Are Skins worth $139?

scratchy

Farkin Activist
Getting back into the longer rides and while I like the idea of my legs recovering quicker I gotta say that is a lot for tights!

Any feedback from guys who've used them?
 

THISISTC

Likes Dirt
YES THEY ARE

I have played sport for ages and only just recently started wearing skins

So much easier its like your wearing nothinig

But you can get cheaper versions at K-mart and places like that

I think they are called Bio-sport
 

dain2772

Likes Bikes and Dirt
yes. i wouldn't wear them riding in case I fell off, but i put them on after every ride over 45 minutes.
 

StInKy LoVeR

Likes Dirt
Go under armour, I've got a stack of it. It is the best quality better then skins imo. It is also made tougher, used in the NFL on synthetic turf etc. I wear mine riding and it feels great.
 

sawtell

The Great White Rooks Hunter
Go under armour, I've got a stack of it. It is the best quality better then skins imo. It is also made tougher, used in the NFL on synthetic turf etc. I wear mine riding and it feels great.
also a bit more int he price department from memory?? .. and makes you look very "yank" haha not like theres anythign wrong with that!!


i have heard good stories about the "kmart" skins, what ever brand they are, can not rember, pretty sure they were named after a famous sports person.
 
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scratchy

Farkin Activist
Yeah, I'm no show pony. If someone knows of a good alternative solution that isn't over $100 let me know.

I mean, how expensive can freaking tights be??
 

StInKy LoVeR

Likes Dirt
Nah underarmour is cheaper then skins, $80 for a long sleeve, same for long pants or maybe a little more can't remember.
 

Purt

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I have 3 pairs. I wouldn't pay $139 for them though. Thats alot of money, you could spend it on your bike instead ;). I got 2 pairs for free and 1 pair for $30. They do work and they work well though I just can't see the money in them. Maybe I'm missing something :confused:
 

spikenet

Likes Dirt
Getting back into the longer rides and while I like the idea of my legs recovering quicker I gotta say that is a lot for tights!

Any feedback from guys who've used them?
Would like to see some hard evidence they have any real benefit whatsoever, as in research papers.

I'm a believer in nick's for riding but I'm no "mens health" mag subscriber so no "skins" here and I can
think of a few other better things to wear under armour that cost next to nothing.

my 2c
 
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Macbeth

NSWMTB
Nice pair of bib shorts for riding. Get home and go stand in the ocean for a while or sit with your feet elevated = same effect as skins.... But if you wanna pay money to look like a triathlete go ahead :)
 

Gekigengar

Likes Dirt
When you get skins it is not for the tights factor.

Its more that alot of study has gone into this technology and i can say it does work.

Yes, it is thin, light and durable i have had a fall with my skins and signs of any gravel rash except on my thigh. But the main advantage these tights have over others is that they somehow compress your muscles in a certain way that prevent muscle soarness the day after.

When i first had then i just thought maybe the ride before was just me getting fitter, but i did the same thing next time without skins ( i forgot to wear them ) and damn my thighs were killing the next day.

Some people dont like the "skin on skin" factor and the "wank" factor (if there is such a thing) so they secretly wear them at home when they are sleeping. But i just don't like my balls being squished like that in an already warmer than warm environment.

I havn't tried any other brands but i may give them ago. Just maybe.
 

chillbro

Likes Dirt
Is that $139 for the version with the chamios in it?

I paid $119 for my normal knicks, so an extra $20 for the proven technology might not be that bad?
 

DaGonz

Eats Squid
Placebo Tights

Would like to see some hard evidence they have any real benefit whatsoever, as in research papers.
Nice pair of bib shorts for riding. Get home and go stand in the ocean for a while or sit with your feet elevated = same effect as skins.... But if you wanna pay money to look like a triathlete go ahead :)
Its more that alot of study has gone into this technology and i can say it does work.
I paid $119 for my normal knicks, so an extra $20 for the proven technology might not be that bad?
I call them Placebo tights. Everyone always says they feel better after wearing the tights for recovery and untill recently, it seemed there wasn't really any hard and fast studies either way (that I could find). I can see how they could benefit; compression garments have shown to increase blood flow, something that I think has been known in the medical profession for ages (they put bassically compression stockings on old people and bed patients in hospital) so on that front, it's understandable that wearing tights will help get more nutrients and flush waste products from your muscles and hence, aid in recovery.

I'm with MacBeth though, lots of things you could do without skins to help achieve the same thing. The skins site even backs that up:

Effectiveness of post match recovery strategies in Rugby players
- N D Gill, C M Beavan and C Cook
Published in British Journal of Sports Medicine 2006; 40: 260-263

This study compared recovery strategies after elite rugby union games and found that ice baths, Skins™ and active recovery improved recovery rates by a similar but substantial amount.

The effect of 4 recovery techniques post competitive rugby matches plasma creatine kinase
- N Gill


This study conducted in NZ examined different recovery modes on blood CPK, a marker of muscle damage. This study showed similar reductions in CPK with all recovery strategies, including wearing Skins™, compared with no intervention.
http://www.skins.net/au/en/Research/Studies

Ie, no matter how you chose to recover, you get the same result. For years they had a bunch of references to studies I personally could never find (not to say they didn't exist). It's also fairly recent stuff compared to the life of the product.

there are alternatives, I think 2XU stuff is similar and the cheapy products. Or like macbeth said go stand in a cold pool, ocean, warm down properly etc....

I have a pair I bought to wear on the plane going over to canada. Did they help? dunno, I didn't exactly do double blind but I'm mildly skeptical. In combination with other recovery methods I'll use them though. Like I said, I can understand how they can help, add on the placebo affect and what harm could they do! at worst they do nothing, at best they'll provide me with some miracle recovery

Arey they worth $139? well... you have to ask yourself, is recovering better the next day really that important or necessary to you? If you're training hard or racing day after day, possibly....

*shrug* YMMV

Cheers
Gonz
 

joemax

Likes Dirt
Linebreak are Australian owned, a bit cheaper and available through Rebel. I won't bother with the skins bike knicks, just the tights for recovery.

I'm a bit skeptical like DeGonz. I wore my tights at night through most of last winter and felt good - but then I've been riding a lot more so I can't honestly say that my improved form is due the compression.
 

spudatm

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I bough a pair of the cheapies from Target cool max i think for when i was playing cricket. if we fielded {100 over day} i would sleep in them that night. I played cricket for twenty years and and i definately know that my recovery was aided by the tights. Now after a long ride i do the same and i feel that i am getting some benefit but the exact time that i bought my tights was the time i started do long rides so i can't tell if there is any MTB specific aid in recovery. So there you have it my irrelevant two cents
 

sawtell

The Great White Rooks Hunter
I can
think of a few other better things to wear under armour that cost next to nothing.

im not sure if that was refering to my comment on underarmour.. but if it was, misunderstanding.. i am talking about the brand "underarmour" which makes sporting gear.
not to to actualy wear skins under your armour.:)
 

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
Rebel had 20% off yesterday for NRMA members so my girlfriend and I got 2 sets of the long tights each. I do a lot of gym work and get sore legs all the time so I'll report on how they go. You can wear them over knicks as well if you don't want to get the versions with a chamois.
 

DarrenHunt

Likes Dirt
Linebreak are Australian owned, a bit cheaper and available through Rebel. I won't bother with the skins bike knicks, just the tights for recovery.

I'm a bit skeptical like DeGonz. I wore my tights at night through most of last winter and felt good - but then I've been riding a lot more so I can't honestly say that my improved form is due the compression.
I'm with joemax.
I have 2 pairs of skins, and some line break... the skins are shit quality in comparison and they cost twice as much as the Linebreak stuff.

As far as how well they work... in recovery i love em. For whatever reason that is... they work for me!
 
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