Cycling Weekly Question #2

[cycling weekly] What general principles would you look to include in a good aero position?

[kraig] After directing 1000+ wind tunnel runs with over 90 athletes (including hacks like myself all the way up to world champions and tour de france podium finishers), I have seen many things that re-inforce the position that the aerodynamics of a pedaling three-dimensional human is a very individual thing. One can generalize, but really, in this context, “generalizing” is synonymous with “guessing”. I recommend using the best tools at your disposal to help quantify both the supply side (power generation) and the demand side (aerodynamic resistance) during the position evaluation process. The experienced use of the best tools can speed the process up.

Here’s some more of my thoughts (prior to doing a bunch more wind tunnel work which has changed my mind a wee-bit):

http://www.biketechreview.com/performance/pareto.htm