since wetsuit manufactures are going to modify suits with more and more flotation, what are you going to do to keep up with the competition?
just think of it as adding a water bottle between the aerobars or taping vents on a helmet.
some cheap mods to keep up with emillio’s suit:
-step one: buy dense foam, shave it into panels then cover it with neoprene.
-step 2: repeat until you achieve desired results.
ahhh, shades of trailing styrofoam chips behind swimmers in the mid-eighties…
i was kind of thinking the same thing: is this new suit and no regulations about suit thickness going to open some floodgates? things could get pretty silly pretty quick. i mean, if there really are no regulations, why stop at 10mm? you could essentially build a paddleboard into the front of a suit and skim along the top of the water, right? and if no one says “no” to it, why wouldn’t a manufacturer make it? hell, someone would buy it!
With all the deaths in the swim this year, I think it sends a very bad message. These are no longer designed to keep you from getting hypothermia but life vests.
yep, why stop at 10mm
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Guess you have not read Emilio’s post as to why he stopped at 10.
I just smile when the swimmers complain about swimming technology, but biking technology is okay. :o)
Bottom line, if you cannot swim, a wetsuit is not going to help you that much. As I said, if it did, why do not all
the racers swim 22 minutes in an Oly distance with a wetsuit?
Dave
I read the front page article and I thought of over heating. I once did a shallow scuba dive in a 7mm suit in warmer water (72 F) with heavy currents to fight and over heated. Just a thought that it could be a potential problem under the right circumstances.
I read the front page article and I thought of over heating. I once did a shallow scuba dive in a 7mm suit in warmer water (72 F) with heavy currents to fight and over heated. Just a thought that it could be a potential problem under the right circumstances.
Yeah, thats the exact reason why i will be keeping my T1 and speedtube, i cook over 74-76 degreee olympic, so i’ll use the speed tube. Ill have to figure out what temp i can handle in the water rover, and well i need the other one for worlds anyways so i have to keep it.
I say let’s just let crappy swimmers just lay on a raft and paddle with their arms!
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bike technology eliminates the drag the bike produces, not the rider which is 80-85pct of the total drag.
the wetsuit thickness is absurd. its like roller blading instead of running.
i can swim a sub 18 1500 without a wetsuit, and a good wetsuit does help me. i pissed the 22min swimmers are now 20 mins.
Yep, you are the 1% who are pissed. You really think the rules will change for 1% of the folks.
This sport is just for fun, not life or death.
Dave
“This sport is just for fun, not life or death.”
Take that back immediately!!!
Actually before aero frames and deep section wheels there were aero bars and aero helmets. These do nothing for the bike but plenty for the rider. In fact aero bars are the number reducer of drag. Steep angled bikes let you get in the aero bars easier.
But yes aero forks, frames and wheel do streamline the bike which can make up for a weak cyclist.
Personally I would prefer if they capped things at 5 mm. In fact, I would prefer if they capped it at 4mm since that provides plenty of warmth (and I get cold easily).
However, if there are no limits, I want the most buoyant suit available on the market, cause if not, I am at a disadvantage to other athletes with more buoyant suits. As it stands there are already suits in the market that you can measure to have panels in excess of 5mm. Rather than beat on Emilio, let’s beat on every suit that is 5.1 mm thick (or more) too.
I could be totally wrong, but I bet that the rules do change.
Back in 89 or 90 or close to that, Wavelength wetsuits made a pair of wetsuit pants (like the speedtube only 15+ years earlier), and a rule was made against those. Probably b/c they were being worn in non wetsuit swims.
So, I would be that ‘if’ the ITU rule is 5mm, then USAT follows ‘suit’ and makes the rule 5mm.
Now come on, have folks look at all the suits over 5, but again who cares, the rules are the rules. If you do not like the rules, try to get them changed.
But do you think any group is going to listen to 1% of their customers?
Dave
If you are trying to say USAT rules should be ITU rules, lets see, how about why the wetsuit cutoff at Worlds
was 22c. Are you telling me USAT is going to lower their cutoff temp?
Dave
I think it’s only a matter of time before your “USAT” applies a rule. Isn’t that the reason why this thing is taking off (and in the US only)? Most feds around the world do indeed have a thickness limit (5mm), or at least mine does…
I think it’s only a matter of time before your “USAT” applies a rule. Isn’t that the reason why this thing is taking off (and in the US only)? Most feds around the world do indeed have a thickness limit (5mm), or at least mine does…
In addition to more reasonable cutoff temps.
Shane