
TT/ Tri VS Road Bike- How much faster?
If there's one question that I am asked more than any other question, it's "how much faster is a TT bike than a Road bike? To answer the question I went into the FASTER Wind Tunnel in Scottsdale, Arizona to find out. FASTER is now closed; A2 Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, North Carolina is a great facility for testing cycling aerodynamics. Comparing my Canyon Speedmax with my Canyon Ultimate: my lowest drag Road bike position (bar tops & hands close together, near the center) required 204.6250 watts to maintain 30 mph with a CdA of .2770 compared to my lowest drag TT bike position which required just 177.2925 watts to maintain 30 mph with a a CdA of .2400. That's a difference of 27.3325 watts or 13.36%. And, compared to my more comfortable Road bike position (on the brake hoods) which I could sustain for a long period of time, there was a difference of 62.0523 watts or 25.95%, nearly 26%. The tables and graphs below provide more detail about the tests.
FASTER aerodynamic research center | ||||
V=13.4112 m/s (48.2803 kph) | ||||
paul lew | ||||
bike | clothing | position | aero watts | CdA |
canyon ultimate | road kit | brake hoods | 239.3448 | 0.3240 |
canyon ultimate | road kit | drops | 226.7866 | 0.3070 |
canyon ultimate | road kit | bar top (hands near center) | 204.6250 | 0.2770 |
canyon speedmax | road kit | aero bars | 187.6345 | 0.2540 |
canyon speedmax | tri kit | aero bars | 177.2925 | 0.2400 |
BRAKE HOODS/ ROAD KIT
AERO BARS/ TRI KIT
RAW DATAPaul Lew, "Bicycles make friends"