that Endura uses on its tri-suits. It's also interesting (see a recent tweet from Michael Hutchinson) that the advantage of aero fabrics such as these is significantly diminished when wet. Would render them somewhat pointless for anything shorter than a 70.3 in the dry where the suit is often only dry when you are at the end of the bike leg.
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Re: So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits? [Barlow] [ In reply to ]
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Barlow wrote:
Would it be a DQ if you let the air out of someone's skin suit?

It's okay if you have an eating disorder.

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One
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Re: So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits? [windschatten] [ In reply to ]
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Those vortices are designed for speeds of over 50km per hour, and are slower at speeds of 30km per hour. It was designed for this very short TT where such speeds are possible.

I wouldn't use them for a tri
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Re: So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits? [lbmxj560] [ In reply to ]
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lbmxj560 wrote:
A few things to bear in mind for "legality" for use in tri's. 1. They are full sleeved which, depending on the swim, would be illegal. 2. A proper skinsuit like this takes about 15 minutes to get into and there is not a cat in hell's chance of standing up and running in it. 3. Castelli has confirmed that the "dots" are only effective at speeds above 50kmh - absolutely useless for a triathlon where even the best do not go that fast.

I don't see it as too much different to the "trip" sleeves that Endura uses on its tri-suits. It's also interesting (see a recent tweet from Michael Hutchinson) that the advantage of aero fabrics such as these is significantly diminished when wet. Would render them somewhat pointless for anything shorter than a 70.3 in the dry where the suit is often only dry when you are at the end of the bike leg.

Just to be clear ,they help at an air speed of 50 kph. Age grouper athletes see that very often....35 kph with 15 kph head wind, 40 kph wtih 10 kph, 25 kph with 25 kph wind, or 50+ kph downhill with no wind.
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Re: So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits? [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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If you're going 35 kph with a 15 kph headwind you would (on the top of my head) be going ~45 kph with no wind with the same power. I'm not sure age groupers are doing that very often.
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Re: So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits? [MTM] [ In reply to ]
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MTM wrote:
If you're going 35 kph with a 15 kph headwind you would (on the top of my head) be going ~45 kph with no wind with the same power. I'm not sure age groupers are doing that very often.

That rough math sounds about right. While I agree, that it is not happening that often, what you're leaving out is that there can be a downhill grade involved, so you don't need that much power to hit these air speeds as an age grouper. It's not going on the entire race, but it is going on for some of the race, especially on a rolling course (ex would be Kona with lots of minus 1 degree to minus 5 degree grades involving pedaling where you don't need that many watts to hit those air speeds).
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Re: So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits? [MTM] [ In reply to ]
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MTM wrote:
If you're going 35 kph with a 15 kph headwind you would (on the top of my head) be going ~45 kph with no wind with the same power. I'm not sure age groupers are doing that very often.

By the way, at your level, what is your take on this, and can you access this type of suit? What is your next big event?
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Re: So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits? [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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Agree, it happens that AG'ers will see 50+ kph air speed. I just wouldn't call it very often - more like sometimes :)

Without seeing the actual suit it's hard to judge. If the dimples/bubbles are part if the knitted material I think it's legal according to the current rules and practice. And I would think that Team Sky and Castelli know the rules and have done it like this. If extra 'stuff' (e.g. pieces of plastic) has been added I would say it's illegal.

The Danish federation is working with Parentini (another Italian brand) on making a fast skin suit, but it's likely not quite as advanced - we are working with some of the same general ideas and principles, though. My team is using the 'old' Castelli BP 3.3. Castelli is not very forthcoming unless you're very big I think - my team has to order 10 pieces of my national champion jersey since that's the minimum order.

My next big race is European TT champs on home turf in Denmark on August 3rd. Looking forward to see the start list on that one :)
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Re: So what's the deal with the 'illegal' air pockets in team Sky's TT suits? [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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It's also slower at mortal speeds. So while an Age groups will occasionally hit 50km per hour, you're slowing yourself down the rest of the time.

If you're in my age group, then by all means...
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