number belts
meakie
Posts: 124
in General Chat
No you will need a number belt if youre in a tri suit. Quite a lot of people put it on a shirt and then wack that on in T1, or for my first tri as I didnt have a number belt, I made one out of a piece of string! Took a bit longer to do up and didnt look as good but worked a treat!
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do you get given number belts at races or do you have to buy one? and no doubt you dont wear your paper numbers on the swim part, but then what do you ? get stick ons for your arms
also.. we dont have to spend time faffing with safety pins do we for T1?
just wonderd, stupid question but I dont know the answer so had to ask!
( this is for my first tri so I aint a clue til the day else!)
cheers
Shell
but what if I am just slipping shorts on and running in my swimsuit.. whats best to do then?
still buy a belt?
cheers for replying :-)
You won't get given a number belt, you may get given safety pins. If you're biking in what you swam in ie a tri suit you will want a number belt as the quickest way of putting your paper number on in T1. If you're putting on a t shirt or any other top after swimming you can get away with safety pinning the number on that in advance if you want.
If you use a number belt you can have the number on your back for the bike then spin it to the front at T2 for the run. Check the rules of your race though, they may insist you have two numbers visible front and back during the bike and run. This would stop you using one number belt and spinning it round in T2. You could use 2 belts or pin the second number to the belt to get round this.
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I've got my first Tri coming up as well in a few months.
Good luck [;)]
Two options:
1 - you hang your race belt over your bike.
2 - you wear it under your wetsuit.
I go for option 2 personally. One less thing to forget in T1.
2 - you wear it under your wetsuit.
I go for option 2 personally.
does it not get soggy or do tri wetsuits not let in as much water a diving ones?
hey, how do the no sheets fix on?
??? [8|]
- pass on the number thing tho.. just thought I would add my 2penneth in re how much I love my suit [:)]
Looks like the string bit goes through the holes in the number with the toggle keeping it in place.
Thanks.
41 days until my first sprint...
A number belt is simply the quickest way to put your number(s) on after the swim.
@somebody else: If your numbers are waterproof enough then there's nothing to stop you wearing them under your wetsuit. If that is the case then you don't really need a belt: you could pin them front and back.
Or maybe you were only supplied with one number, so the belt helps you flip it around from back to front in T2.
Or maybe you could go to the local print shop and ask them to make 2 copies of your race number in waterproof ink onto plasticised paper.
same for me! which one u doing?? I am doing wilmslow
I'm at Stratford-on-avon.
Hope the training's goings well...Good luck!!
I just have to jump in to correct this one - a tri wetsuit is vastly different than a diving wet suit and it's not much to do with the fit as with a lot of other things.
First - all wetsuits should be tight fitting. A wet suit works by trapping a layer of water between your skin and the suit; the water warms up with your body heat, and thus keeps you more comfortable. The neoprene in the wet suit helps keep this warm water insulated and the tightness keeps the water in. If the suit is too loose, then it won't retain the warm water and will be constantly filling with cold water and do nothing for you. Also, wet suit material (neoprene) is naturally bouyant. More about this in a minute.
A diving wetsuit is designed for warmth, not movement. It's generally a uniform thickness all over - i.e. 3.5mm or 5mm or even 9 or 10mm for really cold water. A diving suit is designed for minimal movements while underwater as the idea in diving is to move as little as possible thus conserving your air. Even a 'shorty' wet suit (short arms and legs) will restrict your shoulder movements pretty drastically and slow you up a lot when you're trying to swim - stretching your arms over your head is a lot harder in a diving suit. For an example - I did the London Tri Olympic in a tri wet suit and completed the swim in 26 minutes. I did it in a shorty diving wet suit and it took me 35 minutes and was much harder work as I was 'fighting' the wet suit as much as I was swimming forward. The natural bouyancy of the diving wetsuit is counter-acted with weights and equipment - the idea with SCUBA is to be neutrally bouyant (neither sinking nor rising without intentionally doing so).
A tri wetsuit is designed to allow you to move. It's got varied thickness, going from .5mm to 1.5mm usually. Underarms / shoulders / inside legs are generally thinner, whilst the outer legs, chest, etc... are thicker. It is designed to provide some warmth but not much - your swimming body will provide most of the warmth and a more common risk with a wetsuit is actually overheating rather than being too cold. The bouyancy here is not counteracted - a tri wet suit's natural bouyancy will help you stay flat on top of the water and lend efficiency to your swimming. Don't think a tri wet suit will mean less swim training, though - everyone has the same advantage.
As for the numbers, a lot of people wear whatever they will swim and run in under their suits, and that includes the number. This usually means tri suits. I wouldn't recommend wearing a full padded pair of cycling shorts under a wetsuit - that would be a lot like wearing a soggy diaper for all of the swim and a lot of the bike until it dries, and may cause unwanted chafing in very sensitive locations. [:D]
Final tip - try to swim with your wet suit on in training at least a couple times. Yes, you'll look like a nob wearing a wet suit in your local swimming pool, and you'll have to rinse it out really well to get rid of the chlorine, but swimming in a tri suit is different than swimming free. It will take a bit of getting used to, although it's not all that different.
Two belts is best