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> The biggest part of a bike’s wind resistance is caused by the rider. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do with respect to the airflow around bike and ri

> The biggest part of a bike’s wind resistance is caused by the rider. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do with respect to the airflow around bike and rider There's lots of things you can do - apart from losing a lot of weight, clothing and helmet design is probably the simplest, there's some good references to things that can be done here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12283-017-0234-1#Bib1 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12283-017-0234-1#... >I don’t always use the aero tuck. I find that it’s not very comfortable for more than a few minutes at a time I cycle on a time trial bike (not on gravel) - which has a higher saddle and longer frame so back and arms can get straight and horizontal. It took a lot of effort to get comfortable physically and mentally in that position (you hands feel a very long way from the brakes) and you do loose quite a bit of control in that position, but I don't see why a slightly higher saddle and arms horizontal but wider with hands at the edge handlebars in line with legs wouldn't be possible.

prmoustache 4y ago
The most aero time trial like position need training, especially the muscles in the neck area. Even in the pro racing world some racers do not train enough in that position and lose precious time in time trial because they are unable to keep it straight looking at the road constantly and move the head up and down constantly. The helmets manufacturers actually accounted for that and moved to time trial helmets with a much smaller tail as it spent to much pointing in the air.
seadan83 4y ago
Gravel has washboards, pot holes, trenches, lips, fallen trees, overhanging trees/brush, large rocks. I'm thinking a lot about downhill riding too with respect to your comment. For a downhill section on gravel, for a 8% grade descent - safety is perhaps the biggest limiting factor. In some gravel races, it is really debatable whether a hardtail or a gravel bike is better. That is all to say is that stability demands can greatly vary from one section to another on a gravel/mountain race course.

prmoustache 4y ago

The most aero time trial like position need training, especially the muscles in the neck area. Even in the pro racing world some racers do not train enough in that position and lose precious time in time trial because they are unable to keep it straight looking at the road constantly and move the head up and down constantly. The helmets manufacturers actually accounted for that and moved to time trial helmets with a much smaller tail as it spent to much pointing in the air.

seadan83 4y ago

Gravel has washboards, pot holes, trenches, lips, fallen trees, overhanging trees/brush, large rocks. I'm thinking a lot about downhill riding too with respect to your comment. For a downhill section on gravel, for a 8% grade descent - safety is perhaps the biggest limiting factor. In some gravel races, it is really debatable whether a hardtail or a gravel bike is better. That is all to say is that stability demands can greatly vary from one section to another on a gravel/mountain race course.