I’m in the market for a new road bike. Normally my criteria are purely stiffness and light weight, but as now it seems that every manufacturer has an aero road bike in their range am I missing a trick and turning down a little free speed?

Given that my normal cruising speed is between 18-22 mph,depending on whether I’m riding solo or in a group, am I simply not riding fast enough to really benefit from the aero advantage? Would I be better off just getting a lighter/stiffer bike that I can really feel is faster on the climbs?

Objectively, most of the aero drag has got to come from your body, with relatively little coming from the bike itself. I can’t help feeling that aero road bikes are the 650b of the tarmac world.

I agree with you – doubt if the aero tubing etc makes a discernible difference but if the position it puts you in is more aero, then maybe

(I ride a scott foil but not because I was under any illusions about extra speed)

Trek would say now as the Madone, which is considered their aero bike, is only available in the top, 7 series, now (plus the 2 series for some reason), leaving their new Emonda (light, non aero) for most normal riders.

I remember listening to a talk by Gerard Vroomen discussing weight vs aero, still on the Cervelo site – http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineering/thinking-and-processes/weight-vs-aero.html

and these posts

http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineering/ask-the-engineers/aero-in-the-peloton.html
http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineering/ask-the-engineers/just-one-metre.html

It’s an interesting read, from my personal POV that the importance of weight (within the ranges we see in good bikes in general) is way over-emphasised in cycling.

if the position it puts you in is more aero, then maybe

Agreed, no point riding a TT bike if you need a huge spacer stack and can’t reach the drops anyway : )

I think that received wisdom (ie internet gibberish, probably) is that aero wheels, frame etc only make any real difference above 20mph. Realistically youll get far more aero benefit from working on your core strength/flexibility and being able to tuck more/sit in the drops/lower your bars. Or fitting tri bars, which is an abomination unless your are competing in a TT or tri.

Personally I wouldnt get an aero bike if there was a weight penalty, I average 20mph solo and its not the frame drag thats slowing me down, I love climbing and would prefer lighter to more aero whether the benefits are placebo or not.

Buy the bike you really like then use its design/selling points to justify why you needed it 🙂

I can’t help feeling that aero road bikes are the 650b of the tarmac world.

for regular/amateur riders, probably.

As a bit of a geek (and Cervelo fan) I’ve read the Vroomen articles. There is a hefty dose of having cake and eating it, light weight is over rated but they brag about building the lightest frames, oh and they also happen to sell a range of aero frames. The lighter non-aero R series (as opposed to the aero S-series) is probably more popular with their pro team, though.

only make any real difference above 20mph

12mph I think, roughly. Many riders used some kind of aero bars on the Alpe D’Huez TT in the TDF years ago, weight was less of a concern than getting a bit of aero advantage even at climbing speed. But that’s for riders who’ve chased every other detail for efficiency already.

I can’t help feeling that aero road bikes are the 650b of the tarmac world.

for regular/amateur riders, probably.
Perhaps it makes a difference for most of us – http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineering/thinking-and-processes/slow-vs-fast-riders.html
Whether you care for / need that difference is another matter.

cake / eating it, sure. But since they have both are they in a balanced position not needing to sell one over the other? I expect Pro’s who have a choice will still go for lightest, ‘light is best’ is entrenched in cycling.

12mph I think, roughly

But that’s for riders who’ve chased every other detail for efficiency already.

I was referring to frames/wheels ie, marginal gains, not just when aerodynamic drag as a whole overcomes mechanical friction as the dominant resisting force. And pros climb at speeds we hold on the flat.

I ride road bikes for fun and nominally for training. I love the skinny minimalist look of the Cervelo R series frames, and I’m not a big fan of chunky aero tubes. So if/when I drop £2k+ on something like a Cervelo frame I’ll be using its low weight to rationalise my decision 🙂

The thing about bikes used in the tour is it is relatively easy to hit the UCI 6.8kg minimum weight limit. If you can’t get any lighter then that then you may as well add aero.

It will be interesting to see what will happen in the peloton if and when the UCI remove this artificial limit. Will pro riders then demand hyper-light bikes for all stages except pure TTs?

The thing about bikes used in the tour is it is relatively easy to hit the UCI 6.8kg minimum weight limit. If you can’t get any lighter then that then you may as well add aero.

but despite than Van Summeren for instance rides a non-aero R5, which probably has lead weights glued to the bottom bracket or heavier components, rather than an aero frame. The katusha team seem to be split with aero and non-aero Canyons too.

Interesting reading the pro bike ‘reviews’ on cyclingnews, despite the 6.8kg weight limit the last 2 I read (Gee Thomas’s classics season Pinerello and Dan Martin’s early season Cervelo) both weighed ~7.5kg.

If you race TT, sprints or are doing tri (but don’t want a tri specific bike), then yes its worth it

Otherwise I’d take a good race bike over an aero bike every day.

I’ve spent enough time on the specialized venge to know I prefer the tarmac (I own a SL4) or even the Roubaix sl4.

The handling of the tarmac sl4 is sublime especially at speed, the Venge in comparison feels wooden /harsh and not anywhere as precise when descending or cutting tight turns.

A lot of customers bought the Venge on looks, but customers are always right 😉

Here’s an article on new Trek range which includes comments about scrapping most of the Madone range:

http://road.cc/content/news/124249-trek-world-2014-highlights-road-bike-range

I just want a lighter bike that looks good. If it’s aero then great!

If your price range is high enough to consider an aero bike then you’d struggle to buy a bad bike I reckon.

Does that mean we’re about to see a lot of cheap madones?