Choosing a Tri Outfit

[Susan Otcenas]

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

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.

[artifactos]

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!

[mariposa]

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).

[Veronica]

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

Veronica

[artifactos]

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.

[NbyNW]

+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.

[artifactos]

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...