HOW WE ARE DIFFERENT
Body Rocket provides the most accurate aerodynamic drag measurement available live on the road, anywhere in the world. Body Rocket has been validated through wind tunnel testing, and it's accurate within
2.5% of a wind tunnel.
WHAT DOES THE BODY ROCKET SYSTEM TELL YOU THAT OTHER SYSTEMS WON'T?
Because we are directly measuring the force of the rider separately from the bike, we are seeing performance enhancing data that has never been seen before and puts the cyclist in a position to be able to “train to aero” in a way that simply wasn’t possible before.
There is a tendency to consider aerodynamics as something that can be added later. Well, for sure, you can change your helmet or wheels for a race, but if you really want to get more aero it’s your position and your ability to sustain, and endure this whilst still producing power that matters. You have to earn your aerodynamics over time, but the gains to be had are substantial.
CdA CONSISTENCY
These plots show the power and CdA consistency of a professional triathlete and an experienced track cyclist in the velodrome. These show that the triathlete is struggling to hold their normal position through the tight turns, or even keep consistent power as they would on the road.
PROFESSIONAL TRIATHLETE
EXPERIENCED
TRACK CYCLIST
Data like this on the road can tell you exactly where you lose your aero form so you can train to improve that and save valuable watts on a ride.
THE POWER / AERO TRADE OFF
Holding a great TT position can be difficult and there may be times when an athlete would be better off in a slightly less aero, but more stable position.
In this example, the athlete was having trouble with their saddle position, and kept getting off the saddle to reposition themselves. Body Rocket was able to do a deep dive into this, showing the athlete always unweights their saddle using their left leg, causing an 800W power spike in the process, sapping precious power for no speed gain. We could also show that it wasn’t just a saddle issue. The athlete would push increasingly hard on the bars in the runup to a reset. So the pressure on the hands may have actually been the driver for needing to reset their position.
With all this new insight, coach and athlete are taking a whole new approach to finding his ideal position.
The chart below compares the Body Rocket aero system to other on-bike aero systems. This shows how the Body Rocket system is far superior as for the largest portion of the aero drag (80%, the rider) Body Rocket is measuring not estimating values. For the remaining 20% (the bike) Body Rocket is also more accurate due to the increased accuracy of the power meter, and measurement of rider mass.
READY TO REALLY GEEK OUT? READ ON:
A BRIEF LESSON IN AERODYNAMICS
(FOR THOSE WHO DON’T ALREADY KNOW)
Air is a fluid that requires energy to push through and the force (Newtons) required to achieve this consumes energy over time, which is quantified as power (Watts).
The faster that you travel the more force you require to move the air out of your way, and the more power you consume, this limits your maximum sustainable speed.
The shape and size of you and the bicycle affects the amount of power required to push through the air at any given speed. The efficiency of the shape (Cd) and how much area (A) it presents to the wind is its CdA
