vander wrote:You finish with the point I was making, you have to be strong to use them, work on the strength first dont just go out and buy all the equipment cause in the end you will get to a race and realise you still cant keep up. So yes there is a marginal gain but save it for the big races, work on getting stronger first.
Benefits or aero equipment/position improvements and training are not mutually exclusive. Doubt TLL is going to ease up on the training because he has suddenly saved 10 Watts due to a new helmet...
Helmets and other aero gear does make a difference and will help whether in the bunch or off the front. Cervelo suggest a linear reduction from being in the draft.
"Aerodynamics are still important in other riding conditions. Drafting in the bunch, you need about 30% less power. (Jeukendrup, High-Performance Cycling). This doesn't mean there's no benefit from riding an aero bike in the peloton, it just means you'll keep about
70% of your aero bike's aero benefit when you're in the draft."
http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineering/t ... amics.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Substitute aero bike bolded in the above with aero equipment.
In regards to helmets, you just need to find the right helmet for you as it is individual. I saved 10 Watts by swapping aero helmets. Would expect similar differences between road helmets too. I use a Limar 104 Ultralight as it has a much smaller frontal aero and no big scoops like other brands.
Might out of curiousity field test (
http://bikereviews.com/wp-content/uploa ... helmet.jpg)this with my old Met Stadivarius (
http://www.rennrad-news.de/rennrad-mark ... varius.jpg)