GETTING LOW 40W
COST £0 TIME SAVED – 17:43 secs (40W)
If there’s anything that proves getting aero doesn’t have to cost the earth, this is it. From the relaxed ‘I want to see the world go by’ position to an ever-so-slightly more dropped position, I cut nearly 18 minutes off my ride – that’s enough time to sink the first post-ride pint!
To slice off this time simply required placing my hands on the hoods, bending my elbows and hunkering down a little bit. This drastically reduced my frontal area, thus reducing turbulence and therefore drag. This simple shift in position saved me 40 watts and, impressively, I could view this in real time. The wind tunnel has a small screen projected in front of the bike, showing an outline drawing of your previous and/or current position, allowing you to observe the impact of the changes, along with digital dials showing the drag you’re reducing.
There is a trade-off, of course. A more aggressive position on the bike increases the weight on your hands and so how effective this would be over a four hour-plus ride really depends on how long you can hold such a pose. Fortunately, most sportives aren’t 100 miles, straight, flat and into a constant headwind – their variation in gradient and direction ultimately means you’re going to be moving about on the bike far more than I was in the wind tunnel.
If you’re going to spend prolonged time in a fixed position, it would be beneficial to spend some time working on your flexibility, lengthening the time you spend in an aero position each time you ride. Also look at the fit of your bike. Even raising the bars to provide a more comfortable position could end up more aero if it means you can hold a slippier position for longer.