'Dale Posted March 31, 2017 Share All-rounder bike for the win The aero bike caries extra weightAero gains are really useful if you plan to breakaway a lot or need to unleash your 73 km/h sprint in the final 300 metres of the race If you're in the bunch most of the time, all-rounder is the best choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurgens Smit Posted March 31, 2017 Share The best aero advice, is find the biggest guy with the biggest calves you can spot. One that doesn't sweat too much. Ride as close to has rear wheel as possible. You'll experience no drag whatsoever! The doesn't sweat to much bit is crucial.I once rode behind a guy that made me feel like I was riding in a rain storm. Luckily some guy was moving up along the outside of the group and wanted to get in, being the nice guy I am, I gave him a spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurgens Smit Posted March 31, 2017 Share All-rounder bike for the win The aero bike caries extra weightAero gains are really useful if you plan to breakaway a lot or need to unleash your 73 km/h sprint in the final 300 metres of the race If you're in the bunch most of the time, all-rounder is the best choice Best all rounder options? Something like the 'dale supersix evo and tarmac etc.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchelicious Posted March 31, 2017 Share Aero is very important, but know that the bike makes a very small portion of your aero resistance. Most of the aero resistance comes from you body. Unfortunately you can't spend money on reducing your comfortable hip angle. What he said. The majority of the energy that is used in cycling is to over come air resistance. On the flat. The other thing is, that bike companies have caught onto the fact that we mostly know this fact. Aero advantages are also very easy to measure due to wind tunnels. We can very accurately and truthfully say that Frame X is a 6 second Faster than Frame Y over same distance and speed, but and here is the big butts don't lie... IN A WIND TUNNEL. Road racing, in bunches, which is what most of us do, minimizes the impact of the aero gains dramatically. If you sit on a guys wheel riding a Tarmac, you only need to move 3cm closer to get same advantage if you were on a Venge (just examples, not real numbers). This is why you often see GC riders riding narrower wheels than their domestiques, because they never need to break the wind.... Then think about the aero disadvantage on climbs, comfort (remember there are studies that link comfort to fatigue and therefore more speed) etc, and rather do a calculation on the net advantage in a real world scenario. This is however extremely difficult to accurately measure and convert into numbers that could be used to sell bikes and bike parts. As Gary said, position is critical, you will get a much bigger aero return by just lowering you body position or riding the drops more often. Then tucking shoulders in, knees etc. So yes, aero is almost everything when out on your own, but apply the theory where is makes the most difference FIRST before listening to a guy who is incentivized and educated to sell the latest greatest developments. Law of diminishing returns.... When building a new dream bike you don't start with the best wheel bearings first... But by far the biggest thing is training, you need legs no matter what, aero means nothing if you get dropped after 5km into an Elites race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Dale Posted March 31, 2017 Share Best all rounder options? Something like the 'dale supersix evo and tarmac etc.? JS I'm totally biased towards the Evo hey Both are spectacular machines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoBigBen Posted March 31, 2017 Share What he said. The majority of the energy that is used in cycling is to over come air resistance. On the flat. The other thing is, that bike companies have caught onto the fact that we mostly know this fact. Aero advantages are also very easy to measure due to wind tunnels. We can very accurately and truthfully say that Frame X is a 6 second Faster than Frame Y over same distance and speed, but and here is the big butts don't lie... IN A WIND TUNNEL. Road racing, in bunches, which is what most of us do, minimizes the impact of the aero gains dramatically. If you sit on a guys wheel riding a Tarmac, you only need to move 3cm closer to get same advantage if you were on a Venge (just examples, not real numbers). This is why you often see GC riders riding narrower wheels than their domestiques, because they never need to break the wind.... Then think about the aero disadvantage on climbs, comfort (remember there are studies that link comfort to fatigue and therefore more speed) etc, and rather do a calculation on the net advantage in a real world scenario. This is however extremely difficult to accurately measure and convert into numbers that could be used to sell bikes and bike parts. As Gary said, position is critical, you will get a much bigger aero return by just lowering you body position or riding the drops more often. Then tucking shoulders in, knees etc. So yes, aero is almost everything when out on your own, but apply the theory where is makes the most difference FIRST before listening to a guy who is incentivized and educated to sell the latest greatest developments. Law of diminishing returns.... When building a new dream bike you don't start with the best wheel bearings first... But by far the biggest thing is training, you need legs no matter what, aero means nothing if you get dropped after 5km into an Elites race. Amen brother! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iwan Kemp Posted March 31, 2017 Share Scott Foil:Scott tested in a wind tunnel with a mannequin aboard the new bike, and their figures show drag savings of 6 watts at 45kph, that equate to 27 seconds over 40km. Zipp"Our examples below use the following assumptions:a rider-and-bike system weighing 90kgtraveling 40km per hour (24.85mph)the road with a 3 percent gradientthe crosswind averaged 7.5 degrees of yaw, a common situation out on the road" There are many more, just not arsed to look them all up now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibali Posted March 31, 2017 Share So yes, aero is almost everything when out on your own, but apply the theory where is makes the most difference FIRST before listening to a guy who is incentivized and educated to sell the latest greatest developments. Law of diminishing returns.... When building a new dream bike you don't start with the best wheel bearings first... But but but, ceramic speed bro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy Posted March 31, 2017 Share The best aero advice, is find the biggest guy with the biggest calves you can spot. One that doesn't sweat too much. Ride as close to has rear wheel as possible. You'll experience no drag whatsoever! I sat behind Marius Hurter once shortly after he gave up rugby. Motor pacing under an open Golf hatch has nothing on that vacuum I rode in. On aero bikes, I can see that wheels make a significant difference, but how much smaller is the bike AND cyclist frontal area when you move the brake calliper to behind the BB? Or how much does the airflow around the down tube benefit from it being "aero shaped" when your legs move in big circles either side of it. I notice that when manufacturers talk about the aero qualities of their frames and an X % (where X is a big number) improvement in aerodynamic drag, they don't put a rider on the bike when they do their wind tunnel testing. I suspect that taking out a spacer or two from under your handlebars will have more benefit than all the "aero benefits" a frame can give you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchelicious Posted March 31, 2017 Share I sat behind Marius Hurter once shortly after he gave up rugby. Motor pacing under an open Golf hatch has nothing on that vacuum I rode in. On aero bikes, I can see that wheels make a significant difference, but how much smaller is the bike AND cyclist frontal area when you move the brake calliper to behind the BB? Or how much does the airflow around the down tube benefit from it being "aero shaped" when your legs move in big circles either side of it. I notice that when manufacturers talk about the aero qualities of their frames and an X % (where X is a big number) improvement in aerodynamic drag, they don't put a rider on the bike when they do their wind tunnel testing. I suspect that taking out a spacer or two from under your handlebars will have more benefit than all the "aero benefits" a frame can give you.Bravo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickleberry Posted March 31, 2017 Share Something like that... I watched it and realised an aero bike wasn't going to help me so bought one anywayI probably will also buy one , but just cos they are **** hot . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcza Posted March 31, 2017 Share Don't forget the aero helmet, I see it's found its way into MTBing now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibali Posted March 31, 2017 Share Don't forget the aero helmet, I see it's found its way into MTBing now Well you can't wear a skinsuit in mtb'ing and not have an aero helmet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lechatnoir Posted March 31, 2017 Share To chip in again... GCN did a non-scientific test where a rider did 10min @400W and measured how far he went on an aero bike. Then did the same on a non-aero bike. IIRC it was a few 100m shorter on the non-aero bike. I suspect that sitting in an upright position will cost you far more, negating the aero-ness of the bike. Or wearing baggy clothing, that kind of thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Dale Posted March 31, 2017 Share Don't forget the aero helmet, I see it's found its way into MTBing now Saw a guy this morning in baggies and an aero helmet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s14phoenix Posted March 31, 2017 Share .... But by far the biggest thing is training, you need legs no matter what, aero means nothing if you get dropped after 5km into an Elites race. which most of us are definitely not. :lol: Saw a guy this morning in baggies and an aero helmet must own only 1 helmet and the baggies is for headwind training... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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