Get Aero. It Matters. Top 4 Aero Upgrades

This is probably one of the most talked about topics in triathlon. We all love a bit of new gear and particularly if it makes us as slippery as a thousand greased weasels, looks like it belongs to Batman and is made of carbon... This article is going to seek to give you some solid guidance on the topic. We’re not going to look at specific brands, more the difference between using clip on Tri bars, or not, for example. Figures therefore have been taken from a range of different bikes/pieces of equipment and then averaged out some of the data to remain brand agnostic.

So before we get going, a couple of caveats. Firstly, no matter how slippery your bike is, if you haven’t done the training, you won’t have the engine. This applies to all distances but you’ll be caught out the most over middle and long distance causing a slow bike and destroying your run. Secondly, bike fit. Getting a good bike fit is always worth doing to get the balance right between power, comfort and aerodynamics. Usually a rider accounts for around 70-80% of the aerodynamic drag, so getting into the right position brings an extraordinary return. Alright caveats done, let’s get into this!

When you’re riding there are three main resisting factors holding you back. Gravity, rolling resistance and the subject of today, aerodynamic drag.

The faster you ride, the stronger the factor of aerodynamic drag. In fact the power required to overcome this factor levels up at the cube of speed. For example, whilst riding outdoors, if you increased speed on a flat road with all other elements equal from 20kph to 40kph so twice the speed, you would need 8 times the power to do so. Frightening! It is your biggest issue on the bike so well worth paying attention to.

Are aerodynamics only relevant to fast riders?

Simply, no. You may well have heard that because the power saved at slower speeds is less this means that only faster riders need to pay attention to it. Remember though, the relationship between speed and the power needed to overcome aerodynamic drag are non-linear, a slower rider will see a larger percentage increase in their average speed over a faster one. Remember too, that a slower rider is spending proportionately longer on the same course which will also give a greater return.

I’m going to focus on 4 bolt on upgrades that are the low hanging fruit and then the big one, the bike!

1. Wheelset: £1000

This is a solid way to pick up some speed without having to train in an aerodynamic position and significantly improve your skill set like using Tri bars for example. I’ve used 60mm deep section wheels for this example as they are the most versatile in all conditions which will give you the best value for money. You could go 80mm on the front with a rear disc but at a price… So, the 60mm rims will save you around 64sec over 40km.

2. Aero Helmet: c. £200

I wrote about this the other week. Another simple way to gain some time, not for free, but free from conditioning with the exception of ensuring you’re holding an aero position on the bike. Using an aero road helmet or even better a TT helmet you’ll be getting around 60sec return over 40km.

3. Clothing: c. £250

Going all in here with a proper Speedsuit or Aero Trisuit vs a closely fitting cycle kit you can make decent improvements — bear in mind again that 70-80% of the resistance felt comes from your own self, making that surface area as efficient as possible is no bad thing. The gains whilst good though, aren’t as big as you might like, coming in at around 20sec over the 40km. That said, it’s worth remembering this is compared against already tight clothing. So, even if you don’t end up going for this, not undoing your zips etc when on the bike could have a decent impact particularly the further you go.

4. Clip on Tri bars: c. £120

This is the one. If you’re going to do one thing to upgrade your road bike to make a significant impact, this is it. Over 40km you’re looking to gain around 4.15min over a standard road bike. This is all down to how you can change your position to reduce what the wind can see. It’s important to factor training in position into your training though. It’s advisable to do your testing and sessions on the Tri Bars. You’ll find your power goes down but the aero gains dramatically outweigh the loss.

Even with just the upgrades mentioned above you’re going to save around 30min over an IRONMAN bike course.

At what point is it worth upgrading to a TT bike?

This is a whole other article and the suggestions above will bridge the gap if you can’t justify the TT bike.

However, honestly, if you have the budget I would take the plunge. The gains are huge. The TT bike is a specialist tool designed specifically to purpose. The best way to look at the above is you’re modifying a current system/bike to change its purpose. This works pretty well but not as well as a system designed for exactly what you need. The right TT bike should include all the storage you need which is why you should look for a Tri bike not just a TT — you don’t want to spend a bunch of cash only to still have to bolt bento boxes to the frame etc.

Below is a fun video, and whilst not entirely perfect science it serves to illustrate very well the differences between road bikes (and aero road bikes at that) and TT bikes. It’s staggering…

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Whether you go for a TT bike or not, the overall message is simple. Get aero. It matters. 😎

Originally published in the TriDot Community ↗