The "Make Me Aero!" Thread
For Wisconsin I am looking to be as aero as possible. Here is what I have (will have) so far:
- Bike fit from Jim Manton
- LG Course P-09 Helmet
- Equivalent of LG Course M-2 Triathlon Suit
- Wheel Cover over Zipp 101 in back
- FLO 60 in front
- Latex tubes
- Delta X-Lab 400 Torpedo bottle, and I will Velcro the straw down when not in use
- No Seat Bag, instead small behind the seat cage that has bottle with repair kit
- 1 bottle cage on the down tube
- X-Lab Stealth Pocket 400 to hold nutrition
- Shaved arms, legs and face
- Pivlock glasses instead of shield
Things I am questioning:
- Optimized Chain? This intimidates me, I have never swapped a chain before
- Would wearing arm coolers on the bike have an aero penalty, or in any way negate the advantage of the suit?
- How much of an aero penalty does wearing a watch inflict?
Anyone have any more suggestions or feedback?
Comments
- Get the chain and have a shop install. That's what I'm doing.
- Dunno about the arm coolers though I like racing with them, as you can keep them very wet by hitting an aid station every 30'
If it's a flat-ish watch like a Timex, probably very little. If it's a toaster on your arm like a Garmin 310XT on a quick release band, then probably better off with it snapped on your bars somewhere until very late in the ride.
What kinds of tires (and pressures) will you be running?
Do you really need the bottle on the down tube? What is your nutrition plan?
You can also remove the bottle behind your seat and store your spare kit somewhere else (conflicting data on this being faster or slower, but my guess is smoother air is better). I put one spare tube under my seat and smooth taped the CO2 in the triangle just above my bottom bracket. Figured if I got a flat it would cost me some extra time, but would be faster in the much higher probability that I didn't flat.
Most important thing is to stay in the aero bars above 12mph. All the little gains of the day will be negated if you get lazy and ride in the bullhorns for the last half hour (or even for 5 mins at a time here and there multiple times). Also pay attention to your hand position in aero (especially while descending), pretend like you are cutting through the wind keeping your elbows as tight as possible. If you are coasting at high speeds, keep your feet parallel (not with one up and one straight down) and pinch your knees in and then try to get even lower in the front.
Take scissors with you and trim your race number. And be VERY careful when putting it on. You can even use packing tape and simply tape it to either side of your frame if there is room somewhere...
I am running Conti 4000 IIs 23s with 95psi
For nutrition I am living off the land which equals lots of GE. I have the downtube bottle cage to stow bottles before I transfer them to the torpedo. I am not coordinated enough to grab a bottle, fill the torpedo, and then ditch it all within the bounds of the aid station.
Thanks for the tip about trimming and being careful with the race number! Would not have thought of that.
What exactly should I do with my hands? What is the best position? I have Auro Pro 3T bars that are the ski lift style.
Is this the chain that everyone gets:
http://www.ceramicspeed.com/sport/products/Chains/product/CSUFO020110/CeramicSpeed-UFO-Chain-Shimano-10s
Thanks!
With regards to hand hand and head position, when I'm at IM watts, the road is clear and straight, etc, I drape my hands over my computer, sometimes trying to stack them. More importantly, I completely relax my shoulders, dropping my head down to within inches of my BTA.
Another thing I forgot to mention earlier is NEVER HIT YOUR BRAKES! Unless it is a sharp u-turn turnaround from an out-and-back, OR the Dismount line at the end of 112 miles, you should NEVER hit your brakes during an Ironman. Carry your speed around all corners, downhills, around other riders, etc.
Nooooooo! Not the FACE...
Don't know if you'll still be Peter. 
Bring your road bike out to SoCal. Ding. Ding, skool is in session
- get rid of the downtube bottle and go with 2 cages behind the seat
- agree to hide your flat kit under the seat with tape
- agree trimming and taping your number...my tri checklist has packing tape for this purpose
- I do not wear a watch on the bike...I remove my watch after the swim and have a different one in my go bag for the run
- totally agree that being in the aero position trumps all of the equipment...you TRAIN for that!!
Lose the XLab bottle, it's costing you watts. Replace it with a Torhans 30, installed as close to the headtube as possible. This actually improves drag over nothing at all. (The XLab bottle is so poor that Craig Alexander tossed his at Kona as soon as he was away from the cameras and had fulfilled his sponsor obligations!)
The difference between an optimized chain and Squirt wax lube might be 1-2 watts, sez Friction Facts.
Riding the p-09 vent "plug in" is aerodynamically best up to 37kph. Then "plug out" is better. I take mine out when I know I'll be on a fast stetch (or into a headwind) for a while. Probably worth something over 112.
-orca rs1 shoe covers. If the marketing is close to reality, another 7 watts.
-view speed skewers on the front. Worth just over a minute at the IM distance.
I don't believe that data for a moment, but I'll order them considering the MSRP is only $50. But the Orca website says sold out...any ideas on where to buy them?
As for the skewers, not worth the PITA of needing a hex wrench to get them on and off. The Zipp QR ones seem to have a pretty aero profile if you orient them parallel to the ground. But not a bad idea to look at alternatives for sure.
Matt - trisports.com has the shoe covers. From what I can tell, I think they are the only place that carries them. But I take your point, and it's telling that both Kienle (who tested and consulted on them) and Starkowitz, both sponsored by Orca, have *not* been racing with them this summer.
I'm already on the (front) viewspeed skewer, so you're probably hearing confirmation bias from me ... but the hex is a non-issue (I hide mine in my aerobar extension), and the only time you use it is with a flat, in which case you're talking an extra 20 seconds on a 3-4 min sunk cost penalty you're already paying. I'll talk out of both sides of my mouth, though, and say they are a 'raceday only' bit of gear ... because Neal wanted a lightweight item, he had the ends machined out of titanium, and the softer metal hex hole gets stripped pretty fast if you use it as an everyday item.
Also, this is my version of what Rich posted earlier ... hands draped / stacked; helmet down (que: "chin at mid-bicep"); shoulders shrugged. But fasten your shoe straps!
Question about the torhan 30. Is it easy to refill on the go? Also, do you have the aero tray for your bike computer? Or do you put your computer somewhere else.
Hey Peter,
Good thread, lots of great ideas and sadly I think about this more than I should. For now, just weighing in on the chain. I used the optimized chain for IMCDA + IMC. The tricky thing is the optimization is really only good for 200 miles so after that you'll just have a really expensive nice chain that you lube as per usual. Since the 40 mile break in + 2 x 112 = 264, technically I was past the optimized period late in the second race.
We did just break down and spend the $15 on the Friction Facts report and long story short, we are currently crock-potting wax in our garage. Without divulging their data I would say "facts is facts" (have we mentioned I HEART data over N=1 stuff?!?) and it is well worth the report. Also it's one thing to say *this* lube is faster but without the context of what that means in heat, rain (not funny yet...) maintenance and real world conditions it is not all that helpful. Then FF report DOES provide that context so overall I found it much more helpful than just one data point that lives in a controlled lab. It remains to be seen whether the process is worth the time but it is certainly MUCH less expensive then getting a new chain for every race.
Keep us posted!
It's easy to refill on the go. However, it doesn't fit every bike/stem, so it's best to bring your ride to the LBS to try it out and make sure it works And I don't use the torhans mount ... instead, I cut a piece of flat plastic plate about 3" x 1", drilled holes in each end, and attached it between the extensions via zip ties, about 5" down from the shifters. I have a garmin mount on that, and it seats my 910 between my hands, but visible at all times. I'll have to post a pic of the configuration - it's a 5 minute diy job and very effective - but probably won't get to it until the weekend.
Yep, lots of aero mess around me, and the next observation would be "you're all riding ... ummm ... very close. Almost like a team." As much as it looks like a peloton, it surprisingly was clean ... there are a lot of bodies around that point where the roads are still very crowded after the 80% of the field has come out of the swim, but a lot of movement as well. One of the tri mags has a classic pic of the field at that very point with maybe 20 guys who are about 2 inches apart from one another sucking wheel, and then Patrick all alone in his EN jersey, respectfully passing the group. a classic.
Hi Jenn - I just bought the reports and will read this afternoon. Do they provide the info needed to "crock pot" our own was? If not - is there a source you can refer me to so that I can learn more about this? Please and thank you!
Hey Rich,
They provide some info on the "how to" and we are muddling through our 1st attempt. A google search filled in a couple of the finer points. Here's a good one: https://barndoorcycling.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/paraffin-wax-chain-lube/ FWIW we are using an ultrasonic cleaner + diesel fuel to strip the chain pre-wax. Will be interested in your thoughts on the report and if/how you proceed!
Cheers!
with that said ...
On the XLab, I think it's the whole system, not just the straw. A bta in a cage, mounted low on the extensions and filling the space between the forearms, is considered the least costly. A generalization here, but the problem with the integrated profile/xlab/torhans torpedo systems is they have been designed to mount high, and they end up sitting up up up and presenting an obstacle to the wind where there wasn't one before.
Now ... we didn't test - and I'm going on "expert advice" here, but in my session, Jim Manton stood behind this placement as "best practice, in the eyeball windtunnel" class. Next time around, I want to compare this to the Torhans.
See the bottle?
I'm able to tuck my straw under one of my aerobars when not in use. My BTA bottle (a speedfil A2 cap on a standard 20 oz water bottle) sits in a regular (carbon) bottle cage attached to bike at the stem cap via the "King Cage" ($10). Many modern TT bikes won't allow this, but I've got an old school standard stem/steering tube set up. I attach my bike computer to one of the aerobars
My bars are actually 5-10 mm higher on the steering tube now than when this photo was taken, and the computer is a little lower on the curve of the aerobar, making it more protected.
(this is just a postscript on a couple of things I have offered up ... )
Here's my recollection of the history of this item ... recognizing that I'm making some strong claims about the BTA bottle. The statement about the 'between the arms bottle' from Cervelo at this link ( http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineeri...amics.html) was kinda Ground Zero for triathlon adopting the front bottle config. Before this, I can think of literally one higher-profile athlete - Steve Larsen - who took this approach with hydration, using a proprietary Visiontech cage mount in whatever year it was that he rode Kona (and decimated the bike). After the cervelo piece, ST influencers Rappstar and Johnno chimed in with endorsements, and soon after, tribikes using this config with regular bottles became standard. (It also more or less killed the Profile Aerodrink, which was standard equipment up to that point). Many manufacturers in turn jumped on board, and offered $40 to $150 bta hydration systems to be part of this product class. Although I've always thought the newfangled bottles served a need that wasn't there, it was probably more profitable for manufacturers than the 'original zip-tie a $9 cage' antecedent. However, I have yet to see or hear about findings of the newfangled BTA systems offering improvement-but have heard about their 'aero cost' over the years.
Continuing to be mindful of Matt's observation of data as marketing, I'll say this: the article's finding of 56 grams of drag savings gets my attention - especially when the entity making that statement isn't selling that particular product. Usability trumps all of this, of course, but staying to the thread title, ^this^ is what will make you aero!
John, I think we'd need to put you in a wind tunnel to get to the bottom of your possible savings. Eyeballing the setup that you're running, I think we're into Brailsford "Marginal Gains" territory that only a controlled environment might catch.
Considerations I see for BTA (I'm talking standard cage + bottles off the course) vs straw-type(?) systems:
For these reasons I will probably race IMWI with either the Torhans 30 or their BTA system + one cage either rear mounted or on the downtube:
I am not going to change out my BTA. It actually sits pretty low and I can shield it well with my arms.
One other thing I did is add speed as a field back to my Garmin. I had taken it off to focus on power, but it was great for tweaking my aero position real-time to see what would make me faster. At one point I was going 26-27 with a tailwind and it was good motivation to stay as aero as possible, wouldn't want to give up that free speed!