Originally Posted by
spectastic
yea, setting up the arms like that with the torso parallel to the ground drastically reduces the rider's cross section, and aerodynamics. of all the upgrades, aerobars are probably the biggest.
i was actually about to ask.. any time trialist enthusiast know how close the caad9 with clip on aero bars and aero road helmet would fare against an actual time trial bike with a real time trial helmet?
I own a FELT DA2 my kid TTs (and wife rides) on. I have it setup for a front end change only from traditional TT bar extensions to an aero road bar - Specialized Aerofly (??) mass start legal bike. I have pictures if needed. So same bike. The mass start legal bike has the bars quite a bit higher than a road bike.
The rider setup is the same from a hip/back. Riding the mass start legal drop bar bike with forearms on the tops is just about as fast and the full TT setup. It is more sketchy. The extensions on the TT setup are used to pry on and the shifter buttons are easier accessed.
Similar setup on the road bike is quite a bit slower because the bars are lower/slammed and the idea is you hold the bars with your hands. The forearm on bar tops is too low and constricts.
I'm in agreement the body is the most important. For a TT - everything matters as placings are often separated by 1 sec or so and most have the big stuff taken care of, so the things like bar shape, helmet, skin suit, elbow position and aero bike might determine which step you are on.