QOTW: Which is most important in cycling- power, weight, or aerodynamics?

Published by Bethany on August 20, 2013August 20, 2013

By bethany

You may have heard long-time cyclists discuss their efforts to make their bike lighter and more aero, geeking out over saved grams of weight in expensive bike parts or the latest aero helmet or water bottle. But how do the three factors of weight, power output, and aerodynamics work together to dictate cycling performance? Which is the most important or which factor do you need to personally work on?

Weight
Weight does matter, but it’s the weight of the body and not the bike where most of us could stand to make the most gains and improve performance. Check out this chart of past champions and you’ll see that the range for these elite cyclists is actually pretty narrow.

Also, cycling performance isn’t just about maximizing the power you can put out, but maximizing your power to weight ratio. Power to weight is something we talk a lot about at Energy Lab, for the higher watts per kg you can achieve the faster you will ultimately go. More on this later in our example.

Aerodynamics
You’ve probably noticed by watching the tour that even amongst skinny cyclists, body type varies significantly. And the guys winning sprints are not usually contenders for the king of the …read more

Source: http://www.atlantatriclub.com/blog/