what's more aero?

Kona21

What is more aero, riding on the drops or getting in a low position on the hoods?

Apparently cervelo have done a test which shows riding on the hoods in the right position is more aero than the drops, can't say I've seen the results of this test though.
It would make sence as when on the hoods you can have a tucked in position and smaller frontal size.

Any thoughts?
A tt I rode last night has got me thinking!

samg123

In the Tour of Beijing, when they had a TT stage with road bikes most riders were riding on the hoods with their forearms horizontal, bent at the elbow. It's a very quick position to be in, but a bit uncomfortable if you do it for too long,..

edhornby

depends on the fit of the bike also - if you have flat forearms and a flat back then you are onto a winner so whatever gives those positions and the smallest frontal area

Pross

Forearms on the tops using imaginery tri bars (please don't do it!!).

Hoods with arms flat I reckon, you are slightly more compact but from experience it is a hard position to hold. If riding TTs regularly though I would suggest a pair of clip on tri bars as they do make a huge difference.

GiantMike

Won't be long before bars/shifters are designed to be ridden in an aero position on the hoods. Especially with electronic shifting opening the possibilities of completely bespoke shifting positions

Tom Butcher

Pros normally have a fairly extreme saddle to bar drop so I can imagine they can get horizontal on the hoods - personally I doubt that that would apply to my set up but I haven't hired a windtunnel to find out.

symo

Didn't Boardman say there was a way of doing it with digital camera?

I think it went something like, set your bike up on a stand and get someone to take a photo from the front. Then take the digital photo and cut out anything not you or the bike. Then use the software to count the number of pixels that you take up.

Next make changes to position and take another photo from the same position, and then compare the two ammounts of pixels.

Of course not saying the position is sustainable or that getting the camera in the same position each time is easy, but definitely cheaper than hiring a wind tunnel.

Edit: Here you go found the article.

Kona21

Last time i use the drops for anything other than a sprint then!
Ive never really considered an aerodynamic position on a road bike as most of the times your in a bunch but for that one moment your not, every little helps :!:

DavidJB

Flat on the tops with your hands covering the hoods is much better than the drops...it hurts after a while though.

amaferanga

Only time I've done a TT I rode on the hoods, but with my hands inboard a bit and wrists resting on the bar tops. It felt more aero than being on the hoods and wasn't too uncomfortable. Much better than just wresting wrists on the bars like you see the pros (and some wannabes) doing.

Herbsman

This is aero



This is more aero



35 more, in fact!