Burning Question: Should the DH Skinsuit Ban Be Lifted?
The 2018 Fort William World Cup marks the 10th anniversary of the Mojo Suspension racing team's PVC-coated Lycra skinsuits and the uproar that followed. Say what you want about them, but the only fact that is down in the history books is that riders Chris Hutchens, and Ben Cathro, donned the controversial catsuits for qualifying and race runs and had the best results of their careers to date: 17th and 8th place respectively.
The PVC coated Lycra skinsuit that prompted the rule. Ben Cathro at Fort William, 2008. Career-best. Photo: Phunkt
A few months later, the UCI introduced a rule which banned skinsuits and 'tight-fitting clothing' plus another that enforced the use of visors on helmets. The wording of the skinsuit rule is looser than the moto-clothing Palmer used to wear. Now, I am not saying I want to see all riders wearing a silly Lycra suit onesie, but the rule was weird from day one as there were no stated measurements, I have never heard of anybody being checked at the finish line to see if their clothes are officially baggy enough. Nowadays, every rider worth their salt at the podium has stylish, tightly cut or tailored clothing, with specific fabrics that identify them as downhill mountain bike racers – not some MX wannabees in some old-fashioned moto kit.
The rule states 'Lycra elastane based' clothing as its enemy, but nowadays there is an array of materials and stretchy compositions that give a tight fit without breaking the rules. In a recent press release from Atherton Racing, they announced that they will be working in conjunction with Endura to develop race kits that will help with aerodynamics. At the end of the day, riders are racing downhill, with gravity and against the air, there are advantages to be had and surely rulings should reflect this in a way that is fair, equal, and measurable, for all competitors.
 | There is a buzz around aero gains across all tribes of racing right now and we plan to bring our proven expertise and manufacturing might in this area to bear on the downhill course.... watch this space. |
For those of you thinking, "What the hell is Aston talking about?" here is a brief history of MTB clothing: Clunker riders used to wear jeans and tee shirts or whatever they wore in day to day '70s life for a bike ride. Then people wore tight Lycra-type clothing when road racing for aerodynamics and comfort, which was adopted by XC racers, who moved onto downhill racing in the early days. Shaun 'Napalm' Palmer rocked up in the mid '90's in full motocross kit and everybody loved him (Palmer lost the World Championships in Cairns 1996 by 0.15 seconds with a peak and baggies to Nicolas Vouilloz). Then, the cool kids all wore baggy clothes and helmet peaks for years, bar the occasional World Championship where governing bodies usually provided Lycra skinsuits.
Did Sam Hill blow out that last corner on that fateful Val Di Sole day in 2008 because he wasn't used to the extra speed of the skinsuit? Photo: Itster
Occasionally riders stepped out of line and lost their peak and found a skinsuit just in time for race runs, a finger was often pointed at 'the French,' but back then it was a guessing game as who was going to turn up to the start line in what. A gentleman's agreement was formed and signed in the interests of "the image of the sport," – basically the riders teamed up and decided that it would be better in the long-term to look cool instead of going fastest, and, if everybody wore the same clothes, they would all have the same disadvantage. In 2008 Mojo et al. broke the agreement to prove a point. Late 2008 the UCI made an official rule that has stood for ten years. Ten years on technology has improved massively, mountain bike kit is now cool in its own right, and everyone is wearing skin-tight clothing and helmets shaped in wind tunnels.
Today's top downhill racers are wearing outfits that are tailored and close-fitting as they search for any possible time savings.
We asked a few a few of the key players in this discussion, including Craig “Stikman” Glaspell from Troy Lee Designs, a brand who are behind much of the MTB image we have today, Chris Porter, the Mojo man who made his riders skinsuit-up ten years ago, Gee Atherton, the last man to win a World Championship in Lycra, and Ben Cathro who finished in 7th place with the best result of his career in Fort William
Craig “Stikman” Glaspell – Global Category Director - Bike, Troy Lee Designs
Craig ''Stikman'' Glaspell's career has seen him go from working as a shop mechanic in Redondo Beach, California, to wrenching on the National and World Cup circuits for some of the quickest racers in the around. He's keeping things a bit more local these days, although he's still working with some of the fastest racers out there as the Global Bicycle Category Director at Troy Lee Designs.
Craig ''Stikman'' Glaspell's career has seen him go from working as a shop mechanic in Redondo Beach, California, to wrenching on the National and World Cup circuits for some of the quickest racers in the around. He's keeping things a bit more local these days, although he's still working with some of the fastest racers out there as the Global Bicycle Category Director at Troy Lee Designs.
| Part of me says ‘wear whatever you want, if you wanna look like a tool, go for it,’ but, I was around in the era of this rule being created and it was for good reasons-image for a growing sport. The sport looked pretty wank and un-cool. This sport is never going to be mainstream, nor should it be, the image of DH is good as is. That being said, we as a brand love speed and any advantages to get the win and go faster. Troy was the first to bring fairings to Mammoth in the early 90’s, rubber suits, aero helmets, pulling visors off and sealing up all the openings. Troy and John Parker from Yeti were also the very first DH team to go into the wind tunnel to find performance advantages for bikes and equipment in the 90’s. TLD pro Luca Shaw does have his race pants altered a bit, so they are a bit more snug than production, but still not ‘tight’, I think they still have a DH race vibe while having a ‘faster’ look. Our production Sprint pants are more tailored and ‘race fit’ than anything in our moto line, so we are already on trend for DH and BMX racing. We are also doing some innovative developments with Al VanNoy from Adidas Futures labs, and playing with different textiles for speed performance gains, while being lightweight and very durable-we always learn a lot from our Adidas friends. On visors, we used to special cut Vouilloz visors to his specs, a bit shorter and more venting through the inside – no-one has ever asked since. Ultimately, on kit, more race fit DH kits isn’t the end of the world, but taking the visors off would be an epic fail! |
Chris Porter – CEO/Owner, Geometron Bikes and MojoRising
Heretic. When Chris Porter showed his first Geometron to the world he was outcast as a crazy guy from the UK. Less than three years later, arguably, his influence is widespread. Every bike that comes out is accompanied by marketing spiel that echoes Chris' words: longer reach, slacker head angle, steeper seat angle, shorter stems and less fork offset. More importantly, for this article, it was probably his 'fault' that the UCI introduced the rule – in 2008 at the Fort William WC, his Mojo team riders donned a freaky PVC-coated Lycra suit and rode to the best results of their career: Ben Cathro finished 8th, and Chris Hutchens bested his 37th place career high by 20 places finished in 17th.
Heretic. When Chris Porter showed his first Geometron to the world he was outcast as a crazy guy from the UK. Less than three years later, arguably, his influence is widespread. Every bike that comes out is accompanied by marketing spiel that echoes Chris' words: longer reach, slacker head angle, steeper seat angle, shorter stems and less fork offset. More importantly, for this article, it was probably his 'fault' that the UCI introduced the rule – in 2008 at the Fort William WC, his Mojo team riders donned a freaky PVC-coated Lycra suit and rode to the best results of their career: Ben Cathro finished 8th, and Chris Hutchens bested his 37th place career high by 20 places finished in 17th.
| In a word, YES!… Yes, the skinsuit and visor rule should be lifted. It is a rubbish rule in so many ways on so many levels: The wording of the rule suggests that all Lycra-elastane based and tight-fitting clothing should not be permitted. As 'Lycra-elastane' provides the stretch in almost all fitting clothing, nearly everyone who qualified for the DH finals in the last years since the rule was made should be written out of the results. Socks, underwear, compression tops, body armour, gloves (for those sensible enough to wear them), cuffs and stretch panels and even the leaders' jersey would see to that. But….Maybe not… If you wanted to race in Lycra-elastane it really would be no problem… 'Lycra-Elastane based' suggests that the clothing is 'based' on Lycra-elastane. In most clothing the Lycra-elastane element is no more than a few percent, most of the clothing would be described by a sports lawyer as 'Polyester based'… The visor rule is even better… No-one calls a helmet peak a 'visor'. A helmet peak is called a 'peak'. Valentino Rossi's motorcycle helmet has a 'visor.' So losing the peak and using a visor which is way more aerodynamic would absolutely not be a problem! I guess the issue is that DH racing (for most people, some hardcore racers aside) is a fashion event and not a real sport against the clock. There are numerous ways to achieve a more aerodynamic result without having to resort to restrictive TopShop jeggings as most of the teams did last year. But the will is not there. It seems more important to do a big sideways whip (the final jump at Fort William, for example) than to freewheel around it in a tuck which is proven to be quicker! The peer pressure in the DH fraternity is more like that found in a school playground rather than a professional sports paddock. The truth is that there probably isn't a rider who would wear a skin suit and aero helmet and ride an aero bike (even just an angled or folded numberplate for crying out loud!) with tires focussed towards rolling speed, weighted with lead and with no chain. All of these things have been shown to improve the speed of the bike/rider combo through the air and over the ground. But the peer pressure would prevent a rider from doing it, even as the stopwatch showed a winning time… Maybe there's another element at work here? Maybe if a rider was suddenly given more free speed then that rider would simply squeeze the brakes until back at the usual 'comfortable' speed? That's probably the case… But, I'd love the rule to be rolled back so I could see how fast Aaron Gwin could really go with a bit more aero! |
Gee Atherton – Trek Factory Racing
Gee Atherton was the last man to win a downhill World Championship wearing Lycra back in 2008, the fateful day Sam Hill blew out the last corner at Val Di Sole. Maybe Sam crashed because of the extra speed he carried through the air on the huge jump out of the trees? His Australian Lycra onesie taking him by surprise and missing his braking point?
Gee Atherton was the last man to win a downhill World Championship wearing Lycra back in 2008, the fateful day Sam Hill blew out the last corner at Val Di Sole. Maybe Sam crashed because of the extra speed he carried through the air on the huge jump out of the trees? His Australian Lycra onesie taking him by surprise and missing his braking point?
| In my opinion, the skin suit rule served its purpose in getting riders out of the horrific looking kit and into something a little more marketable, the companies and manufacturers that sponsor the athletes and events are what keep the sport alive and kicking after all. However, that said, with the sport growing and growing, riders and sponsors alike are looking at new ways to push the sport and hunt for that extra speed. Tighter, slimmer, more efficient clothing is an obvious starting point. This is only a good thing, as we all want to go faster, and when done right, I think it can still look pretty cool, after all, there is a big jump between tight, well-fitting trousers/race top and a full-blown Lycra one-piece. I think at the end of the day the riders and teams will use their common sense. The rule should remain to keep people out of that Lycra suit, but pushing the limits is what the sport is all about. |
Ben Cathro – Sick Skills MTB Coaching
Ben Cathro has his career best result back in 2008 in the fabled PVC-suit. The giraffe-like rider nicknamed 'Hightower' by his friends, admits that it wasn't the ideal thing for a man of his stature to wear, but did give him an advantage on the day where he made a few mistakes when it counted. Nowadays, the racing has taken a back seat for Ben as he focuses on his Sick Skills Coaching, but that doesn't stop him from turning up to the occasional DH or Enduro race in Scotland and taking the win against full-time racers.
Ben Cathro has his career best result back in 2008 in the fabled PVC-suit. The giraffe-like rider nicknamed 'Hightower' by his friends, admits that it wasn't the ideal thing for a man of his stature to wear, but did give him an advantage on the day where he made a few mistakes when it counted. Nowadays, the racing has taken a back seat for Ben as he focuses on his Sick Skills Coaching, but that doesn't stop him from turning up to the occasional DH or Enduro race in Scotland and taking the win against full-time racers.
| This is a topic that is very relevant to me as the Mojo team skinsuits at Fort William 2008 were the catalyst for the original ban. Those things were faaast! We calculated that the suits were worth about a second per minute of track which saved us five seconds total over a race run. My run at the race wasn't very good with lots of mistakes and it was still my best ever result at 8th position. Without the skinsuit, I would have been closer to 20th. I'll admit I did not make it look good. The combo of the black shiny suit and my extreme lankiness was not pleasant to look at. I'm never going to look good in a skinsuit, though, so that's not the best reference. I like the look of the current tight fitting race kit, it looks aerodynamic and rad. Anyway, who said skinsuits weren't cool? As a kid watching the World Champs I didn't think twice about racers wearing skin suits. Surely the terrain and bikes are what made downhill recognizable and attractive, not the clothes they were wearing? The current kits from some of the teams are skin tight. The only thing that's different from days of old is the material due to the no Lycra rule. So I guess too tight would be when the circulation starts getting cut off. The rule is more of a gentleman's agreement put on to paper, I've never seen it being enforced or checked either. My take on it is that that it's just to stop anyone riding in a 'traditional' skinsuit. Times are getting tighter and all the teams are hunting for those marginal gains. At the end of the day, downhill is about going as fast as possible. Why plow loads of time, money and technology into everything else then slow yourself down with baggy kit? I personally think skinsuits can look awesome if done right. Just look at the modern kit of some teams as they are the modern DH MTB version. |
Now I'm not saying I want to see the return of Lycra skinsuits to downhill racing, I'm simply saying the rule isn't really a 'rule' and has been out of date for ten years. Is it time for a change?
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I’m down with this.
Those old enough will remember the 80s XC debate when riders turned up with cross bikes cos the XC courses were so lame. Then they just banned >26" wheels (the irony now!), but really they should have sorted the courses out.
I'm glad to see tailored racing suits vs a DH ski suit. But it is just silly to leave time on the clock due to fashion.
@kikouman p'tit tatouage?
I think it's a classic case of the UCI interfering, and the less of this the better. In road racing there are rules on the length of socks, the color of rain jackets, the angle of saddles - in DH we've had the 'trade team' debacle, UCI rules around who can host events of the DH WC, banning of POV camera to protect broadcasters... (yet they let Armstrong and now Froome make a mockery of them for years as it keeps the marketing hype up and money rolling in.)
There are however no rules on concussion, or any mandatory concussion protocols in place to protect rider health! I heard Dean Lucas say yesterday that he couldn't remember the minutes after his huge crash (he was evacuated on a spine board, had a cut eye brow from the impact, has a blood shot eye from the impact etc)... followed by, 'but I'm going to go out and try and race on Sunday...' THIS is where the UCI should step in, not for other marketing rubbish. They are not interested in the sport or the riders - only in what will make them money.
An independent DHWS would be better for the sport. I'd love for us to ditch the UCI altogether.
Fast, Loose, Rough, with huge jumps is what I want.
I call this the BMXification of mountain biking. Whips are totally cool, no doubt. But making it through the gnar is far more impressive to me. Big air and whips and all that remind me too much of motocross. But this is mountain biking...
On the “racing” side, a dwindling number of hardcore racers on no-holds barred racing machines will be going insanely fast in front of fewer and fewer people. People are in Lycra, bikes look nothing like today with crazy tires, weights and all the other things that Paul Aston, Chris Porter and people like that that know better than the rest of us dream about. It’s amazing from a progression stand point, but bikes are so expensive and so specialized that most people just end up “enduroing”
Enduro is bigger than ever but nobody cares because in ten years mountain biking is 90% fat Americans and skinny Europeans on ebikes on dirt roads. The remaining 10% are the hardcore rigid singlespeed types of today who have gone underground to pedal illegal trail since bikes are now banned everywhere since all the fears about ebikes and trail access came true
I think the current trend for tailored/fitted kit looks good and is aero enough.
I'd always thought it was a choice for the rider?
In the words of the Prophet Wiggum -
" I'd it feels good, do it."
Personally would love to see pro riders rocking flannel and hawaiian shirts, bring some fun into WC DH.
How about you take your logic and go try to convince moto riders they should wear skin suits... Good luck with that.
- There was no mention about DH skiers in my post.
- I didn't mention wheel size at all either.
- What is the point of dialing suspension travel back for DH racing? That makes no sense, we have spent all this time developing it to get to this point.
- Tight "leather", not Lycra skin suits.
What the f@&k are you going on about? SMH.
American football players do NOT wear 'knickers' or 'knee socks'.
Hell, NO American wears 'em
I'm a professional Alpine ski coach and the time difference even on 30 second courses with 15 year old's is sometimes in the seconds, in SLALOM. Its to the point that we force our athletes to train in the suits even when it is freezing ass cold because the speed they hold makes such a difference that if they are not used to it the kids blow out when they strip down for races. I cant believe the level of ignorance in the comment section here.. did anyone even read the article? Ben Cartho said it was worth 1 second a minute on a DH run.. Speed suits make a hug difference! The issue itself is a weird one though. If the powers that be really wanted all out speed and competition, then the speed suit would be legal. I think the fastest rider typically wins as is, so I'm not clamoring for speed suits or anything but living with Alpine ski racing my whole life I think I kinda find it funny how this is such a hot button issue.
If everyone is so concerned with looks why don't we just add style judges to the mix?
Idea: Maybe in the future, a bike tire manufacturer will sponsor the entire series, and provide the same tires to the whole field, à la F1 auto racing.
Just get over it
Unlike major sports where players get a salary and teams make money on ticket sales, TV contracts, etc. DH mountain biking is a sponsor driven sport and sponsor driven sports literally only exist as an advertising platform. From a business/financial perspective these riders are nothing but live billboards for products.
And some of the more prominent sponsors in the industry are apparel companies who outfit the teams. What happens if everyone starts wearing skin suits though? Riders then become useless to those apparel companies as an advertising platform and with it goes all that sponsorship money. If they can showcase their products they aren’t sponsoring any riders or teams.
DH clothing takes it's cue(s) from motocross, and what do they wear in MX?
MX bikes carry more speed than DH bikes-thus riders would obviously benefit more from 'aerodynamic' clothing, so why do we not see any 'skin' suits ANYWHERE in MX/SX, ANYWHERE in the world?
Answer: Because nobody will care how well you perform if you look utterly ridiculous doing it
* The kit can be obtained by anyone in the race. That is, everyone has access to the kit either through their sponsor, or through purchase.
* The kit does not artificially enhance the physical abilities of the athlete. For example, in 2008 and 2009, elite-level swimsuits were made of polyurethane that increased the buoyancy of the athlete and decreased muscle fatigue through compression. The end result was that the swimmers became human paddle boards and were breaking world records in every heat at the World Championships in 2009. I can't imagine what the mountain biking version of this would be, but that's the kind of thing you need to avoid.
As far as people wearing skin suits looking goofy, or the lack of marketability, alpine ski racers wear skin suits, but you don't see your average recreational skier out there in one. The sport is still popular. Swimming is a fairly popular sport on the Olympic level, but you don't see people (outside of Europe) wearing Speedos on a beach, and certainly not the $400 performance speedos. People understand the difference between performance wear and casual sporting wear. I don't think it would hurt.
actually quite effective and doesn't require a whole bunch of extra velcro straps
but what I really wonder is what is so cool about helmet peaks? (seriously)
how about this? a Moto GP helmet with backwards peak
www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/agv-pista-gp-r-carbon-helmet?kclid=19f96553-037f-4dee-837b-c664d8740cf4&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxtPYBRD6ARIsAKs1XJ6OJnU1EtFcC-wmPzfGFdkerugUHK9avjjQWU2yP2UQBbd2-yd3U1caAjY7EALw_wcB
there is no coincidence that all the geo changes he's been calling for, for years (longer, lower, slacker) have been adopted by pretty much every brand. So...
"...with tires focussed towards rolling speed, weighted with lead and with no chain. All of these things have been shown to improve the speed of the bike/rider combo through the air and over the ground."
This alone is enough to prove he is genuinely lacking some sense. He's first talking about gaining advantages on present-day tracks, and then goes on to claim taking the chain off bikes will decrease everyone's times. He also thinks all the testing that goes into DH tires is done by people who don't know what they are doing...? He also claims weighting bikes will make them faster across the board. His bikes don't work as well as others and is compensating for poor kinematics with with weight and claims it's the future. Put one of your bikes on a modern podium before making completely empty claims. THEN the "it's called a PEAK, not a visor." Apparently the language he uses is the correct language and motocross terms- the origin of the damn thing he's talking about- became wrong? Drop the "I'm a genius and you're all stupid" act and have some respect for your peers in the sport.
Got more flustered than necessary here but this attitude only hurts DH as a whole. In fact based on his opinions, maybe he would be happier in a different sport altogether.
I recently asked some BMX Racer friends if 'Aero' plates where still a thing. The race number plates with a grid pattern instead of being a solid board. Surely they would be a lot better aerodynamics....
The answers I got was, no because of sponsors logos on number boards........
I wonder if that's a contract or contingency thing or cook how pro I am with all these sponsors "???
Are some of you are worried that if you wear lycra, people won't be able to see your genitals at all?
Use a few rules sensibly and you can keep racing fun, which has to be right up there in our priorities... right?
Funny that people comment that people look gay because they're not DRESSED right. Yeeeaaaa.
Looks fast standing still
1.bp.blogspot.com/_5KYGhBEHwmg/SrzUeWBdqpI/AAAAAAAAAME/GnOxMZBoq8E/s1600-h/Skinsuits_Suck.php
If they are allowing all wheel sizes, let riders where what they want, was a stupid ban then and still remains a stupid ban.
As I posted elsewhere, if Palmer had worn a skinsuit like Vouilloz at Cairns then Palmer would have been world champion.
What is the greatest at?
DH needs to get it's head out of its arse, its about going fast. If that means no visors and skinsuits then so be it. It's such a niche sport anyway. Not many people holding down a normal job can go spend their weekend competing at 100% without having some serious doubts in the back of their head (in terms of getting injured).
I’ve been aware of this rule for years and have noticed the outfits getting tighter and tighter - a clear advantage to riders NOT doing it, yes? What’s too tight? Is a specific fabric going to be ruled too slippery (air resistance)? Is there a limit on how short a visor can be?
The closer these riders get to skin suits, the more the rule seems a little ridiculous.
Also, it’s not stock car racing - it’s not meant to be a completely equal playing field. Use a 26”, 27.5” or 29” - your call. Use VPP or FSR - your call.
Personally, I really hope skin suits are never allowed, I just can’t really justify that position when I see every rider tailoring their outfits to be ever-tighter.
Go tell off-road motocross racers to use lycra so they go faster
Flabby and scrawny bikers just want to be cool. Mountain biking needs more Hollywood.
DH is already inaccessible to a load of MTDikers, making it look like lycra-roadies will definitely put some people off and make enduro and trail riding event greater again when ridiculous outfits are not necessary.
Oh and no to skin suits.
Not sure the rule needs to be repealed since teams get away with *almost* skinsuits today anyway, and visor rule could be seen as a safety rule. I think the UCI should focus regulations on the dirt jumper and slopestyle crowd instead. A couple of years wearing those ridiculous skinny jeans and you probably give up your chance to have kids.
Now all the pro riders are wearing such tight kit to be aero dynamic they may as well wear skin suits!!!!!
What the hell
Has gone in with DH?
Johnny Tomac got a penalty at the 1993 Worlds for wearing a skin suit over Lycra (if you find he footage Rob Warmer is racing in Lycra on Clip pedals)
Skin suits are faster as proved by The Don on GMBN:
If DH are going to 29er wheels as they claim they are faster why are Skin suits Banned!!!!!!!!
The UCI need to look at the sport more and don’t get me started on the new start list for race runs lol
Let me get this straight. If everybody is on the same playing field, does is it even matter? Will GM go faster than AG on a pure bred stallion? Lets keep DH stylish and avoid being confused with swimming/dh skiers/ triathletes (no offense)
Pinkbike, can you please write about trail conservation issues instead? It might attract less attention but we’re not kooks. Stop being so competitive ffs
UCI should worry with more imortant things than being fashion police, who is to say what looks cool?
PS: If skinsuits are that fast, why MX don't use it?
Wouldn't wear it my self but ten I'm not racing for hundredths of a second.
Take a look at the clothes racers are wearing at the mo.... Hardly that far off skin tight are they..
An to out right ban something???
Don't wanna wear it? Then don't wear it but don't bitch, moan an ridicule when another rider takes advantage of a tech that's legit in every other speed based sport but DH, because "it looks a bit gay"
Grow up
Skate style helmets or Moto GP helmets don't have them
That said, pay me enough I’d ware one!