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.