In triathlon’s early days, before the existence of specialist triathlon clothing, male triathletes would often race in a pair of tight Speedo swimming briefs and a running vest. As the sport grew, other manufacturers developed triathlon kit leaving Speedo to focus on the swimming only market, for which it created the LZR Racer ‘Pulse’ fabric. Swimmers in these suits picked up an impressive number of medals and world records at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Realising the synergies with triathlon, Speedo used its technical expertise in fabrics and hydrodynamics to develop Speedo LZR Race Tri Pro triathlon suit, which hit the market in 2009 at the London Triathlon. Speedo has now followed this up with the TriathELITE range of triathlon gear, which includes a range of wetsuits, tri suits and other triathlon related kit.

Tzero was invited to test some of this kit at Speedo’s swanky, swimming-pool-equipped offices in Finchley. This is what we found.

First up was the wetsuit. Speedo’s entry level STR Comp retails at £210 and is aimed at beginner triathletes looking for additional buoyancy. Next up the scale is the STR Pro (£260) and at the top of the range is the STR Elite (£360). This is Speedo’s no-holds barred wetsuit incorporating “everything we know about making athletes move through the water faster,” according to Dr Tom Waller, head of Speedo’s Aqualab research centre. This is the one we tested.

Testing Speedo's STR Elite wetsuit

The suit slipped on easily – perhaps a little too easily – and the cut was a touch loose under the arms. Once in the water, the suit’s buoyancy became apparent: a weird sensation in a pool, but something a lot of swimmers would be grateful for in the melee of a mass swim start. For swimming, the suit holds the legs in a good horizontal position and flexibility around the shoulders is excellent. Swimming is fast and easy. However, some water did enter around the cuffs on the arms, again signalling a smaller size might have been more appropriate.

The key message then is clearly try before you buy. The sizing charts are a guide but do not account for all body shapes. The suit does exactly what it says on the tin, but if yours is too big, water will accumulate around the arms and shoulders, and negate the weight and hydrodynamic advantages.

Correct sizing is also essential for Speedo’s £130 LZR Racer Tri-Pro – the company’s tri suit offerings. These are available in both one-piece and two-piece models and make use of Speedo’s pool technology but adapted for triathlon. Speedo claim their suit is 42% lighter than its nearest competitor when wet, and 26% lighter when dry.

The fabric of a correctly sized suit should be stretched tightly across the body. In this state it has an almost water repellent effect, with water beading and rolling off. If the suit is loose though, it crumples and absorbs water.

The suit is a treat to swim in for anyone doing pool based triathlons or opting not to wear a wetsuit in open water. The close cut fit ensures minimum water resistance, and the suit genuinely feels light to wear. Once on land, the suit is supposed to dry faster than any other suit on the market and has been designed to wick sweat away from key areas such as the small of the back, according to Dr Waller. We’ve yet to test the tri suit on land in a race situation, but are looking forward to doing so.

Other Speedo kit to look out for includes their Tri Rucksack (£55), Rift goggles (£21) and underwater MP3 player (£75).

See www.speedo.co.uk for stockists.

Testing Speedo's new tri suit

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