Heather: Before we headed out here to Fuerteventura, we conjured up a little bit of a plan, one
that involved us getting creative and maybe a little bit arts and crafty, but as usual
here at GTN things escalated and it's turned into a challenge between the two of us.
Mark: Yes, we've been wondering if we can make our current triathlon or time trial bikes
faster and more aerodynamic by adding some homemade makeshift parts to them.
Heather: With that, we have thrown out the rulebook and as a result, we might raise a
few eyebrows because we have absolutely no care for aesthetics and zero care for regulations.
Mark: We've seen some pretty bold designs from some brands in recent years as they push
aerodynamic gains and advantages. Ours is certainly not going to be anywhere near as
sciency or as technical. I think that's pretty fair to say, given that we've had a budget
of just £10 and some fairly limited time, but let's see what we can do.
[music] Heather: Before we get too creative and start
adapting and adding things to our bikes, it would be a good idea to test them as they
are. For that, we found a relatively flat and straight stretch of road. We've marked
the start and the finish and it comes in at just over 3k.
Mark: Of course, we need to make sure this is fair, though. So, I had thought about making
sure that we're riding the same intensity, so it's going to work out our watts per kilo
and the power that we need to hold for that, but actually part of the aerodynamic advantage
comes from things like your angles and sail effects, and for that it's actually important
that we're traveling at the same speed. So, we're going to do both runs, both on a normal
bike and the DIY aero bike at 40 kilometers an hour, and we'll track our power from both
of those and see the difference between them starting with our normal bike without the
aero DIY bits on there. Heather: I guess that's just basically a form
of control, so we know where we're going from. Mark: Exactly. We can basically track the
power. Then, on the second one with all the bits and bobs on there, we can see whether
the power changes more or hopefully less. The idea is the winner isn't the person who's
fastest. It's actually the person who has the most power-saving.
Heather: Well, who's going to go first, then? Mark: Ladies first, Heather.
Heather: You're such a gent, Mark. All right, three and a half K, holding the same speed.
Here we go. [music]
Mark: Right now for my turn, three, two, one. Let's go. Go. Go.
[music] Mark: It's a 40K an hour, come on.
[music] Heather: I know it's not a test of fitness
[laughs] but it kind of is at the same time. [chuckles]
[music] Mark: 40K an hour average. Nice.
Heather: I was thinking all the time whilst doing that of actually that pace is quicker
than I realize and some of my plans might have to change because I think they might
fall off, so to speak [laughs], and also I'm still working quite harder at that pace, so
I can't think of anything that's going to get in my way. There is going to be a lot
of last-minute improvisation and trialing. Those few minutes were pretty much spent all
thinking. Mark: All right, that's by far control is
done. What was your average power, Heather? Heather: 213W.
Mark: Mine was 201W. Heather: [laughs] I don't know, that just
shows how aero you already are. Mark: Or, you're playing the game here and
you weren't getting aero on there. Heather: Well, then I guess it does play to
my advantage. You're quite actually aero by your bike already.
Mark: True, actually, that's a very good point. I have got a little fairing on the front.
Heather: Fine, maybe I've got more room for improvements, maybe. Who knows?
Mark: Well, it's time for our second run, but obviously we've got to do our little crafty
and DIY. We've got a bunch of stuff in the back of the van which is essentially fair
game. Heather: Are you going to let that touch your
bike? A beautiful bike? Mark: I think it's pretty well-known that
I love this bike. Both bikes are great. I mean, we're not trying to change them because
they're not great. Just let's see what we can do. Break some rules, have some fun.
Heather: What do you reckon? How long do you need? 30 minutes is a good ballpark figure?
Mark: All right, 30 minutes. Yes, let's do it. Three, two, one, let's go. Go. Go.
[music] [background conversation]
Heather: Before I add [chuckles] ridiculous additions, I should at least strip it right
back with my thoughts. [music]
Heather: I'm just trying to work out, I think I need a piece of cardboard to start with.
[music] Heather: Solar-powered. See, it would work
as wind power if we were going that way. [music]
Mark: [chuckles] I've made a made of silly mistake already. I could have obviously just
used the first one as a template. Instead, now I'm having to measure all that up again.
[music] Heather: I'm panicking because I was quite
happy enjoying my little strategy. I'm actually quite enjoying this, to be honest, and now
I've just been told there's only a couple of minutes left, which I was entirely oblivious
to. Mark: No. [laughs]. Oh.
Heather: Ta, ta, ta. I cannot wait for the big reveal. What have you got under there,
Mark? Mark: Well, we'll have to wait, but-
Heather: How was it? Mark: -30 minutes just flew by.
Heather: I had exactly the same problem. I had about three other 'projects' I had planned
to do, but I just did one. Mark: Well, you'll see, but it's quite apparent
I ran out of time. So, yes. Heather: I cannot wait to see what's you got
on. Mark: Who's first then? Who should go first?
Heather: I think, from what I gather, there's more to look out on yours. I think we should
get with yours. Mark: I'll go first because, well, my bike
looks like it's going to [unintelligible 00:07:15] the bag on it. But, yes, I'll talk about the
helmet quickly first. A bit of Gaffa tape on there. I would love to have done a tail
on it but, hey, I didnt have time. Here we go. I've got to be careful, because it's just
rather fragile. [music]
Mark: Ta, ta, ta. Heather: Whohoo, [crosstalk] oh my.
Mark: Here we go. This is my Canyon Speedmax version 2.0, or as I have now renamed it,
the Canyon SpeedMark. If you guys would like to know a little bit more, here you are. Oh,
yes. As you can see, we have a lot of Gaffa tape going on here. I've tried to cover as
many holes or gaps as possible and smoothing out that airflow, which brings me to the rather
unsightly cardboard. Yes, I have filled the frame to bring that CdA down and in hope that
I might get some sail effect. I didn't stop there, though. I also attempted to create
a bridge between the aero bars. Again, for aerodynamics and maybe for lift. However,
the flappy Gaffa tape was not intended. Heather: I am seriously impressed with what
you did in half an hour because now I'm feeling slightly embarassed to reveal mine because
I was really proud of it. It looks very minimal, I think [crosstalk] that's fair to say.
Mark: Well, you did well. I've got to say outright on this, just remember.
Heather: Well, that was part of my thinking because the wind, you probably saw, as you
can see here, has been building as we've been building them. That came into my thought process
[unintelligible 00:08:36]. Mark: Well, let's have a look, then.
Heather: All right. there's not much to see at the front. Give us a second here. Ta, ta,
ta. Mark: Wow.
[laughter] Mark: A little tail.
[music] Mark: I love it.
Heather: Here it is. Like I said, there's not much to see but it's very pretty and it
even feels fast, but if you want to know exactly how I got to this and what's going on inside,
well, you can see right here. [music]
Heather: You might have guessed I have taken my inspiration from a certain TT bike, except
mine doesn't double up as water storage. I'd like to say it's solar-powered but, no, it's
not advanced enough for that, either. It does, however, contain two paintbrushes which I
could have used for decoration, except I ran out of time. So, they are playing an important
role in holding this aerodynamic tail fin in place. As you can see I've gone for minimalism
in my design hoping that that means less to go wrong when I hit the road.
All right, here we are back at the start line and it's fair to say I am a little bit nervous.
These are a few reasons. First of all, it's going to be quite hard to concentrate to maintain
the same speed because the wind has picked up slightly. Secondly, because it's a competition
and I want to beat, Mark. Thirdly, because, obviously, I've altered my bike and I don't
know how it's going to feel as a result. Although nothing like Mark has, so if I was him right
now I would be pretty petrified as the wind has picked up, and things have changed a little
bit. Anyway, it's time to get going, I think. Enough talking. Road is clear. Here we go.
[music] Mark: All right, ready for my turn. Quietly
confident, although also a little bit apprehensive with crosswinds, but here we go. All right,
ready? Three, two, one, Let's go, go, go. [music]
Mark: Both the runs are done. It's time for the results. Let's get straight in on it.
Go on, Heather. Heather: Well, first time through--well, both
times, a second difference in time. I think that's pretty accurate. More of a headwind
now, but I was 213 Watts on my control, 183W [laughs].
Mark: That's a huge saving just because of that.
Heather: I turned my bottle cages off, and I concentrated even more on my aero position.
Mark: Okay. Heather: Yours has got to be bigger, isn't
it? Mark: Well, I managed to go exactly the same
time. Exactly the same speed. [crosstalk] That's quite impressive, and I'm very proud
of that. I was actually, like, more power by one or two Watts.
Heather: Yes, I actually put in less power than you this time.
Mark: You did? Yes. [crosstalk]
Heather: Yes, I won the challenge at last. Mark: Maybe I got too much flappy tape ends.
Heather: Too many flappy bits. Mark: It felt good, but I definitely could
feel it was harder. I think there's a bit more wind, but yours obviously did well in
that wind. Heather: Once or twice while I was hitting
the speed and I was down on my aero bars, I was like, "I'm so glad I haven't filled
up my middle because I felt like a bit of the crosswind. I was thinking, I know Mark's
going to have to really struggle on that, or bits are going to come off. I saw you go
past with all your bits still on. I was like, "Damn." I am really shocked, but slightly,
well, very chuffed as well. I don't know what you take from this, to be honest.
[laughter] Mark: Maybe stick with their current Speedmax,
and not my design. Heather: Yes. If you want yours-- and we haven't
even added in points for aesthetics. I don't know, I'd banked on I think I would probably
have won on that one. Mark: It's very nice, yes.
Heather: Anyway, we'll let you guys decide. Let us know what you think about these in
the comments section below. If you've enjoyed this and found it as much fun as we have,
given us a thumbs up like. Mark: If you'd like to subscribe to GTN and
see more videos from us, you can click on the globe right now. Hit that bell icon, too,
to be notified when more of our videos come out. Now, you know what I did need today was
a disc wheel. I have actually got a homemade DIY disc wheel that you can see by clicking
just down here. Heather: That's made out of something a little
bit more substantial than cardboard. If you want to see how you can get comfortable and
more aero at once, well, check out the video just here.
[00:12:52] [END OF AUDIO]