After the Nopinz reviews I did a while back turned out to be some of the most viewed ones on the blog I thought it would be good to look at the next instalment from Nopinz. I’ve spend a good few months now with the first generation and it’s still as good as it was when I opened the package it came in despite me washing it many times and even putting it through the tumble dryer a few times ( not advised ) . The new skinsuits have really upped the game , it wasn’t a case of bring out a different selection of colours with a slightly different artwork pattern on and call in the new suit for 2015 this was a total overhaul looking at every part of the suit and how it could be improved upon. Don’t get me wrong the first championship suit kicked butt and I still wear it now in club events but there where areas that could be improved and that are what the new suits have addressed.
The super suit was first up and polished off the small areas the 1st generation suits could be improved in like the arm and leg grippers to allow for no ridged seams around the legs and arms, the material was upgraded and the design changed to allow the minimum stitching and the best possible fit, added with the subtle Nopinz logo on the chest. The fit is a good as anything out there, tight in the right areas and the leg and arm grippers work perfectly to keep the suit in place as there is nothing worse than when legs on a skin suits ride up over an event and start creasing up and you can see the cuff on the arms slowly working its way up your fore arm.
I think what they achieved here was spot on , the suit was kept at a very reasonable £200 with the pocket as standard and was as good if not better quality and fit as others on the market in the high price bands and that’s all that needs to be said about it really as it ticked the boxes that you look for in a skinsuit, plus with the speed pocket already fitted at standard you know it’s going to last and not be riddled with pin holes and in the bin after a season.
The nopinz idea has really got a lot of attention and this was shown with collaboration with Bioracer for the newest Nopinz skinsuit. For those who don’t know Bioracer make skinsuits for the likes of team Sky and the mighty Tony Martin so know a thing or two about how to make top kit and more importantly fast kit.
I knew about the Bioracer collaboration abit before it was official and was dam excited about it, the ribbed arm design was something I had been interested in before and saw it as a key design and had stated to Blake at Nopinz that would be great on the supersuit ( I think I even asked if I could get some sewn on ) so when the new suit came out I had to try and get my hands on one. Most know I’m sponsored by Nopinz and was very lucky to be given a supersuit and the first generation championship suit but it was agreed that I would need to stick my hand I’m pocket for this one and that was more than acceptable for me as A / why on earth should I get a free suit when I had just been lucky enough to get the super suit , and B / I was very sure that the suit was exactly what I had been looking for as I very strongly believe that clothing is the next really big area in racing to find improvements.
The next day it was here jet black but with some nice flouro parts and the nopinz logo alongside the Bioracer one. I had a bio racer basic skinsuit when I first started racing and it had the same old problems with the legs sliding up and the arms ending up have way up my really skinny wrists and forearms and the neck was way too tight but it was pretty obvious just holding it up out of the bag this was nowhere near that bioracer skinsuit.this was something special the arm gripper clamped to you wrist so secure I could pull the sleeve right out to get every last crease out of the arm and it stayed right there even over 50 mile tt distance , the legs where long enough and super secure that they didn’t end up half way up my thigh with an emergency gel sticking out the bottom , and the fit of the suit felt like it wanted to pull me into a tighter position on the bike and hold me there comfortably.
There is a ton of technology gone into this suit il add the page off the Nopinz site at the bottom so you can check out the detail and key components that have gone into making something really special at a price mark that just blows everything else out the water, added to that a speedpocket as standard and your laughing.
The material goes from the ribbed arms to the silky smooth forearms and body of the suit and any seams add to the overall design in a well thought out manner and to minimise any aero disadvantages. All in the suit gets a giant tick in the box of skinsuit sorted and an area now we don’t need to look into again for a good while knowing we’ve nailed it and I can worry about something else
Below are the finer details of the bioracer suit :
Bioracer skinsuit Product Description :
Nopinz have collaborated with BioRacer to bring you the fastest “ribbed” arm skin suit on the market.
Every serious racer knows which cycling apparel brand has won the most time trial medals since July 2012. For those racers, BioRacer has developed an individual version of its medal winning Speedmaster TT suit: the Speedwear Concept Aerosuit
The suit is made of a combination of New Monica and Stripe aero fabric. The main fabric has been slightly modified with Speedsilk, a fabric technology that improves the aerodynamics of regular Lycra.
The sleeves have a new and improved aerodynamic cut and are made of an aerodynamically more efficient fabric, Stripe. The cut and fabric are derived from the widely acclaimed Speedmaster speed suit. Since London 2012 this is the most copied and most successful speed suit, a pedigree to be proud of.
Now further enhanced with the Nopinz SpeedPocket – for number placement that is aero and does not spoil your suit.
This is simply the fastest suit available.
As we are on the Nopinz theme let’s keep it rolling with the new bits out since the last review , again in their mission to save every second Nopinz have teamed up with velotoze to make unwanted drag around the feet a thing of the past , with the added bonus of water resistances ( I say water resistance as they are not fully waterproof as I found out in pretty extreme conditions that to be fair would of nailed anything claiming to be waterproof ) , I’ve struggle with overshoes from having the legs of a small boy and overshoes just not staying up, added with the fact that I have size 45.5 shoes means I have to get a bigger size which means the skinny legs problem is amplified as the overshoe is normally bigger , this has been a problem for me from overshoes I’ve found cheap online to the most expensive on the market so to be honest I was expecting the same again. He of little faith as I was proven very wrong, I pulled them as high as I could up the leg waiting to get back and find them flapping around my ankle but they were exactly where I had left them gripping on for dear life to my tiny (but very strong ) legs and even after 5 wears they are still holding tight. Really worth reading the instructions well as they are not put on like a standard over shoe, there is a technique and I managed to rip a pair after a poor race and a frustrating week I pulled them off like the hulk mid rage, but if you do it properly you’ll get a ton of races out of them. The joy is at a price point which is a fifth of the price of the top ones on the market you can always afford to keep a shiny new pair in the kit bag for the big races like I have or even better a pair to match different kit.
The nopinz / bioracer gloves look very interesting and seem to go along the lines of the skinsuit but I haven’t got my grubby mitts on any yet so will save that for another day. but nationals are well and truly upon us so it’s the time of trying to get an arm number on without pinning yourself to death , to then lose any aero gains made elsewhere by this flappy number trying to escape from the suit as you fly off down the road. Problem solved again with the arm pocket that works on pretty much the same principle as the sped pocket of minimising any aero loses from having a number stuck on you and saving me sticking 8 pins in my nice new skinsuit. general rule is order a size up as they are super snug , I like them that way and have the size stated on the sizing guide but most like abit of freedom so go a size up , but they keep the number perfectly formed to your arm and keep it in place , after a pin coming undone at the National TTT last year in sticking in my bicep and me having to flick it off mid race to only then have the number flapping about after these where a no brainer.
So there you have it my view on the new kit that il be wearing week in week out , know there are some more exciting developments going on in Nopinz towers so be really interesting to see where they take it all next in the fight against drag .
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