Dear omniscient ST,
the team I’m joining for upcoming season wants to prepare custom tri suites.
The problem is to meet sponsors expectations regarding branding and my expectations regarding aeroness.
We are searching for something that would be statistically not slower then my current Castelli BodyPaint SS.
We had to cross Kiwami Spider LD off the list due to low customization options - sponsors want to have big logos.
Options we consider currently are:
Endura QDC Drag2Zero Tri Suit
Castelli Free Sanremo SS
Pearl Izumi Octane
Bioracer
…
What worries me is that somebody told me that there are two kinds of fabrics - the one that are fast and the other that accept sublimation. Does somebody have knowledge about this stuff - how is this in reality? Apparently all those colourful multi-branded pro suite are made out of normal not aero fabrics.
My team got 2xU and there was plenty of big logos on it. Can send some pics if you want. I loved the suit. As far as being fast? Seems to be good enough for a certain world champ
Our club kit looks good and appears consistent with the retail M-2. I can’t attest to the technical specifics of the fabric, but any differences are not apparent.
Did you order full custom or was it white + logos ?
How big was the order and if you can tell what was the approximate cost?
It would be great, if you can send me a picture ( podsiadlowski at gmail ) or post it here.
I have a custom suit from Virklon which I designed myself. The price is keen (hundred quid for a one piece suit) and doesn’t change by quantity, you can order 20 or just a one off and it is still pretty cheap. They have a template for each garment which you download (.pdf format) and you modify it yourself using whatever graphics package, ideally vector graphics. I have only basic graphic design skills and produced exactly what I wanted using free software (Inkscape). You then upload the design back to their webpage. Once somebody has checked it over and touched it up you get an email to tell you that it has been rendered onto a 3D model, then you can go and check it out in your team store. I have done this for one-offs when our official club supplier didn’t have a sleeved suit.
Can’t promise how fast the suit is because it won’t have been in any of the aerocamp tests and I’ve not heard anything about from Ero, but it fits well and the quality seems really good. The sleeve/shoulder fabric is really really stretchy, so you can size down pretty well and have minimal wrinkles. Print quality looks good to my eye.
it was full custom (black/pink/blue). i just heard back from the shop owner and he said he’s not sure on minimums because 2xu is re-working them. the team isn’t continuing next year so i won’t have much more info. the only other sleeved 1 piece suit i’ve ever tried is a Capo one. the 2xu is much better, i really liked the fact that the jersey unzips all the way. makes it easier to pee. the arm/leg bands stay put very well also. it’s tough to tell but the left sleeve was the opposit of the right – full blue sleeve with the black aero band
Yes +1 for Virklon. Their suits use a very breathable material on the back, sleeves and shoulders - its almost like a mesh and very cool in warm weather. I wore the sleeved suit under a wetsuit for IM Frankfurt and barely noticed it was there. That being said the mesh does not lend itself to being put on when wet so not sure if pulling the top and sleeves on in T1 is practical anyways. Again, dont have any aero numbers on it but very happy with it and Virklons customer service. I will be putting in another order for next season.
I have a custom suit from Virklon which I designed myself. The price is keen (hundred quid for a one piece suit) and doesn’t change by quantity, you can order 20 or just a one off and it is still pretty cheap. They have a template for each garment which you download (.pdf format) and you modify it yourself using whatever graphics package, ideally vector graphics. I have only basic graphic design skills and produced exactly what I wanted using free software (Inkscape). You then upload the design back to their webpage. Once somebody has checked it over and touched it up you get an email to tell you that it has been rendered onto a 3D model, then you can go and check it out in your team store. I have done this for one-offs when our official club supplier didn’t have a sleeved suit.
Can’t promise how fast the suit is because it won’t have been in any of the aerocamp tests and I’ve not heard anything about from Ero, but it fits well and the quality seems really good. The sleeve/shoulder fabric is really really stretchy, so you can size down pretty well and have minimal wrinkles. Print quality looks good to my eye.
Another recommendation on Virklon though I hate their standard pad in their shorts/suits. The Virklon sleeves are the only sleeves I can wear during the swim without restriction. It’s not as aero as a aero specific material but it is more aero than bare skin for me. I primarily race short course so it’s a nice compromise for me. My transition consists of taking off the top half of my wetsuit while running and then zipping up the Virklon top.
I think that’s another key if you’re going to wear a sleeved tri suit during the swim. Make sure it unzips all the way. I find that helps with shoulder mobility during the swim (assuming you’re wearing a wetsuit). Personally, I’ve never been able to put sleeves on in transition while wet.
