Our beta testing kicked off in December with four athletes at the Newport Velodrome, and has since expanded significantly. By March, we'd collaborated with numerous athletes across venues like Newport, Reading, and Derby velodromes, adding Kristian Blummenfelt in Granada and Sierra Nevada in April. Notably, we tested with Kristian and Indie Lee on their personal bikes, expanding compatibility to include the Specialized Shiv and Giant Propel. For production we aim to support the top 10 bikes used in Ironman, which covers over 80% of the bikes in the race as well as 8 of the World Tour team's time trial bikes. Compatibility also extends to any bike with a standard 31.8mm bar and stem setup.
Dan B - "Shut up shoulder"
Dan is a coach at Matt Bottrill Performance Coaching, and he says: “Really informative session where I got to answer some injury position adaptation questions that could have amounted to a difference of over a min over 40km!”
Dan explored increasing his elbow width to alleviate shoulder pain during his 40K TTs. The broader stance led to a significant time deficit, prompting him to tolerate the discomfort instead. We’ll see if we can find him a better trade-off the next time we see him!
Wind tunnel tests are rarely conducted at full race effort, which affects a rider's ability to maintain their position. Conversely, field testing is sometimes not conducted at full race speed. To address this, we test our riders with a 4K Individual Pursuit at maximum effort at the end of a session. Using our saddle sensor, we precisely track any changes in saddle position. Although increased movement on the saddle is common, its impact on aerodynamics varies by rider. If significant changes are observed, we ask athletes to replicate their best results at higher outputs to ensure the aerodynamic benefits are sustained under race conditions.
Sam T - Equipment choice for an Ironman
Sam spent his session selecting equipment for an upcoming Ironman. Of his three helmets, two performed similarly, while the third lagged behind, guiding his final decision along with factors like ventilation. He discovered that overshoes saved more time than calf guards, and the Nopinz Flowsuit offered substantial gains over his other option.
Steve L - Stick to the rules!
Steve is head coach at Steve Lorraine Coaching and he says “It was so different from the wind tunnel data that I've had before - both in look and feel. …. It makes BR a game-changing proposition for people like me.”
Steve also chose to focus on equipment changes:
His Rule 28 base layer improved on the already great Nopinz Hypersonic skinsuit.
He also found two high performing helmets, and subtle differences when deciding between keeping the visor or going without. He found the way Body Rocket presents data, and the additional metrics we provide, much more informative than his previous wind tunnel experiences.
Steve was one of the most consistent athletes we’ve worked with, nailing the same CdA lap after lap. This was evident in his weight distribution plots, another benefit of the Body Rocket system of sensors, which measures the weight being supported at each of your contact points with the bike.
Simon - Hypersonic trumps Flowsuit on both Road and TT bike
On a road bike (Giant Propel) there was a 4W saving to be had by upgrading from the Nopinz Flowsuit to his Hypersonic skinsuit...
...move on to the faster speeds of a TT bike and you’ll see that saving more than double (9W saving).
Nic - "to baselayer or not to baselayer?" that is the question.
Nic found no difference between the Nopinz Timewarp and Flowsuit. Adding a baselayer, which the Flowsuit is not designed for, increased drag. Conversely, the Hypersonic suit, which is designed for a base layer, showed significant improvements, particularly at the higher speeds of a 4K pursuit.
Sam B - Mr Consistency
Sam is the owner of Fitted By Sam bike fitting and coaching, and he's also a model tester. Or maybe just a mannequin! He had great lap-by-lap drag consistency at Newport velodrome...
...and also outdoors in windy conditions!
Martin - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Some might feel disappointed when the search for a faster helmet proves fruitless, others perhaps smug! Simon’s fastest helmet was the one he came with.
Martin’s search for the perfect saddle tilt also proved to be difficult, with a progressive slip then a big shuffle back throughout the test. To be continued next time Martin!
