How Much Faster Are Aero Wheels?

Aero wheels don't just look cool but we're also told that they make you faster too. But how much faster? We wanted to do an experiment to see typically how much more speed an aero wheel can give you. So to do that we came down here to Herne Hill velodrome in south London where we are going to put three different sets of wheels to the test. So the first set of wheels we have is a pair of Mavic Ksyrium R-SYS SLR clinchers. We've picked these because they represent the typical box section clincher wheel that you get on a normal road bike and most road bikes are equipped with a shallow wheel like this. Second set of wheels were going to test are a pair of Enve Smart 4.5 which have a 40mm front rim and a 50mm back rim. Now we picked those because that's a very classic typical current professional set up. For the final set of wheels we've got a HED GT3 trispoke front wheel and a Lighweight Autobahn Disc which is incredibly bling in about £2500. Now we've picked this because it's said to be the ultimate time trial setup and it's been used by the likes of Alberto Contador amongst others. For our experiment Dr. Hutch's going to be doing the riding. For those unfamiliar with Dr. Hutch he's sort of a pound shop Stig. And he's gonna be riding each set of wheels for 10 minutes at 200 watts and 10 minutes at 300 watts around the velodrome. We're doing this because we thought 200 Watts was maybe typical of a decent club rider or a sportive rider and 300 watts is maybe more than a number a time trialist or a racer at hit. So we'll see what the benefit might be if you're riding quickly and even then what the benefit might be if you're maybe not going quite at a race pace. For consistency Hutch is going to begin every run from a rolling start and we're using Powertap P1 pedals for power measurement and we're also using Challenge Record tyres with latex inner tubes on all the wheels. I'll be riding the same Merida Reacto team bike and all the tests and keeping a consistent position on the drops and all the tests we do to try and keep a level playing field. Before we get on to the results, Oliver is a proper scientist and would like to issue a quick disclaimer. Yes, so we're aware this is not the most accurate test in the world but for all the wind tunnel data that exists around bikes and wheels no one actually rides their bike in a wind tunnel. I do. Apart from Hutch. So based on that we want to see what actually happens when you ride these things outside so there is value in that and Herne Hill is about as much as a controlled environment as you can get outside. So, Oliver, what were the results? The Mavics that you rode first at 200 watts you travelled the distance of 5120m, an average speed of 30.7 km/h and at 300 watts you traveled 6070m at an average speed of 36.4km/h. So quite a bit faster faster - yeah, yeah. So then on to the Enves you travelled at 200 watts 5460m at an average speed of 32.7km/h. So that's two and a bit kilometres an hour faster? A two kilometers an hour faster. And at 300 watts you travelled 6442m at an average speed of 38.6km/h. So again roughly two kilometres an hour faster. So for the super-duper TT set up at 200 watts you travelled 5520m, an average speed 33.12km/h. And at 300 watts... Little quicker... Yeah, a little bit quicker. And at 300 watts you traveled 6600m at 39.6km/h. So that's basically 25 miles an hour. And that's quicker again. Yeah, so just a little bit quicker than the Enves but I think the main thing is the difference between the Enves and the time trial wheels were quite small. So the big step up is from the kind of box section simple shallow rim wheels up to the modern rim wheels. Yeah and even at 200 watts you're traveling 2km/h faster on a 40/50mm rim. And it's actually quite windy here today so you know with the kind of your angles and the rest of it actually deep rims probably start to perform even better. But it does go to show that I mean even if you're just averaging 200 watts over the course of a 100 miles sportive that could really add up to a massive. If you're spending 5 or 6 hours out it's going to be most of another hour's work. So if saving two kilometres an hour is important to you then investing in some aero wheels is well worth considering. How much you care about two kilometres an hour Oliver? I've killed for two kilometres an hour.

Channel: Cycling Weekly

Views: 261,790

Rating: 4.8755002 out of 5

Keywords: How much faster are aero wheels, aero wheels, cycling, cycling aero, cycling experiments, michael hutchinson, aerodynamic wheels, aero race wheels, aerospoke wheels, aero wheelset, aero wheels bike, aero wheels bicycle, easton aero wheels, aeromax wheels, best aero wheels 2016, mavic aero wheels

Id: VHsLMCTkFso

Length: 5min 55sec (355 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 10 2017