I have the one piece from Virklon coming in a week or two. Will report back once I've spent some time with it.

I think that's a bit of a generalization. Back-zipper folks seem to be a minority amongs Age Group racers of all distances, but in the longer distances, it seems like only the in the Elite AG and Pro ranks will you see more than a handful of those per race. The vast majority seem to prefer two-pieces, and front-zipped one-piece suits are still more common than rear-zip.

(disclaimer: I race in rear-zip suits myself, prefer the fit and have enough shoulder flexibility to get the darn thing on and off easily for mid-race breaks)

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

I was really thinking that this suit was the one for me but it turns out that there are no mediums to be had, every vendor I've found is out of stock and apparently Castelli itself is out of stock. Bummer.

Anyone have any experience with the Castelli Free Sanremo Suit SS? I'm also confused as to whether this is a 2 piece or 1 piece. The copy on the Castelli site says 2 piece but the photos look like 1-piece and copy on some other vendor sites says 1-piece. Anyone have any aero data on this suit?

I have a sleeved Octane and have a couple of questions
- Anyone tried a long (iron) run with a sleeved suit rolled down to the waist? Thinking about wearing the octane zipped up for swim and bike of LP, and rolling down and throwing a shirt on for the run - mostly for bathroom breaks. I recently did a half wearing the suit with no problems, but didn't need to use the head.
- Octane fits me well (am 6'3", 165ish lbs and wear a medium), with the exception of the sleeves which wrinkle on the inner arm when i am in aero. Seems a function of the cut - doesn't seem designed for the aero position and fabric being pulled, but curious if others are getting smooth sleeves all around. Maybe i just have small arms

I was actually debating a quick change into shorts and a top for Whistler as I can make the change in less then 30 seconds including putting shoes on. Plus the thought of fresh clothes actually sounds appealing.

Your story is one of the concerns I have about my PI (another main one is that I have yet to run well off the bike in the thing, which I THINK is heat related, but who knows).

I actually posted a picture of me in 3 race outfits over the last year (including the PI) trying to figure out what folks though about the aero question in particular. I have done well in a short sleeve De Soto Riviera Tri Jersey, and was wondering what people thought of one versus the other once you are actually racing in them. Here is the thread, but if got very little interest (http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...rch_string=;#5121043)

I love the PI suit, but I have concerns with it that I would rather not have on a big race day (zipper, heat, drag on swim under swim skin, putting on wet, etc).

I want to love it, but damn, I have just had better luck with my 2 piece De Soto kit so far (and I have posted good aero numbers (watts vs speed) wearing it, but you can ALWAYS be MORE aero).

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Ironman Certified Coach

Currently accepting limited number of new athletes

check out the Jordan's great comments on the Kiwami suits. A big benefit is that is is better than most suits in a swim, which eliminates the need for a swimskin, and look at ITU results to see how well people run in it. Kind of a no-brainer to me.....

I will investigate them for sure. Thanks for the tip.

I am not optimistic though, for a suit to be tight enough to rival an awesome swim skin, I think it would have to remove itself from the ride/run category.

At least that is how I want my swimskins to fit (reduce CdA in the water, both the Cd - from position improvement and skin friction reduction, and the A - from squeezing me like an old lady in a girdle).

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Ironman Certified Coach

Currently accepting limited number of new athletes

I think you may be surprised. A number of pro athletes bought Kiwami Amphibians for use over their team kits in Kona. The Amphibian Prima is pretty dam awesome, and Jordan wore them to his 2 wins.

I think right now, especially after testing some more suits & given what is out there, you may need to make suit decisions on wet suit vs Non wet suit swims, at least for the half.

There are some very fast 1 piece sleeveless kits. I've seen at least 1 beat a sleeved suit that was an excellent fit. There are 1 or 2 sleeveless tri/speed kits I'd consider for the bike leg even with a wet suit swim.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Same size as you but 2 inches shorter. Small is good, no chance I could get into XS.

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Ironman Certified Coach

Currently accepting limited number of new athletes

Sweet, that's what I was hoping to hear. Now I have to spend money. Curse you. ;)

We are going to need to add a couple of more to that list from Cuore of Switzerland. I've been working with them since the first AeroCamp developing a tri-specific version of their Pro-tour speed suit and two-in one suit.

There are a few shots of the suit in the front page photo coverage of AeroCamp

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Lifestyle/Images_from_AeroCamp_2.0_4382.html


I was pretty happy with the way it tested. It was the same at zero as the PI and was about 7 watts faster at yaw. There was a slight head position change during the PI test at yaw so that could have skewed that number a little bit.


We also tested their Aero Race Gold jersey on several people and got some incredible results. It was about 3 watts slower for me at zero and 2 watts faster at yaw over the PI. The full suit was 5 watts faster than the jersey. I'm going to go back to them this week and see if we can look at making a low neck tri specific version and getting rid of the road style pockets.

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Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

Very interesting Heath.

Sounds like these guys are pretty willing to work with feedback. Any chance you could talk them into making a version or option with skinnier sleeves? Sounds like they nailed it on texture and seam placement. Front of the sleeves looked to have a similar sort of material to the Octane.

They do a lot of custom work. The sleeves are pretty small and the material is super stretchy. I'll see what they have to say this week hopefully.

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Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

Awesome.

Sounds like it could be an excellent alternative to the PI for those without a custom tailor or with stick like arms.

The San Remo is the same design as the Body Paint, one piece but the sides open up and it is sewn in the back.

Im not sure if there are other differences between the two, but the SR does not have any pockets in the back like the BP. Other than that, they appear to be pretty much the same.

I used the BP for the first time in a Sprint last weekend and liked it a lot. Also wore it under a wet suit and didn't notice it all. Felt fine in the run. Very light, did not feel constricted.

Hmm, i might be wrong about no pockets on the San Remo. I was having a hard time finding the BP too and was considering the SR. A rep at Competitive Cyclist told me no pockets on the San Remo, but the pic on Castelli's site clearly shows pockets.

At any rate, it is for sure the same design in terms of open on sides and front, with top and bottom sew together in the back.

All four Castelli Sanremo triathlon suits (Body Paint Sleeveless, Body Paint Shortsleeve, Free Sleeveless and Free Shortleeve) have TWO back pockets and a full zipper!

Actually found a Body paint SS on Amazon, snagged the last medium, didn't think I'd find one. Had to pay full price, which I usually avoid. When I opened the package I thought to myself, I paid how much for this little bit of fabric? I have to say though, having tried it on, I'm pleased. Seems very aero and the design makes peeing very easy and getting in and out of it much easier than the old roadie skinsuit I have. I was concerned about the practical aspects of the Octane, really didn't want something that was that hard to get in and out of.

Will try it in a half coming up at the end of the month and see how it goes.

I tried putting on the Castelli T1 while wet this weekend. My time shot up from 10-12 seconds to 22-26 seconds. Wondering if anyone has worn theirs under their wetsuit. I'm thinking it will be quite constricting. Got to thinking about leaving it unzipped under the wet suit to aid in freedom of movement while swimming. Wonder if anyone out there has tried that. Not a lot of opportunity before my race this weekend so looking for feedback from others.

Heath,
The Cuore tested very well on me. I'd love a custom tri suit version. I'd be a very happy to help them break into the US tri market!

Doug

I also put the T1 on while wet this past weekend and it probably took me twice as long. I am going to do a test swim with it on under my wetsuit later this week and if it feels OK I will wear it under my wetsuit at Tremblant 70.3 on Sunday.

I'm scheduling a call with them this week. I'm going to suggest they make a tri version of the jersey as well. I'll let them know about the suit too. ;)

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Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

I'm hoping to be able to test as well, with a short swim Saturday AM. I'm doing Tremblant 70.3 as well. Perhaps I'll see you there. Are you thinking of zipped up or unzipped under the wetsuit?