Anyone seen any studies on aero at the lower end of the speed spectrum?

Skin suit and more normal aero helmet eg Specialized Evade etc? Wonder what sort of difference it might make at lower road style speeds eg 12-15mph average?

could be wrong but from memory 18mph is minimum for any real advantage.

I’ve seen people in aero helmets at xc races. It doesn’t look right!

Conversely I’ve got a mate that sometimes races in a skinsuit, he reckons it feels fast and that they can run a bit cooler than a standard jersey + bibs.

Must be possible to work out from wattage figures?

Do they do disc wheels in the right widths?

Think bike radar did a test, it was minimally faster on fire road descents, but the reduction in protection from a thin skin suit vs proper riding kit wasn’t worth it as rider didn’t feel as safe at speed on techy trails

Here

“but the reduction in protection from a thin skin suit vs proper riding kit”

you race in baggies and knee pads do you ? is that propper riding kit.

very little protection wise between a skin suit and a jersey and bibs.

As well as the article tomhoward refers to there was some mention or slight aero gains in Marathon races from a tidy/narrow cockpit and ear spokes, but its very marginal, and offset the second you stick and elbow out too far.

I think the summary was that its best just to tuck in as much as possible with the body being most of the frontal area.

I might be wrong.

Conversely I’ve got a mate that sometimes races in a skinsuit, he reckons it feels fast and that they can run a bit cooler than a standard jersey + bibs.

Guilty as charged. No pockets though, so only for short races. It is more comfy, and makes me feel faster but I don’t claim any aero benefit.

could be wrong but from memory 18mph is minimum for any real advantage.

You may be, I think it’s 12mph. Most riders in the Alpe D’Huez TT a while back used aero bars as above 12mph the drag reduction offset the weight (Cervelo did a study/report on it).

A lot of XC involves too much movement and variation in position for me to have interest in aero gains but I guess it counts for something on gravel bike type of terrain at 15mph or so. For longer sections / race, maybe worth it. I remember being sure to be in a low tuck for every fire road descent on a long low-tech race once to save energy and gain a bit of speed, also wearing lycra shorts and close-fitting sleeves in part for the cumulative benefit over the usual loose-fit top and shorts.

and the speed refers to wind speed. So if you are cycling at 5mph but there is a 20mph headwind then aero is significant. If I’m on a road section with my 780mm bars, I can feel the difference if I hold the bars either side of the stem instead of on the grips.

The berkradar test seemed flawed given he was manually timing and claiming a few tenths of seconds differences.

Next helmet will be more aero, not convinced of skinsuit over tight jersey esp with full pockets

Some aero bars, earlier.

you race in baggies and knee pads do you ? is that propper riding kit.

I did at singletrack 7, took the knee pads off halfway through though, as it was bloody warm. Didn’t do amazingly well, perhaps aero would have made a difference?

If I had the money Id’ get one of the Kask semi-aero helmets. Tried one on and it was exceptionalyl comfy.

I think it was 18kmh not mph which ties in with the 12mph figure. I definately feel wind drag when racing on fast courses /fire road sections, especially when open to wind but not sure how much differece being more aero would actually make.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Loi3L_Uai9o[/video]