So I have a Castelli body paint speedsuit, but almost never do tt and have been wanting a fast suit for tri. The suit is long-sleeved but figure I could just cut the arms so they are a bit shorter. Has anyone had any experience racing full distance races in a speedsuit? Will it be too uncomfortable or worth the hassle?
there is absolutely no way this would be worth the hassle.
Yeah, thought so. Oh well, guess i’ll have to start looking for a new trisuit 
there is absolutely no way this would be worth the hassle.
So without doing a careful calculation, in a long course tri I think the BP3 would save me >5 mins. Could I change into and out of it in <5 mins? Yeah, I think I could. Plus, even if it’s a wash that would substitute 5 minutes of effort with 5 minutes of rest. So based on that I’d lean the other way. One exception would be at the pointy end, where putting on the suit means missing the lead peloton (draft pack – yup, you know it’s true), so not worth it.
I don’t have to do a careful calculation, as I know the BP skinsuit is only worth ~4w over a 2 piece tri kit at 25mph. So yea…not even close to being worth it for an IM.
I don’t have to do a careful calculation, as I know the BP skinsuit is only worth ~4w over a 2 piece tri kit at 25mph. So yea…not even close to being worth it for an IM.
If you’ve tested it and that’s what you got, then yeah it’s for sure not worth it. It’s definitely different for different people though, so if that’s from someone else’s test then I wouldn’t put much in it. The benefit depends on your position and body dimensions including, for example, the thickness of your arms. For me, it’s worth way more than that, over any suit that does not have rough material on the arms and back.
ultimately, the point is that you have no idea unless you’ve tested it. so the possible benefits are very possibly outweighed by the numerous negatives. a well fitting skinsuit is not particularly comfortable, you certainly can’t run in it, it’s not very breathable, it has no pockets, takes almost as long to get off as it does to get on (so you’ll ALSO lose time in T2 in addition to time in T1)… it’s just a lose-lose proposition probably 9/10 times in a long course triathlon.
ultimately, the point is that you have no idea unless you’ve tested it. so the possible benefits are very possibly outweighed by the numerous negatives. a well fitting skinsuit is not particularly comfortable, you certainly can’t run in it, it’s not very breathable, it has no pockets, takes almost as long to get off as it does to get on (so you’ll ALSO lose time in T2 in addition to time in T1)… it’s just a lose-lose proposition probably 9/10 times in a long course triathlon.
So my background is I’ve tested a lot of suits on a lot of people and I don’t think the answer is that obvious. I think for 70.3 or 140.6 it’s probably at worst a toss-up, assuming equal draft. My thinking is: if it’s a toss-up, why buy another suit? For 70.3 or 140.6 I’d just use what you’ve got and change in T1/T2. He/she’ll get an extra minute rest at each end, and might even go faster.
I also don’t find skinsuits at all uncomfortable, though I certainly wouldn’t run in one so you’re definitely changing out of it in T2, so yeah time at both ends for sure. It’s really not very hard to do once you get it down, though, and again that’s rest time that you get for free. If people are having trouble I can give advice on how it’s done. As for breathability, with the BP3.X in particular the back and arms are an open mesh which leaves you basically naked – somewhat embarrassingly so, such that you’re guaranteed a massive sunburn if you don’t lather up – so that’s pretty damned breathable.