Every Penny Counts......

In many sports spending money can bring comfort but not necessarily competitive advantage. In cycling spending money can result in high-speed for less effort. How much money though? The Kask helmet above, as used by the sky team, is available in very limited supply and sizes now and hopefully more readily in early 2013 at about £300. 

So is it worth it? A big part of the thrill of cycling is speed, either flying down a winding hill, challenging yourself on a hill. All we want to do is go faster, when taking part in a sportive, out on a club run or riding with mates. The next stage is, of course the time trial, in my opinion the new British national sport. We do hold more events than anyone else as a consequence of road races being banned many years ago the Brits metaphorically stuck a finger up to the establishment and created covert time trialling. 

So the question is with huge advances in high-technology in recent years how much time can various accessories really save you? What are the key pieces of equipment that will make you go faster and how much time will they save you? 

Helmets

Not necessarily the one above, teardrop shaped aero helmets may look a bit daft but they do make you go faster than a normal one, despite usually being heavier. The key is optimising the airflow around your head and back making it as smooth as possible. The closer you look to an aeroplane wing the better.

Cost £100 to £400

Saving 0.5-1 second per mile

Skin Suits

Clothing is underrated as far as improving your speed is concerned. If you are serious about wanting to go faster then investing in a good quality well fitting one-piece skin suit should be top priority. Your body surface area and shape is the biggest thing slowing down after all.

Cost £90-£300

Saving 0.5-1 second per mile. 

Bars

Time trial handlebars come with extensions that enable you to move your forearms so they're in a much narrower position than  they are on the drops. What this does is effectively reduce your frontal area (As it heads into the wind) as well as improving the airflow around your upper body.

Cost £100-£600

Savings 2-3 seconds per mile

Tyres

Fast tyres are fast mostly because they have low rolling resistance which is one of the forces that slows you down on a bike. The best time trial tyres are also lightweight and narrow, as you would expect, although some modern TT wheels have been designed to work with wider tyres? Don't forget the faster tyres often wear out much quicker than cheaper tyres.

Cost £30 -£75 each

Saving 1-2 seconds per mile

Wheels

 

Aero wheels are characterised by low spoke counts and deep, tapering rim profiles, which are a better shape than rectangles for reducing drag. v-shaped rims are the most common-and the cheapest, but they are not as aero and don't handle as well as a more rounded shape.

Cost "£800 - £3000

Saving 0.5-1 second per mile.

 

So as you have read there is a possibility of saving significant time by upgrading your equipment and I still haven't mentioned gloves and overshoes.

Of course the most important saving is the bike itself (apart from your own fitness, profile and weight), I think that deserves a post on its own though. I will be going over all of the equipment as my training progresses and I try out the different equipment for myself....