Agreed, but why then have Nike spent vast amounts of money on their Swift Spin Body Suits if they don’t work, and again, if they do why not apply the same science to a bike? Quote from Nike “The effect of the differently textured fabrics on the body is similar to the one that dimples have on a golf ball during flight”
I would ask Dave Cobb myself but for the life of me I can’t poston his forum
The full Nikes press release can be read below:
  
Nike Design Exclusive, Highly Aerodynamic “Swift Spin” Body Suit For Lance Armstrong And His 2002 Tour De France U.S. Postal Service Team Speed Suit Represents Cycling’s Most Innovative Competition Apparel Ever; Debuts At The 2002 Tour de France Time Trials
BEAVERTON, ORE (8 July, 2002) - After more than four years of research, testing and design, Project Swift, Nike’s elite Apparel Innovation Team, has unveiled the Swift Spin. The highly aerodynamic time-trial cycling skin is making it’s exclusive debut with the United States Postal Service Team at the 2002 Tour de France. The Swift Spin follows in the wake of Project Swift’s international success with track and field’s “Swift Suit,” debuted in 2000 at Sydney, and speedskating’s “Swift Skin,” showcased in 2002 at Salt Lake City. The suit, one of many used by the USPS riders during the Tour, is designed for the time trials (stages in which the cyclist is racing the clock, not other riders).
With this latest innovation, the aerodynamic speed suits created under the Project Swift banner now stand as the most innovative pieces of competitive sports apparel to date. The Swift Spin was designed in U.S. and Canadian wind tunnels to deliver a unique performance benefit to three-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong and his United State Postal Service Team.
Project Swift is led by two members of Nike Apparel’s Advanced Innovation Team (AIT): Innovation Director Rick MacDonald, based in Oregon, and Senior Designer Eddy Harber, based in London. Through their work in creating aerodynamic suits for speedskating gold medal winners like Derek Parra of the U.S. and Jochem Uytdehaage of the Netherlands, along with Australian 400 meter gold medalist Cathy Freeman and America’s five-time track and field medal-winner Marion Jones, the Nike designers were able to bring extensive knowledge and experience from other highly wind-sensitive sports to the design of the Swift Spin. “We’ve taken everything that we learned from the Sydney Swift Suit and the Salt Lake Swift Skin,” says MacDonald, “and applied it to cycling. Each time we deal with a new sport, we have to relearn that sport. Our team looked at cycling in a way that no one ever had. Then we combined that unique insight with the technology we already had in-hand from track and field, and speedskating. With cycling, the body is in a different position, the speeds are different, different parts of the body are moving at different speeds. The environment can be totally different, as well. Nike took all of those learnings and reconfigured the suit to provide a unique benefit to the USPS riders. We worked on the Swift Spin for a long time with a great deal of input from world-reknowned cyclists and internationally lauded aerodynamicists. There is nothing out there on the Tour like it.”
The Swift Spin most closely resembles speedskating’s Swift Skin. Though the body position and speeds of the two sports are similar, says MacDonald, the airflow over a cyclist is different. “Our adaptations of the Swift Spin are based on the airflow over the cyclists we positioned in the wind tunnels,” he says.
The bottom line is that the countless hours of wind testing by Nike, says MacDonald, “show a significant benefit to wearing the Swift Spin, over any other suit we tested - and we tested a lot of other suits.”
In the beginning, Project Swift investigated more than 50 textiles to meet the unique performance attributes intended for the Swift Spin. These fabrics were pulled from around the globe and tested for several key qualities including wind resistance, elasticity, and breathability. Next they employed an advanced form of “body mapping” known as Nike Zoned Aerodynamic Technology (patent pending). Through this process they scientifically placed the six selected fabrics on certain body locations to work strategically and harmoniously with the athlete’s unique motion in relation to airflow. This maximizes the performance output against the negative effect of air friction, as well other physiological and environmental factors.
Of particular concern for cyclists was heat, both of the body and environment. “The conditions are relatively cooler in speedskating. And track sprinters are in their suits for relatively little time when compared to a cyclist. We used lighter-weight fabrics on the Swift Spin in most places, although the suits do share a lot of similar textiles. We had to rearrange those fabrics in a new pattern due to thermoregulation demands on the bike.”
In the final stages of production the Swift Spin was meticulously crafted. When possible, seams were aligned to correspond with the airflow direction or placed completely out of its way to further reduce drag. Where appropriate, the Swift Skin was articulated to minimize creasing, which could “trap” air and slow a cyclist. Simply stated, this full body suit reduces drag like no other. The effect of the differently textured fabrics on the body is similar to the one that dimples have on a golf ball during flight.
From a distance, the suit resembles a conventional cycling time-trial suit. And while it’s available in both short- and long-sleeved versions, it’s actually quite different. The leg extensions are actually a bit longer than conventional suits. “That extension is longer and made of a different fabric than other parts of the suit for specific aerodynamic reasons,” says Harber. “The difference between this and a conventional suit really lies in the aerodynamic characteristics of the fabrics and where they’re placed.” Also critical to the Swift Spin are the direction and placement of seams in the suit. Seams in all Swift products are placed to move in harmony with the airflow and not against it."
The fit of suit has also been trimmed down. “We changed the fit to be more streamlined and close to the body when the rider is in the time-trial, aerodynamic position,” says MacDonald. “This suit is tight. Any kind of streamlining that you do on a suit like this reduces drag. It not a comfortable suit for walking around or sitting up on the bike, but when you’re in that special aerodynamic position, it fits like a glove.”
With the Swift Spin, Nike also has delivered unique aerodynamic shoe covers and cycling gloves, similar to the ones designed for the Salt Lake speedskaters. Armstrong’s long-sleeved Swift Skin suit has gloves incorporated into the design. Both covers and gloves are made of the silver aerodynamic textile previously employed in both the track-and-field and speedskating suits. “It’s just as effective on the bike,” MacDonald says. "It’s a very fast fabric for the small, fast-moving parts like the hands and feet.
Thanks AndyA
