Originally Posted by
RollCNY
I must be missing the flaw. They use goofy, kind of bass akwards descriptions, but say the same thing. Faster rider gains more speed, slower rider gains more time.
Personally, I think it is silly for a slower rider to use this logic to buy aero improvements, but that doesn't mean marketing won't try to sell them that way. It is far easier to gain 30 watts from 150 to 180 through training than it is to gain those same 30 watts from 350 to 380.
I won my age group at a local sprint triathlon a few weeks ago.
My margin of victory was 45 seconds. About 20 of those seconds separating me from
#2 was due to a faster transition time since I get out of my shoes while I'm still on the bike (routine for competitive triathletes) which gave me a 20 second transition advantage on the
#2 guy, and the other 20 seconds were due to actual speed differences spread amongst swim/bike/running. I'm not a studly racer by any stretch but it's pretty common for me to be within 1 minute (or seconds) of an age group podium in every sprint-oly race I do. I often lose by a lot more than just a few minutes, but I never get into spots
#1-3 by more than 1-2 minutes, max.
Aero gear (and fast transitions) are definitely worth it for me. Sure, I can train harder and more and gain even more time, but I feel like I'm already stretching myself thin with training, life, and family, so the aero gains are all good for me. I run a rear disc cover and an aero helmet for my races.