Aeroroad bikes

There are a few key
There are a few key advantages to having an aero road bike. The way the frames are designed is different to a standard road bike and they tend to take more properties from TT bikes where fractions of a second over a set distance make a big difference to the results table.. A lot of the designers put their frames through extensive wind tunnel testing (Boardman Air series for example) and as a result, can produce an extremely efficient distribution of airflow over the bike whilst riding. Even the way the air flows directly along each side the bike as opposed to into it helps keep the bike more stable at high speeds.

The main benefit of aero designs is that if you have less air resistance working against you, you’ll be able to maintain your speed with less effort, accelerate quicker and therefore, put in noticeably less effort overall. It’s exactly the same when it comes to lightweight bikes (A heavy bike will also use up a lot more of your energy to get going than a featherweight carbon machine).

The difference in the amount of energy you use is always proportionate to how drag friendly or how heavy your bike is. Aerodynamic differences will be on a much smaller scale than weight differences but the advantage is still present (just less obvious). Even clothing manufacturers are having a go at making their products more aerodynamic so that says something in itself.

Look at tech such as bladed spokes, SRAM’s new Red 2013 Front brake and dimpled rim surfaces that replicate that of a golf ball (Zipp) etc. and you can see that some aero elements are already present in a lot of high end road bikes. Even standard frame designs are starting to borrow more aerodynamic elements than ever before so I wouldn’t be too surprised to see a lot of the frame tech start to trickle down to the wider market over the next 4-5 years..

Overall I can’t find a reason to fault them as the benefits are clear cut and simple. Use less energy to get up to and maintain the same speed you already do on your current bike. You’ll be able to ride faster and for longer too as a result.