Biking top for swimming

Tri tops are designed for this purpose and they are supposed to cling to your body and not create any drag. I would try the bike top in the water first just to see. But otherwise it would be fine.

I used a tri top borrowed from a friend for my tri on Sunday. I liked that I didn't have to put on a jersey in transition (it was a pool swim), but the tri top did float up a bit in the water. I'm sure it didn't slow me down a lot, but next time I'd like to get a one piece tri suit for races like this.

The tri tops I've seen have pockets in the back. Don't they create drag?

The pockets in tritops tend to be much smaller than bike jerseys, have much more elastic and some are covered with a flap to minimize drag.

As for the bike jersey, you could put it on, unzip it, pull your arms out and roll it into your tri shorts. Then, when you exit the water, you have the whole run to your bike to get it pulled up, your arms in and zipped up.

Shane

This one has smaller pockets on the side and they are not solid fabric- they are mesh. So I guess that's supposed to prevent drag. But I could feel something floating.

Have you tried this? It seems like it would bunch up and create drag while swimming (not to mention looking a bit weird).

I've never done it as I just swim in a one piece if it's not wetsuit legal but I've seen it done with tritops before. A slight bulge of the jersey around your hips should have less drag than the cycling jersey unless it is super tight.

Shane

You will get a noticeable amount of drag if you try to wear something that is not made specifically for triathlon or swimming. If you don't have one already, I would strongly recommend a one-piece traithlon suit. I don't like to race is anything else these days! I wore one this past weekend for my HIM and it was brand new. Normally not a smart move, but I had zero chaffing and stayed cool and comfy the entire time. This eliminates all of the changing you have to do in transition. You can simply put your race bib on a belt ($10 or so) and throw it on right before you run. Just my two cents.

Tri-suit is the way to go.