A Time Trialing Thread

Great results and awesome pictures!
Pretty interesting to see how good the Aerohead performs on you. Might be a real consideration. The tempor is always a little bit of risky business. Performs amazing in the right position, but can be detrimental on a technical course, where you need to look ahead/around more.

The position in your pictures: can you see ahead?

1 Like

Exactly… the tempor in position is fast but the AH might be a better choice for me in the real world.

And yes, I can see a couple of feet ahead :laughing:

:slight_smile:

2 Likes

Did you have anyone help you in the wind tunnel who specializes in bike fits and that type of stuff?

Yes, although I spent numerous hours on the trainer and some long days non stop in the saddle so my fit was somewhat decent.

I did fail to mention that we tried widening the arm pads with a theory of directing the air around my hips although each cm wider was costing me watts. I was fastest with my elbows touching.

:slight_smile:

2 Likes

Really happy to see the AH performs so well. Sort of confirms for me that it’s a safe go to for folks who can’t test.

2 Likes

Do you think those differences are because of fit or because of materials/fabric?

1 Like

Definitely one of the best choices out there for those who cannot get testing done. Almost always tests fast, although perhaps not always the fastest.

2 Likes

Surprised how big of a difference the two skin suits were. I’ve always wanted to test some since it seems like people are often saving lots of watts there and it’s highly person specific

1 Like

All of the suits fit me very similar. The NP and Velotec are size small and the Castelli is a very tight medium.y next suit might be another NP P1 but in size XS.

In the real word I’ve never set a time/speed PR with the castelli.

:slight_smile:

1 Like

This is correct. It’s pretty much a go to helmet from what the wind tunnel operators said. Although from my testing it seemed critical to have the tail of the AH on or near the back.

:slight_smile:

2 Likes

I never realised there could be such a difference between high end suits. I’ve a NoPinz but its got some holes in it from a crash 3 or 4 years ago and as a club we are currently sourcing Endura Encapsulators which claims to one of the fastest I believe. With that and the damage to the NPz I expect a good few seconds. Lol, my best 10miles is only 26.7mph (26.3mph for 25miles) so perhaps I should expect too much :joy:

The pics and other data you have is :sunglasses:

Yes, it’s amazing the difference. One of the operators mentioned that a well known ex pro cyclist tested over 20 watts faster with a suit similar to the Encapsulator. I would love to find one for a reasonable price!

:slight_smile:

2 Likes

Interesting. I’ve a Velotec for bike and for triathlon a Castelli with elbow long sleeves. By feel am happy with both but not based on aero testing whatsoever.

Would have been interesting if you had done a test with lower aero socks or normal socks…

Sorry, 20w higher like he’s producing 20 more watts or higher as in 20 more watts of drag?

I worded it incorrectly… the rider saved 20 watts with the suit. Apparently it’s a very fast setup on the right person and position.

:slight_smile:

2 Likes

Yes, that would of been nice because I hate putting on the shoe covers but I never race without them and figured I should only test what I use in races.

One test I regret not doing was a test of the super high aero shoe covers vs the UCI legal covers. Most of the races I do never have UCI restrictions. I plan to get some high shoe covers and try them in the real world.

:slight_smile:

That last sentence is interesting. For me I saw no benefit (rather a slight increase in CdA, altho it was within the margin of error) when I moved my elbows completely together, but the position got quite unstable. Tested on an indoor velodrome in my case.
For reference: I am tall and lean with 186cm and 70kg.

1 Like

I have the same issue with narrow elbows - as my elbows come together, I lose stability and back off, so become slower. I prefer not to crash :slight_smile:

1 Like

Which tyres did you use? Did they meet the ~90-95% of max rim width “ideal”?
As you know, I have the same trispoke wheel, and I was going to run it with a 23mm Vittoria Corsa Speed, which comes up at ~25.5mm on the 27mm trispoke rim.

1 Like

I assume the NoPinz P1 is the Pro-1. I wonder how well the Flo Suit would work for you?

I have to replace my Endura this year and the FloSuit with the pseudo custom fit is on my list. When GCN tested the custom fit over the off-the-rack version, they picked up 9w@30mph. Anything more than a couple watts makes the custom fit seem like a steal.

1 Like