What To Wear For Triathlon | One Piece Vs Two Piece Trisuit

When it comes to clothing and kit, there are a lot of options for a triathlon race. If you wear a trisuit, should you race in a one piece or two piece triathlon suit?

The idea with a tri-suit is that you wear it throughout the whole duration of a triathlon, that means it needs to be comfortable for the swim, bike and run.

As a general rule of thumb, a one piece is well suited to the short distance events, whilst a two piece is nicely suited to the longer events. There are some exceptions to the rule and we delve into the subject in much more detail here!

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Do you race in a one or two piece suit? Let us know in the comments below 👇

[srjones]

I've always had a concern that with a two piece there is the risk of your shorts coming down when you pull your wetsuit off in T1. No one wants to see that after a cold swim in British waters

[daveb]

I like the Cycling apparel and swim cap, but will we ever see a GTN branded Tri-Suit?

[DG-jqil]

I have both 1 and 2 peices, I have also swam with just my bottoms, wore a cycle top for the bike, and put on a tank with more airflow on the run. Overall, I wear the one piece normally with a swim skin or a wetsuit due to the comfort issue, but I will do my bricks almost exclusively in two piece suits

[evanmacdougall]

Pros look great in one-piece tri-suits, but they are not always as flattering on us age groupers. That and since as an age grouper it's also going to take me twice as long to finish (and have a higher than likely chance of needing to stop to use the potty) means I'm probably going to stick with a two-piece until all that strength training finally pays off with a nice flat tummy.And now I should probably start doing some strength training.

[chrisjboyce]

Always a two piece for Ironman, it’s more comfortable and flexible. For example I always put a spare top in the Red T2 transition bag so that I can quickly switch to a dry/fresh running shirt if I want to.

[kriscox]

So far I’ve done 1 sprint and 1 70.3 and wore the same one-piece for both. I found it much more comfortable sitting on a bike than if I had a shorts waistband digging into my not-so-aerodynamic midsection. 😆 I also chose sleeves to avoid arm chafing on the run. I felt really comfortable actually.

[triathlonlen]

The 2XU one piece suit with full front zipper is perfect for all distances. Supportive, aero and very easy in toilet situations. And in Havering Tri colours it doesn’t get any better than that.

[Maverick]

1 piece. Takes all of 10 seconds more if you need to use the bathroom. More aero. Dont have to worry about your top and bottom seperating. Iv used the castelli one and been mostly very happy with it. Only complaint are the back pockets. I'd prefer a more cycling style back pocket design but i realize no tri suit has those as far as i'm aware. As for fit, you can always get it tailored

[mikecallihan]

I have only ever used the two piece set up. Just got a one piece to use in my next sprint distance race. I do like the way it fits better without the waist band issue.

[GogglesTyresandTrainers]

A great summary thank you, I currently have a one-piece suit but will be stepping up to 70.3 and Ironman distances this year so will definitely look for a 2 piece suit :)

[arifsidek]

My rule of thumb is one-piece for 70.3 and below and two-piece for Ironman. Having said that I did Ironman twice with a one-piece and it wasn't too bad. It was kind of liberating not having the waistband cutting into my waist.

[fullcircle]

I use a two piece and add KAM snaps to keep the top and bottom connected. I do this for all my two piece kits.

[JustinDoesTriathlon]

Really good summary! I just stick with one piece for Oly and under, and two/full change for longer. I'm currently and will forever be in team "I don't pee myself, " so the ability for a quick bathroom break on a full is valuable to me.

[ladysoapmaker]

I do short distances and I'm in the 2 piece camp. I'm one of those people who can't find a comfortable fitting one piece. I find I can get a better fitting top and not have to wear a separate bra also.

[plectrumizer]

definitely two piece! I had a one piece suit, then had to go to the toilet mid-race, lost several minutes and nearly exhausted myself trying to get out of the damn thing....

[precure.instrumentals]

i prefer a two piece but i dont own one, bc once at school we had an event where we had to run it one piece tri suits, but i had to go to the bathroom like 3 minutes in the race, i was going pretty good so i didnt want to lose, so i asked the coach to stop the whole race so i could go, i had such an hard time going to the damn bathroom and using the potty, and putting off the damn suit wasnt nice either, so i ended up wasting ten minutes of the race just to go to the bathroom, so everyone kept banging on the bathroom door, i was sweating, and i was nude oop-

[miguelsaez]

I have exactly that roka skinsuit only in black. Is it possible to change the pad to something a bit more cushioned? I understand it has to be thin but in that suit is almost non existent...

[Bliboify]

You didn’t touch on the comfort during the run. I will be starting in the Duathlon World Champs ind Switzerland this year and still struggle to decide on my rece setup. As it will be a 10k run 160bike 30k run i tend to wear the bike-short for the first 10 and the bike but then change to a running shorts later. What do you think about the comfort while running in a trisuit as an alternative?

[mrbrusky]

Doing my first sprint tri this April. The swimming is indoors. Was thinking about tri shorts and then putting on my normal running shirt for the bike and run.