Originally Posted by
burnthesheep
As a TT guy.........a ton of it is how the lump on top presents itself to the wind.
If I raised the stack by several inches and opened up my pad width on my TT "super bike" to a really really comfy more novice position I bet I would be slower on it than if I put my real good fit coordinates on an old tube framed fixed gear pursuit bike. No doubt. Basically 2019 TT superbike versus mid-90's tube frame pursuit frame.........the old school would be faster with the superior fit.
Agreed, rider's body position is a key to the time it takes to complete a segment. For the purpose of my analysis, I know the segment well and know that staying on the drops is the best option for speed with control, with a little time on the hoods for the short steep climbs. The bikes are set up as close as they can be, based on the different eras. All that being said, differences in the bike/rider aerodynamics is part of the test ... and the bike weight, and the shifter, and brakes. All these things are factors the time it takes me to ride this segment.
IMHO - Keeping the same rider on the same segment, riding the segment dozens of times, creates an interesting analysis.