Should you choose an aero bike or a light bike? Should you ride a deep wheel or a lightweight climbing ring?

Assuming that we all want to be as fast as possible, we first need to consider the advantages of reduced air resistance and begin to defeat lighter and less aviation equipment.

Jean-Paul Ballard is an aerodynamicist, engineer and co-founder of Swiss Side. He has served as the chief engineer of the Formula One team for more than 14 years.

According to Ballard: "The air resistance becomes the maximum resistance that the rider must overcome from 15 km/h."

The traditional view is that if you want to play mountain events, you can get the most benefit by using the lightest equipment possible.

If you ride a windmill or a hilly sports bike and plan to average 25 kilometers per hour, should you care more about aerodynamics or weight?

Ballard firmly stated: "At an average speed of 25 km/h, aerodynamics absolutely beat weight, and we can clearly show this.

"At Swiss Side, we have developed some very powerful simulation tools for calculating the time of any course of any configuration."

Ballard gave a concrete example and explained:

"We simulated a 120-kilometer ride, with a climb distance of 1,000 meters and an average speed of 25 km/h. If we bring an 80 kg rider on an 8 kg bicycle, we will get about 150 watts. The average power output.

"Now we can compare a 5% increase in bicycle aerodynamics with a 5% reduction in bicycle weight.

"This comparison represents the typical difference you will see between light climbing wheels and pneumatic wheels."

So which configuration can save the rider more time?

A 5% aerodynamic improvement saves 3 minutes and 30 seconds; a 5% weight improvement saves 20 seconds.

Chasing champion Dan Bigham (Dan Bigham) also worked as an engineer in Formula One and used his expertise to help win the national track championship.

He proved: "For amateur riders of medium speed, aerodynamics is more important because although their speed and resistance are lower in absolute value, they will save more time because they are slower and have a better speed on the track. It takes longer."

In any case, is a light bike a better choice? According to Ballard:

"In all situations except for hilltop finishes and uphill time trials, aero bikes are always the faster option.

"Even when drafted in a large force, drag reduction is still measurable and important."

Ballard suggested that for professional drivers, “the average gradient of the entire route where weight becomes more important than aerodynamics is 7.5%.”

For amateurs, "it's around 4.5% because they are slower."

These are general, and the exact number will depend on the individual, but essentially all the evidence shows that you have to go uphill time trial or summit to justify choosing a light, non-aerodynamic bicycle device.

Bigham proposed another scenario where a lightweight can win:

"If you are an amateur who is not subject to UCI restrictions, and you can own a 5kg bike, it may be worth the weight reduction, especially if you are not the best downhill person and you go downhill. Speed is not limited by aerodynamics, but skill."

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