Really enjoyed Brad’s interview with Johannas from Fusion about UNO-X aero kit on the latest Geek Warning pod.
I wish it had gone a bit more into what performance minded amateur riders can do with kit to save watts. Brad asked J this question point blank at the end of the interview and in classic scientist style, J kind of hedged and didn’t offer many specific things.
But there are so many specific things!
While I have never been (and will never be) in a wind tunnel, I have worked for a couple prominent cycling apparel brands and have had the chance to experiment with a lot of different kit over the years. Below are a few of my thoughts, all of which are low hanging fruit and will be “of course” things for a lot of experienced riders. I hope it can help somebody who has maybe lost a little weight riding or is new and just not sure what specifics to look for when they try things on. I saved the best one for last, and it’s perhaps controversial. I realize this is a weird area where performance intersects with fashion, and human morphology is highly variable, so bottom line this is all pretty subjective, but hear me out…
J is right about testing. If you can chung method different jerseys or sizes of the same jersey, that’s ideal. That said, I consider myself a 9.7/10 sicko and have never Chung tested anything, nor met another rider who has. Pretty sure most brands return policy doesn’t accept “poor Chung method result” when you try to return a worn jersey. With kit, I think this is a case where you can absolutely see and feel aero.
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Size down your jersey. Like, all the way down. It should be somewhat of a pain in the tits to get into your jersey. At some point, you can’t breathe naturally and that’s the only point at which a jersey is actually too small, ime. Point taken about fabric aero properties changing due to excessive stretch, but for a mass produced jersey, slightly overstretched will outperform rippled and flappy at high speed.
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Many jerseys are cut way too long. This factors into #1. There are some big violators here who I won’t name directly, but the worst is owned by a component brand that can’t design a front derailleur for $h!t. This causes big problems with horizontal rippling around the midsection and that is an aero disaster. Ideally, your entire butt and even a good bit of your low back should be visible to the rider behind you. Yes, in a properly fitted jersey, your belly might poke out under the jersey and above the bibs when you stand up straight, but that’s not the position you ride in, so it’s irrelevant to aero.
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The collar. It’s gotten better over the years, but holy hell so few brands have this figured out. The collar of a jersey needs to conform to the anatomy of your lower neck where it meets your collarbones. Essentially, no actual collar is what works best. Certainly, it can’t be a separate penal of fabric that mimics a mock turtle neck.
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Sleeve length. Most summer jerseys now have nice long sleeves that touch or come very close to the elbow. Even if it isn’t some fancy ribbed fabric, it’s more aero than exposed human skin. Enough said. Long af sleeves ftw.
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Frame bag. Yes, a frame bag. On long rides, your whole system is more aero with a frame bag (notice I didn’t say bar bag) holding your phone and food than it is with all that stuff in your jersey pockets. Empty pockets = fast.
What did I miss?