What is legal in the water.

As a tri newb & recent wetsuit convert, I understand where bruehoyt is coming from.  My wife (cold water swimmer from N Michigan & current tri spectator) firmly believes wetsuits are "cheating".  I have read and re-read USAT rules. Swimming Conduct-Rule 4.9's intent appears clear enough.  No "artificial propulsion device, inc but not limited to fins, gloves, paddles, or floating devices of any kind....".  Yet triathletes & wetsuit makers openly discuss how wetsuits make 'em faster- more buoyant & even (supposedly) more propulsive.  As but 1 example- Orca advertises "Hydrolift Buoyancy Cells" and "AquaTread" forearm panels which "generate increased power".  Other makers make similar claims for their products.  This all sure seems a far stretch from the original intent- to allow wetsuits to protect the triathlete from hypothermia. 

I guess we all make personal choices about how much to invest in any new sport.  IMHO- trick is to get the most performance per dollar for YOUR game. 

bruehoyt- You made a huge jump in performance going from $200 MTB to $1000 road bike.  Might think about adding an inexpensive clip-on aerobar (Profile Design Airstryke is durable & under $90). Going from there to $6000 bike yields very fractional gains, except for style points.

Sorry but I don't understand the issue.  Races are wetsuit legal or not per USAT.  I spent $80 on my wetsuit, you can buy them new for $99 at Xterra.  Yes they make you a little faster but a $6000 carbon bike or $1300 race wheels would make me faster and shave way more time (being that the bike portion is usually much longer than the swim). 

When I started Tri's this year I understood all of this.  Yeah it would be nice if we all had the same equipment to start with that is not the reality of the situation.

to wetsuit, or not wetsuit is a question, which one is a different one. As for the should or not, I did a 4 suit video review for BT last year. I know, no matter which suit I wear of the 6 I have had the privilage to test/own, I am faster in the water with a wetsuit. This summer, I intentionaly trained without a wetsuit for 2 reasons. First the water temp in the puddle I train in got up above 80, and I will not wear a wetsuit in those temps. The other reason is I feel swimming in OW without a suit helps with finding flaws in my swim stroke and makes me a better overall swimmer when I do wear a suit. I was up to 1:40 faster on a 800 yard swim with a wetsuit on this summer.

As for marketing issues of things like "propultion" things on forarms etc, they are legal from a USAT stand point. Also, depending on the company, they all have a take that there vesion is the best/fastest. If I remember correctly, DeSoto has tested catch surfaces, and they feel they disturb too much water and are no faster if not slower than those that do. On the other hand, ProMotion swears by theres. I have worn both, and to be honest, I did not find one suit far faster than anouther. What I did find was some were more comfortable, fit better, and allowed me to have the best form I could in the water.

Yes it would be nice if we could all have/afford the best stuff. The auto racing world used to have (and may still have) the IROC racing series where selected drivers from NASCAR, Indy and other styles of racing drew straws each week to determine which of the neutraly prepared identical race cars they would be driving in would be. This is kind of like the idea of weight limits for bikes etc.Interesting concept, but I can not see Norman Stadler on my Trek Pilot road bike. For that matter Chrissy Welington was winning on the P2, a mid line version of her bike, so as Lance Armstrong said, "it's not about the bike". Go fast goodies help, but the end of the day, our results on the course are what we put into the sport.

A sad addition to the go fast debate is the ecconomics that have helped our sport grow. Without all the inovation from companies pushing the envelope, and trying to help people "buy speed" we would most likely not seen the explosion of growth in our sport. The sponsor dollars help the overall sport grow, weather we like it or not.

Enough with my rant, now go out and enjoy the race

That statement is false - in virtually every ad for a wetsuit the buoyancy level is indicated and usually this is a selling point.

great point and very true

and thanks for the video

Also - you know how HFP has the MT Bkie div. It is there for the entry level athletes not mountain bike enthusiasts (considering it is on paved roads) why not have a general bike limit rather than just lumping it as Mt Bikes. Maybe make it a weight class based on honor syst like Clydesdale and Athena? There is a lot of equip involved in a tri - i would love to have an economically level playing fiel but my original post center more around why it is legal not it's cost. specifically it's buoyancy factor since it contradicts USAT's own rule of no floatation devices. I could see a speedsuit like worn in the olympics being legal - (frustratingly expensive - but at least not buoyant)

In my opinion its You against the clock. Everything else is irrelevant. Wetsuits, bikes, Shoes ect.. Sure I'd like to have the best,, but who wouldn't.. as a realist what are you trying to prove? That your just as fast as the guy with a wetsuit. Well then prove it. It still is down to mechanics and form.

Heck I was browsing some pictures of last years race and saw a guy coming out of the water with a Snorkel.. It that legal? I would say it is. because it doesn't add propulsion.

I'm looking at purchasing a Wetsuit for the Toyota Invitational in October in Dallas. Its a 1500m open swim and I think with the water temps going down I don't want to be in 60-70ish water for 20min or so and start cramping because my core temp is down.

Am I a cheater because of it, Per the Rules No.. But the fact is a full body wetsuit adds the same amount of buoyancy as a pull bouy and helps retain body temps in water. In case you didn't notice water completely envelopes you when you swim and thus you loose core temperatures rather quickly. Thus Hypothermia.. Duh...

Its still comes down to my ability to perform my form/strokes efficiently and my ability to swim 1500m - 2.1miles.