AERODYNAMIC Masterclass

A FEW SIMPLE BUT ESSENTIAL CHANGES TO YOUR BIKE SET-UP WILL REWARD YOU WITH FREE SPEED. IT’S TIME TO SLIPSTREAM YOUR WAY TO A NEW PB…

Where once bike manufacturers centred their marketing campaigns on weight (or lack of it), now it’s all about aerodynamics. Why is down to two key reasons. The first is the lure of icons.

The international governing body of cycling, the UCI, has for years stipulated a minimum bike weight limit of 6.8kg. Any less, they argued, and the bike could be structurally unsound. (There’s talk that’ll change due to material advancements but the UCI are notoriously resistant.) That means bike manufacturers reached a weight-selling ceiling; in other words, when advertising their wares beneath a Tour de France winner, there was no point pushing its weight as it’d be the same as their competitors’.

The second, more important reason, is that aerodynamics really do count.

It’s been shown that you, the age-group triathlete, create around 80% of drag when riding through the air. So it stands to reason that positional tweaks, clothing choice and gear selection will boost aerodynamics and speed. And the good news is that this isn’t the preserve of the elite; in fact, slower triathletes actually benefit more from aerodynamics than the pros. The reason is two-fold.

Firstly, the slower the rider, the greater the effective cross-wind angle, resulting in a heightened sailing effect from your aero bike and deep-rim wheels. Secondly, you’re on the course for longer.

Aero wizard Dan Bigham calculated that all aerodynamic factors being equal (like frontal-profile drag and air density), a triathlete averaging 30km/ hr would record a 6hr Ironman bike leg, saving 5:32mins over a non-aeroset-up. That compares to a 3:42min saving for the triathlete riding 45km/hr.

Aerodynamics matters and, as you’ll discover, doesn’t require a total overhaul to save precious seconds, if not minutes…