I am just back from the SPMA meet where all the top finisher were wearing the latest generation tech suits,mostly B-70s(or were named Jeff Commings.)I have here to for been in favor of the suits,but now I am not so sure.First,they eliminate the old bench marks.I went my fastest 100m BR in 5 yr in my LZR,but it was only .3 sec faster than I did untapered 5 wk earlier in my first swim in the LZR.So was my swim good or not,I'm not sure.Also,instead of focusing on technique or pace I found myself ruminating over aspects of the suits,how many more swims did the suit have,is it the right size,was the reason I didn't get better results from my B-70 because it was too big?etc.The B-70 has somewhat mitigated the "too expensive,not durable" problem,but for how long.
Lets say a company comes up with a suit that is much faster,say 4 sec/100.Further that it is very expensive(say $1000) lasts 4 swims and is very hard to make so that quantities are always limited and the fastest way to get one is to bid up to $3000 on ebay. Now lets say your nemesis has one,or that getting one is your best chance to get TT or AA or a ZR or WR,or that your child is close to making JO cuts,or finally beating his/her nemesis etc. Is it worth it and where does it stop?
guys with aerobars were always forbidden to participate in any pace-line training sessions back when i was racing. don't know about now?
Same thing now. They are allowed in time trial races only, and in triathlons. No road races, nor crits.
As far as training...it depends. True cyclists don't like it and sometimes they won't allow you to ride with them in training even if you promise not to use them. Groups of triathletes -- at least the ones I know -- don't have that problem, and I have been in pacelines where many of them are on the aeros. That makes me nervous, though: I have them attached to my "regular" (drop) handlebars but in a paceline will always use the drops instead.
I'm sure you know the following story, but for the benefit of those who do not: Greg LeMond won the 1989 Tour de France by a mere 8 seconds. He was down 50 seconds to Laurent Fignon before the last day...a time trial in which LeMond used aerobars and Fignon did not. The aerobars are widely credited with being the deciding factor in the win.
Did the equipment win the race? Or did LeMond show foresight and dedication in adopting the best legal equipment and learning how to use it?
guys with aerobars were always forbidden to participate in any pace-line training sessions back when i was racing. don't know about now?
Same thing now. They are allowed in time trial races only, and in triathlons. No road races, nor crits.
As far as training...it depends. True cyclists don't like it and sometimes they won't allow you to ride with them in training even if you promise not to use them. Groups of triathletes -- at least the ones I know -- don't have that problem, and I have been in pacelines where many of them are on the aeros. That makes me nervous, though: I have them attached to my "regular" (drop) handlebars but in a paceline will always use the drops instead.
I'm sure you know the following story, but for the benefit of those who do not: Greg LeMond won the 1989 Tour de France by a mere 8 seconds. He was down 50 seconds to Laurent Fignon before the last day...a time trial in which LeMond used aerobars and Fignon did not. The aerobars are widely credited with being the deciding factor in the win.
Did the equipment win the race? Or did LeMond show foresight and dedication in adopting the best legal equipment and learning how to use it?
