Rear disc wheel is the epitome of marginal gains. its at the back in turbulent air already so its actually causing very little drag. The biggest benefit in racing is that people can hear you catching them due to the epic sound a disc makes. Once you have your position aero/power/comfort compromise nailed then kit is the next priority. Cam Wurf says that if he had a £1000 to spend on his bike he would spend £800 on a skinsuit and aerohelmet.DOB wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:08 pmIt does say right there in the article;Duff Paddy wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:53 pmAre these guys for real? Maybe at the very highest levels but for the average cyclist that is laughable3. Shoe Covers will cost you no more than $50 and could save you half a minute in 40kms. Shoe covers smooth turbulent air over the straps and buckles of the shoes.So yeah, as you slow down, the amount of time something like shoe covers can save you will also go down, but still even for someone who can do that 40km in 1hr (which is a not unreasonable target for a decently athletic cyclist with a good kit budget) you're looking at saving a good few seconds. And the point is surely that the shoe covers are a better bang-for-buck investment than even things that most would consider low-hanging-fruit like aero wheels or helmet. This line at the end tells you all you need to know about who this article is aimed at;A couple notes:
– These numbers are calculated for a rider over 40kms at a time of 48minutes. Faster than most of us could go!
It's also a 10-year old article.Most of you probably already have a set of deep dish aero wheels for racing anyway. A rear disc wheel is one of the last items you should spend lots of money on if you’re looking for big savings. However, if you want to look cool this should be the first item on your list![]()
Relative gains for average cyclists are often greater than for a good cyclist but due to the smaller numbers aren't as noticeable and there are usually lower hanging fruit that would make more difference anyway if they were so inclined like clothing and bike maintenance.
My bike riding has gone to shit over the last 18months and is probably gone from my strongest tri-discipline to my weakest
