Speed Lzr Vs Speedo Aquablade

[louis]

tO MY UNDERSTANDING THE SPD LZR IS ABOUT THE SAME MATERIAL AS THE SPEEDO AQUABLADE.
AS THE LZR COVERS 3/4 OF THE BODY AND THE AQUABLADE IS A BRIEF, THEN HOW IS IT THAT IT IS SEAD THAT THE LZR IS SEAD TO BE THE FASTEST SWIMWEAR IN THE WORLD.
YET AS THE LZR IS BIGGER THEN THE AQUABLADE THUS THE LZR MUST EVIDENTLY WEIGH MORE THE THE AQUABLADE,
THE QUESTION IS HOW CAN IT POSSIBLY FASTER.-HANKS.

[sebbie]

LZR is slicker than skin..skin causes more drag

[Byron]

Yes, it comes down to man vs. shark so that the drag factor is more important than fabric weight in creating faster movement through water.

The human body is covered with uneven skin which has pores to give it ventilation (and hairs which swimmers may wish to shave off to produce better competition times).
Sharks' bodies on the other hand are entirely covered by placoid scales which create tiny vortices to reduce drag in water and so make their swimming more efficient (and quieter - important in seeking prey as sound carries so well underwater).
This article was written a few years ago when Speedo were trying to go even further with an improved LZR Pulse fabric:

http://memagazine.asme.org/articles/...kskin_Suit.cfm

[louis]

Anyway it seems that outher swimwear makers came up with outher fabrics just as good as the LZR.
iTSEEMS THAT FINA ALSO PLAN TO BAN THE SUIT OR PLANS TO DO SO. fOR SOME REASON.

[Byron]

It is high time this word "ban" was used accurately - the fabric is not but the full body coverage is. In effect manufacturers will comply in most cases with what are now known as jammers ie the "waist to knee only" rule will be observed as is now required at competitions of international standard and for the recognition of new fast times in such events.

If you wish to know what Speedo products now conform to the FINA Rules of 2010 a list is provided on http://speedo.com/swimwear_products/...a_approved.htm

If other manufacturers consider they have fabrics to perform equal to or better than the LZR they can produce such within the rules - but they had better be wary of many extant Speedo patents.
Fabrics must be "textile" - the definition of which remains unclear.

The background to all this is Beijing 2008 where 79 of the many new world swimming records were achieved by competitors wearing LZR Racer Suits.
FINA met in 2009 to consider the implications of this and decided to act on the new super fabrics in terms of new rules for thickness, body coverage, buoyancy and other advantages - and, last but not least, the ability to gain medals by those with the fattest check books to afford the new technology.

[Byron]

List referred to above should be
http://www.speedo.co.uk/s111swimrang...ts_1index.html

[California Dolphin]

I've never understood the rational for tech suits in competetive swimming.

Tech suits are just another form of mechanical swimming aid and using them in competetion is sort of a "cheat sheet" approach and nothing is really achieved by setting a new world record by using one.

I've often pointed out that FINA prohibits the use of other mechanical aids such as paddles and flippers and some exotic things like rubbing surfactants all over your body to break surface tension.

In the past, FINA preferred the racer briefs because they minimized the role of the suit and eliminated extraneous variables as much as possible. So why has FINA done a 180 degree turn and allowed "suit technology", but not other devices?