Choosing a Tri Outfit

I have been having trouble finding a tri outfit for myself. All of the shorts I have tried thus far have had uncomfortably tight leg grippers (pearl izumi, zoot), and most of the tops seem a bit too short in the torso for me - leaving my lower back exposed while on the bike. I have not had the opportunity to try on a tri suit, since most of the shops around here carry the bare minimum in women's tri apparel.

I am considering one of the Louis Garneau trisuits - either the pro or elite - but I'm unsure of whether they are going to be long enough in the torso for me. I have heard good things about their "power band" instead of leg grippers.

I don't plan on competing in a "real" tri until late July, since I do not have a wetsuit. Since it is my first year "really" swimming and competing in tris, I do not feel that a water temperature under 70 degrees would be doable, so I am going to be doing duathlons until there is an event on my schedule with warm water. :) I am currently hoping to do an olympic du (might downgrade to the sprint depending on how my brick goes on Saturday) on June 6, so I'm really trying to get on top of finding the proper clothes.. I suppose I could run in my cycling shorts, but I really don't think it would be good for my speed (or for my lady bits, since I sweat quite a bit).

Any feedback would be appreciated!

I bought a friend of mine a Zoot one-piece tri-suit and it worked out pretty well. She has a long torso and is taller, so we were a bit skeptical, but it actually fit pretty comfortably. One-piece might be the way to go - even I have noticed some of the tri tops are short torsoed and I HAVE a short torso. ;) I also gave her a tri top I bought from TE, I think it was from DeSoto, it was super long in the torso and big on me, so they must exist out there somewhere, though I could swear things are getting shorter as time goes on.

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Originally Posted by artifactos

I am considering one of the Louis Garneau trisuits - either the pro or elite - but I'm unsure of whether they are going to be long enough in the torso for me. I have heard good things about their "power band" instead of leg grippers.

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Artifactos - I wore the Louis Garneau Pro Tri Suit for a tri this weekend. One of the reasons I chose it was for the powere band. I looooooooove that power band. I have big quads, and I despise shorts that squeeze my legs too much. It's one of the reasons I chose not to wear Zoot. I love everything about Zoot except that most of the grippers are too squeezy for me. There are some photos of me wearing the LG suit on another thread in the tri sub-forum.
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=37601 There's a photo postrace, and then on the 2nd page there's a link to a photo on the bike.

For reference, I'm wearing the medium. My quad measurement at the point where that band is hitting is roughly 18.5 inches.

Hope that helps.

I've been wearing Zoot Ultra stuff because I like the chamois and the chest support. How does the LG stuff compare in those areas?

Veronica

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Originally Posted by Veronica

I've been wearing Zoot Ultra stuff because I like the chamois and the chest support. How does the LG stuff compare in those areas?

Veronica

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The chamois is nice. Perforated all the way through, so it dries very quickly. NO scratchy edges or seams. The suit I chose does not have a built-in bra, which is my preference. I'm a C cup, and I generally prefer a little more support than most built-ins offer. Besides, a bra in a one piece is an engineering nightmare. The bras in LGs 2-pieces are average. Not stellar, but not wimpy either. A-B-maybe-light-C should be satisfied.

I am an A-cup, and I already have a sports bra that will probably match the turquoise color in the LG suits. :D

I might go back and try on the PI pro two-pieces, but otherwise I think the LG suits will probably work out best for me. I may order one today!

I really liked my DeSoto one-piece trisuit...it was comfortably snug but not so tight that you couldn't breathe. I did have to wear a sportsbra underneath it, because it didn't have any built-in support...but that wasn't a big deal to me, and I could use the extra support of a sportsbra anyway. What I liked most about it, was that there were no leg grippers...so no "sausage leg" effect. It worked very well for the 2 triathlons that I did back in 2008. The only downside to it, is that the suit is not chlorine-resistant...so it should not be worn in pools because the chlorine will eat away at the suit causing "thin" spots. However, they do state that very clearly in their descriptions of the trisuit...so that was completely my fault for not adhering to their warning.

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Originally Posted by nscrbug

I really liked my DeSoto one-piece trisuit...it was comfortably snug but not so tight that you couldn't breathe. I did have to wear a sportsbra underneath it, because it didn't have any built-in support...but that wasn't a big deal to me, and I could use the extra support of a sportsbra anyway. What I liked most about it, was that there were no leg grippers...so no "sausage leg" effect. It worked very well for the 2 triathlons that I did back in 2008. The only downside to it, is that the suit is not chlorine-resistant...so it should not be worn in pools because the chlorine will eat away at the suit causing "thin" spots. However, they do state that very clearly in their descriptions of the trisuit...so that was completely my fault for not adhering to their warning.

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The Desoto one piece Forza trisuit is the suit I wore in all 4 of my triathlons last year, for much the same reasons that I chose the LG this year. No leg grippers (yay!), no built-in bra. But both the DeSoto & LG has pockets, which I definitely use for carrying nutrition on the longer events. The DeSoto suit has a short inseam (not short short, but shorter than the LG) which I preferred. But, because of the nature of my job, I didn't want to wear the same brand this year. It's important for me to try out apparel from lots of different vendors. Over the years, I've worn tri apparel from most of them!

Susan

BTW - I did a review of the Forza last year. The only thing they changed this year was color, so we copied my review from last year onto this year's item description. You can read it here: http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_WFTT.html

While I like the look (and price) of the Forza suit, I like the LG front zipper a little better since I tend to have to go potty after swimming. :o I'm uncoordinated with back zippers, so idk how I will ever adjust if I get a wetsuit.

Is there much difference between the Pro and Elite LG trisuits in terms of fit/durability? I might be doing some pool swims, so being able to stand up to chlorine would be nice.

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Originally Posted by Susan Otcenas

The chamois is nice. Perforated all the way through, so it dries very quickly. NO scratchy edges or seams. The suit I chose does not have a built-in bra, which is my preference. I'm a C cup, and I generally prefer a little more support than most built-ins offer. Besides, a bra in a one piece is an engineering nightmare. The bras in LGs 2-pieces are average. Not stellar, but not wimpy either. A-B-maybe-light-C should be satisfied.

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I was surprised at how well the Zoot one-piece shelf bra held me in - and I'm a C cup in regular bras (size Medium in the CW-Xes). I wouldn't use it over Olympic distance, though. Anything longer and I wear two-piece with a Zoot tri bra.

Artifactos - you should practice learning to pee in the water. It's probably not the worst thing in the water during an OWS ;) If you do want to pee afterward, I'd definitely go two-piece OR one-piece with NO built-in bra. The built-in bras are a nightmare to get into and out of quickly. One super-nice advantage to the one-piece is that you generally get way less chafing, too.

Well, I decided to wear my one piece for my HIM next week. I figure I'm going to be DFL or pretty close to it anyway and so any time lost will not really matter. :D

Veronica

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Originally Posted by colby

One super-nice advantage to the one-piece is that you generally get way less chafing, too.

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I also prefer one pieces for the utter lack of abdominal pressure. Late in a long event, when I might be more prone to intestinal distress, the last thing I want is pressure from a waistband.

Okay, so I did a brick this morning! With just compression shorts - no chamois. I had no real discomfort on the bike once I got moving (the first minute or so my tush was saying "uh, are you sure about this?) and I'm not noticing any lasting effects now.

Today's brick was 13 miles on the bike (including some hills and a slow start) and a 5 mile run. I'm now debating whether I enter the Olympic or Sprint distance duathlon on June 6 - I now know I can manage the sprint with just compression shorts, and I think I'd be fine for the Olympic as well. Just in case I don't make a decision on a trisuit or tri shorts by then. ;) What do you ladies think? Go for the Olympic in my first or stick with the Sprint?

I will probably also have some questions about duathlons, but those can wait for now. :) I'm still debating the Pro/Elite versions of the LG trisuit - not sure which will suit my needs best!

If you're only going to get one tri outfit, I'd strongly suggest getting separate tri shorts and tri top, rather than the trisuit. That way, during duathlons or bike-run brick workouts, you can wear the tri shorts with ANY choice of top. Sometimes you just won't feel like wearing a tri top in those situations - you might want better sun coverage, for example, or a shirt that's looser and more comfy.

The tri shorts and tri top don't have to be from the same company. Zoot tops, for instance, fit me great, but Zoot shorts are absolutely terrible, because I have hips.

I absolutely love Shebeest tri shorts, which ARE designed for people with hips (and not-skinny thighs).

Hey I have hips! And the Zoot shorts fit me just fine. :p

Veronica

I decided to go with the LG Pro Trisuit. It fits me rather well (and since I'm very small-boobed but have a decent size ribcage, I could probably go without a bra altogether since it pancakes me so well, haha), but the chamois does chafe a bit at the joining of my left thigh with my crotch. :( It only hurts on the bike, at least, but it was getting really painful and I only rode 6 miles on the bike today. Yeeks. I'm going to hope that body glide will solve all of my problems there!! And that washing it a couple times when I got home will have softened the edge of the chamois a bit more.

I love the fabric, even if it is see-through enough to show off my butt crack. ;)

+1 on separates.

I went with Sugoi tri shorts and a TYR splice top -- more of a bra, really -- under the wetsuit, and then pulled on a regular cycling jersey during T1, just to have a little more coverage.

I figure if I eventually do more tris I might invest time & money in looking for a one-piece, but in the mean time, what I have is versatile for other activities . . . and probably a bit less fuss than the one-piece during my multiple pre-race trips to the port-a-potties.

I don't have any trouble with the full suit when needing to go potty. If anything, it's easier than compressive shorts with a waistband, because the shorts don't roll down around the waistband and become a pain to pull back up.

I also partly bought the full suit because it saves me money over decent separates. It also eliminates the "waistband-is-making-me-nauseous" factor, which has been an issue for me since I was a teenager doing equestrian events.

I felt dumb last night, though. I realized that had I gotten the black/turqoise pro suit, it would match my bike!! Maybe next year...