LZR - It's Faster, but by how much ?

Former Member
Former Member
After seeing a woman break 24 seconds and I think we can stop the discussion of "IF" the LZR suit is faster and start thinking "how much faster". The previous line of suits (Fastskin and so on) were pretty similiar to a shaved swimmer. Sure - they do feel like they make you float, but overall the times seemed to move along "in line" with what I would expect to see in terms of improvements in the sport. If the previous suits would have been that much faster than shaving, you would have never seen people just using the legskins. By the way - for us Masters swimmers there was always the added benefit of keeping in all the "extra layers of skin". So how much faster are the LZR suits ? If I had to guess based on the results so far, I would say 0.25 to 0.30 per 50 and double that for the 100. I can see the Bernard going 48 low in the 100 and I can see Sullivan getting close or just breaking the 50 record. It makes sense that Libby Lenton would swim a 24.2 or so in the 50. I think one of the top regular teams out there should do a test - you need a good amount of world class swimmers training together to be able to do a test. Here is the test I would propose: 8-10 swimmers 2 days of testing 4x50 on 10 minutes all out Day 1 - swim 2 with a Fastskin2 followed by 2 with the LZR Day 2 - swim 2 with the LZR followed by 2 with the Fastskin2 Get the averages of all 10 swimmers - maybe drop the high and low and there you go. Why do the test ? I would HAVE to know. Swimming is a big part of your life and you just set a massive PR using this new technology - my very first question would be " How much was me and how much was the suit?"?
Parents
  • Speaking of triathlon gear.... The LA Times has discovered the latest. And come up with a great quote in the process: 'They are called "triathletes," some say, because they'll "tri" anything that might shave a second or two off their race times -- no matter how far-fetched or astronomically priced." Here's something fun you can try. Go to your local triathlon/multi-sport store and browse the wetsuits. Find one that adds friction in the forearms. (There are quite a few models that do so it shouldn't be too hard.) When the salesman wanders over, have him explain to you why having a rough texture on your forearms makes you faster. Then just go ahead and ROFL in the middle of his speech. When he gets annoyed and wants to know why you're laughing, say "thanks man, I needed that" and leave.
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  • Speaking of triathlon gear.... The LA Times has discovered the latest. And come up with a great quote in the process: 'They are called "triathletes," some say, because they'll "tri" anything that might shave a second or two off their race times -- no matter how far-fetched or astronomically priced." Here's something fun you can try. Go to your local triathlon/multi-sport store and browse the wetsuits. Find one that adds friction in the forearms. (There are quite a few models that do so it shouldn't be too hard.) When the salesman wanders over, have him explain to you why having a rough texture on your forearms makes you faster. Then just go ahead and ROFL in the middle of his speech. When he gets annoyed and wants to know why you're laughing, say "thanks man, I needed that" and leave.
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