Heather: Hands up or hands down, I'm referring to the different time-trial riding positions.
There are pros and cons for both. Watch the professionals and even they are divided, so
how do you work out what is the best position for you? Well, I headed to the Silverstone
Sports Engineering Hub to try and find the answer using the wind tunnel to measure the
difference in the aerodynamics between each position. It isn't that black and white though,
so I'll also be getting the help of an expert to interpret these results and make them relevant
to the average age group triathletes like you and I.
[music] I've spoken to quite a few triathletes and
cyclists before coming here. It really is incredible how split the opinions are when
you ask what's more aerodynamic. A lot of people are going with this, a more traditional
position of saying, "Well, surely it's what we used to see with hands low and stretched
out." Others, adamant that it's got to be your hands up in front of your face. You only
have to look at the field of the pro triathletes and you see the likes of Sebastian Kienle
and Jan Frodeno who do have that more traditional position, but then you've got a strong bike
rider like Joe Skipper with his hands right in front of your face. It is so split.
I have to admit that I actually haven't experimented very much with mine. I'm still someone who
goes for the low position, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's more aero for me. Well,
you might have experimented with what's more comfortable for you or what you think is more
aerodynamic. Maybe you're trying to find that position that replicates your favorite pro.
We'll all have different ideas of what we think is our perfect position. We'll also
have different ways of finding that, but it's a good idea to at least know what factors
are coming into play when it comes to aerodynamics. With all of that in mind, it's probably time
I actually went and did some testing. [music]
Okay, let's get going with test number one. My bars are in a fairly neutral level position,
which is my normal, so I thought it made sense to start here. I'm going to be doing my best
to concentrate and holding the position that I'd aim for during a 70.3 or a full Ironman
just to keep it as real as possible rather than trying to be ultra aero in a position
that I would only be able to hold for a few minutes of the test.
In order to keep it as real as possible, We're going to test my aerodynamics at three different
speeds, 30, 40, and 50 kilometers an hour, and three different yaw angles for both the
aero bar setups to give the best picture of a real-life scenario. It's worth noting that
the aerodynamics talked about as CDA, the drag coefficient which in cycling terms is
the resistance that you and your bike are creating. The higher that number, the more
resistance experienced. This is the data that will be recorded today, which will then be
used to calculate the power in Watts that is in theory being saved or lost with a change
in hand position. In simple terms, the lower the CDA, the less
power in Watts required to travel at the same speed. As you can see, I'm wearing my GTN
cycle kit here, which will be slightly less aero than a tri-suit, but as I'm wearing the
same for both of the tests and it's not going to affect the end results. Similarly, the
helmet is not the most aero version from KASK, but I'll be using this aero road helmet throughout
as helmet choice is not an area that we're investigating today.
[music] That's test one complete. Now we're just going
to bring the bars up and start test two. To keep things simple today, we're only comparing
those two different positions. For this second position, I've chosen a 15-degree bar angle,
which is a maximum angle allowed for UCI legal TT. It's still a significant increase in bar
height in relation to my normal flat bar position. Now is a probably a good time to discuss some
of the other factors to consider when you're choosing your position. As much as I'm excited
to find out the numbers, they're only part of the aero jigsaw.
You need to think about the length of your race, your physical strength, and flexibility,
as well as your overall position on the bike. You might be limited to the adaptability or
size of your bike and the type of aero bars you're using can also make a big difference
as to what position you're able to hold to. Then there's the conditions. For example,
if it's really windy, you might be after a position in which you feel you've got more
control. [music]
All right. That is the final test done of all the different speeds and the different
angles. I've got a lot of numbers which I'm excited to look at because that position felt
quite comfy. You never know. It might be more aero, but anyway, we need to go and calculate
these numbers and interpret them. For that, I need some expert help and I'm going to speak
to Simon Smart from Drag2Zero to interpret it, but also to help give us the bigger picture
on how you choose the best aero position for you.
[music]. There was a lot of numbers to take in, but
just for simplicity sake, I think the most obvious one for me was the fact that I had
a six-watt difference of my hands being low to hands being high at 40KPH. The biggest
surprise to me was the fact that it was with my hands low that I was quicker. Does that
surprise you? Simon Smart: No, it doesn't. I think it surprises
a lot of people because certain people have their hands high now and you assume that must
just be the holy grail and it's super fast. It's a tricky one to make a quick comparison
on because ultimately, you need to optimize both positions. To get a true answer, to really
know whether hands low or hands high is better, you really would need to spend some time optimizing
the low position, making it as good as you can, and then raising your arms up and going
through it all again for a process of another two or three hours and optimizing around that.
That could even involve different skins or just different helmets to give you the option
package. That's really where people get to one or the
other. I've tested a lot of people and so I'm lucky to see what goes on. It goes in
both directions, but there are athletes that are actually faster in a flat arm position.
You might find that surprising, but ultimately, your position is all about your shoulders
and your head and how you can hold it. Now, some of the sorts of very experienced athletes
are still probably a little bit faster with their arms flat, but it's an incredibly difficult
position to sustain. Most people, even in the wind tunnel, if they can do it for five
minutes, can't do it over an Ironman distance. The reason why the high arms work every time
for me, and it's the best solution for virtually every athlete out there is because it's so
sustainable. What we're trying to do with the system these days is to distribute the
weight of your body all over your arms so you support it all the way on the underside
of your arm, on the elbows, on the hands. You have a very relaxed position which forces
your shoulders and head into a natural fast position without you having to force your
body and elevate your heart rate. Heather: I found just I've never ridden with
my hands up. I haven't done that much time trialing, but my go-to it is flat and that's
how we had the control. I was surprised. We just put out 15 degrees just to [unintelligible
00:07:12], but I'm surprised at how comfortable I did feel. That's why I was slightly disappointed
that in theory, I would be slower by about a couple of minutes for an Ironman, but like
you're saying that isn't so relevant because it's so much more.
Simon: People can go in a wind tunnel and get carried away and get into a very aero
position where they can never hold, but you've got to recognize a slow position, which you
know will be faster in the real world. That's what we're always trying to work towards.
You're trying to find a position where you can just not think about the aerodynamics
and just think about producing the right level of power and not worry about your head and
shoulders. It has changed in 10, 15 years ago that we didn't have the hardware to get
people, to push people into this good position. You really were saying right now, think about
your head, think about your shoulders. That was difficult and it was a real skill,
but it's so much easier now for an athlete to start out. I would always recommend a less
experienced rider to start with a higher hand position. The other thing is, though, it is
always changing. Like you identified, there isn't one answer and you can really dive into
someone's position and think it's nailed, and they come back and see you two years later
and they've changed it again because your body's adapting. You're able to-- You might
have better core strength, better flexibility, and gradually, you can get lower and still
produce the power to go faster. Heather: If you have the time and the ability
to get strong enough and flexible enough to be lower and hold it longer and you could
sustain that, is that better than having your hands high?
Simon: Ultimately, yes. I think that's where you go to, but I'd say it's probably 50, 50
or 70, 50 still to having your hand slightly high because that's quite a general term,
hands high, but there's just a little bit of angle or no angle or flat arms, and it's
all to do with the interaction you had. There's so much going on there. I would say the majority
of riders are still fast with their hands high when they've been optimized, but there
are a few out there that obviously have tried it and find it still as quick.
Some people just prefer the way they can put on their bars when they're low. The other
thing is some people maybe say that it's less stable when your hands are high, but I think
you can counteract that with good control from the armrests.
Heather: What about view because, again, I was just in the wind tunnel? I've never ridden
my bike outside with my hands high. I kept my head in the same position for the experiment.
I didn't tuck it any lower. Even without tucking my head and lower, I still suddenly realized
I couldn't actually see in front of me where I could when my hands were low. Do people
start bringing their head up if you bring your hands high?
Simon: Absolutely right. I think that is a common problem. You can make if you just go
out and you don't really know what you're doing and you get very high angled armrest
and a ski pole system that you're looking over and you’re higher than you were before,
you will be slower. The trick is you have to get your head down but still look forwards.
Another thing there is having a helmet that's positioned right with the visor quite high
so it doesn't block your field of vision, because obviously the thing we try to do all
the time is you must be looking down the road and not at the floor.
Heather: You mentioned helmets very quickly. I just want to touch on it very quickly, because
I didn't involve a high helmet in my experiment. Do you need to-- Does a different helmet suit
the different position? Simon: That is a big part of any optimization
process with your position. It’s playing with the helmet. When we do wind tunnel sessions,
you always have several helmets on hand. Of course, it's not practical to just to go
through randomly to test in a list of 10 helmets. What we do is we have an eye for position.
As the position evolves you might say, “Well, that helmet is going to work more for that
position.” That makes more sense, because ultimately
what you're trying to do is trying to further reduce the flow separation that would otherwise
occur behind your head. As a system, you can imagine as your neck gets shorter and tucks
into your shoulders that you end up with the need for a different shaped helmet.
Heather: This might be a question you can't answer. Do you have any advice for anyone
watching this who maybe doesn't have access to the amazing wind tunnel facilities and
they're currently maybe just upgraded to get a TT bike and they're like, What do we do
with our hands? What would your advice be to them?
Simon: Absolutely a good question. I would definitely say now that these days with the
hardware that's available, you just want to invest in that rhino’s maybe a 15-degree
angle pad and about 40-degree angle pole so you can get your hands in a medium to a high
height and just get used to riding in that position. It's a different weight distribution
of course to be on a road bike. You’re just getting the feel for that for a season, half
a season. It's much better to do that. That's what we tell a lot of clients now.
In fact, we tend to advise people to have just a fit to start with before they go in
the wind tunnel, because it's much-- These days when you go to the wind tunnel, it's
not about proving these vastly different concepts and position. Everyone has done that over
the last 10 years. That work is done for you. It's really, I believe, the starting point
is to go with something with your hands up. Make sure you're relaxed. The bikes stay and
we can get used to riding it. You can-- You're not moving. If you look at the photos from
a race and your head is always in one position. Heather: That’s a great tip, yes.
Simon: You're looking down the road. You need to be sustainable. There's no point in spending
a lot of money on going to a wind tunnel if you can't stay still. Then when you go to
the wind tunnel, what you're looking for these days is then you're at that point where you're
chasing the podium in an age group. You're chasing the one or two odd differences. That's
what you want the wind tunnel for. [crosstalk]
Well, I think there's enough knowledge out there now to go and get a fit or even just
buy-- You can just successfully buy the right cockpit, put it on and go and ride. You will
immediately know if it's working because you're just-- your head would be in one place. You're
not fidgeting around and then gradually, as you gain confidence, then you can think about
what we spoke about. There's levels that definitely getting low is always good. You tend to compromise
your power. There's no doubt about that. That's another--
Heather: It’s a whole another part of the equation.
[crosstalk] Simon: That’s another part of it. It’s
what we've always called the sweet spot between the two. I think what you're seeing is when
you see that in the top-level triathletes in these very low positions and they've got
to the point where their arms can be flat or like that, it's because they've got so
good at holding and sustaining that low position. If you were to start in that, you would never
hold it. Heather: They're full-time athletes and the
rest of us are too. Simon: Absolutely, yes. Start off. It's the
best compromise without a doubt for power, aero, and then chip away at it.
[music] Heather: Well, I know I've come away from
that wanting to experiment, because I don't spend enough time riding my TT bike. I'm not
strong enough to maintain that long and low really aero position, so maybe it's time that
my hands started to come up a little bit. I know my main take-home from speaking to
Simon was finding a position that works for me, one that I can hold and if you can't manage
to maintain it for the distance you're preparing, then you're halfway there.
Anyway, I'm pretty nosy as you guys probably know. Let me know what arm position you choose
and more importantly, why. You can do that in the comments section below and give us
a like and a follow whilst you're there. [00:14:33] [END OF AUDIO]
[00:14:33] [END OF AUDIO]