Aeros vs Panniers

sgt.pepper
sgt.pepper Posts: 300
edited January 2018 in Commuting chat
I put my old aeros on my (currently flat bar) commuter bike as there are a few decent stretches where I can get my head down and make some progress - plus without drops it's my only available aero position. I regularly blast past guys on TT bikes, and it set me wondering - despite my full panniers (which include large, detachable rucksack) and mudguards, am I still technically more aero than a guy on the 'hoods,' on an aero road bike? Has anyone tested this? I did find this interesting article - https://www.cyclingabout.com/speed-diff ... g-results/ , where he found rear mounted panniers added 6.5%.

Also, with a tailwind do they essentially act as 'sails?' Wellington is extremely windy, so any marginal gains really add up.

Comments

  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Too many parameters to know really.
  • greenamex2
    greenamex2 Posts: 272
    A single fairly aero rearmounted rack/pannier (tailfin...VERY highly recommended, love it) costs me consistently over a minute on my 50 minute ish journey to work. In high winds I would say it was costing a couple of minutes but conditions can be highly variable so can't be overly scientific about that.

    Unfortunately I can't go back to a rucksack until I can persuade my company to supply me with a desktop at work so I don't have to lug around a laptop that was killing my shoulders and back. And not even sure I would, do like the extra comfort of the pannier and my one is very light. Plus the reduced shoulder/back load meant I could drop the bars to offset some of the extra drag.
  • sgt.pepper
    sgt.pepper Posts: 300
    greenamex2 wrote:
    A single fairly aero rearmounted rack/pannier (tailfin...VERY highly recommended, love it) costs me consistently over a minute on my 50 minute ish journey to work. In high winds I would say it was costing a couple of minutes but conditions can be highly variable so can't be overly scientific about that.

    Unfortunately I can't go back to a rucksack until I can persuade my company to supply me with a desktop at work so I don't have to lug around a laptop that was killing my shoulders and back. And not even sure I would, do like the extra comfort of the pannier and my one is very light. Plus the reduced shoulder/back load meant I could drop the bars to offset some of the extra drag.

    Fair enough. I guess a rough way of calculating would be if you take the result from that guy around a track, and then just subtracted what aeros save? Was mostly just seeing if anybody else had tested it.

    That aero rear rack looks great, would definitely consider if it was doing more commuting on the full road bike. The commuter is more of a general work horse, often carries shopping as well as work gear, but the aeros and good tyres mean I can still get a good clip on :) Rucksacks are alright for short trips, but I hate them for anything over about 15-20mins, get really uncomfortable and hot - plus often won't fit all my gear.

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