The Complete Handbook of Bicycle Skinsuits
A Professional's Field Guide to Selection, Fit, Care, and the Business of Aero Speed
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
Select, fit, and maintain the fastest legal skinsuit - and build a business around them - with data-driven, shop-level expertise.
🔒30-day money-back guarantee — not right for you? Full refund, no questions asked.
About this book
The skinsuit is the most scrutinized single garment in cycling, yet most advice about it is marketing copy or hearsay. This handbook replaces that guesswork with an equipment-and-commerce manual, cutting through the aero claims to explain what the numbers on a wind tunnel chart actually mean on the road, and what they don't. It covers the economics of the category, from the $40 drop-shipped knock-off to the $600 custom-woven national team skin, and why the difference rarely is the fabric alone.
The core of the book is practical and hard-earned: how to read a size chart for a posture-specific cut, recognize the signs of a compromised pad or seam before a race, and execute the wash-only-by-hand-or-pickel protocol without destroying the silicone grip or the dimpled textile. It also devotes an entire section to the business of skinsuits, detailing the margins, MOQs, and certification hurdles involved in private-labeling and the service opportunities in alteration and fitting that a local shop can offer.
Written for professionals, businesses, and serious enthusiasts, it does not tell you what to buy; it teaches you how to evaluate, measure, and care for what you buy. It treats the garment as a system and the rider as the system's most important variable, and it will remain useful as materials and regulations change.
Reader Reviews
Steven Lopez
★★★★★I've been a mechanic for a regional team for 12 years and I've had endless arguments about which skinsuit is 'fastest'. This book finally ended them with actual numbers on seam placement and how the suit behaves under 45 degrees of hip flexion, not just wind tunnel puffery. The chapter on choosing a suit made me re-measure every rider on the team, and the maintenance section has already saved two expensive suits from the trash. It's the reference I wish existed a decade ago.
Deborah Sanchez
★★★★★Solid, dense reference that reads like a good shop manual rather than a blog post. I bought it for the business opportunities chapter and wasn't disappointed - the breakdown of margins and MOQs for private label is realistic, if a little conservative. I docked a star because the fit section assumes the reader has a dedicated fit jig, which a lot of individual enthusiasts won't have. It's a professional-grade book, as advertised, but it's not quite as beginner-friendly as the back cover implies.
Amy Clark
★★★★★It does what it says and goes deep, but I struggled with how dry it is in places. The first chapter on why the suits matter was genuinely interesting and explained the physics in a way that made sense to me, but the bulk of the book is essentially a technical maintenance spec. I found the FAQ to be the most useful part for my level, honestly. If you're a shop owner, this is essential; if you're a weekend racer like me, you might find yourself skimming a lot.