Testimonials

Michael Hutchinson, British Time Trial Champion 2008 (10, 25 and 50 miles)

Working in the wind tunnel with Drag2Zero is a highly efficient way to improve time trial performance. Eliminating the other variables of performance takes the guess work out of finding the optimum aerodynamic position. This produces the best solution for each individual, rather than having to rely on general guidelines that in practice only work for some riders.

The expertise of Drag2Zero helped me to go faster in the 2008 season than ever before, including winning four national championship events, and breaking the national 50-mile time trial record with a ride that averaged over 31mph.

Julia Shaw, British Time Trial Champion 2008 (10 and 50 miles)

Despite having done many time trials, my position when racing had never really been thought about too deeply. It had slowly evolved based on comfort, random bits of information and casual comments from people over the years. I was lulled into thinking that I had a pretty good setup, at least one that was "good enough"! So, having had some hiccups in my winter training and with the race season fast approaching I was very interested to take up my coach's suggestion to have a better look at my position in the Drag 2 Zero wind tunnel with Simon.

I went along with my full race set-up including skin suit, wheels, helmet and overshoes. Simon has a selection of tri bars and helmets to try if needed. The full testing lasted several hours and consisted of lots of short tests with the wind tunnel in operation, followed by 5-10 minutes of adjusting of the bike or swapping hats, whatever was being tested at the time. For each test I was required to sit in my race position as stationary as possible while Simon gathered the data required to allow calculations of my drag coefficient for each new adjustment to be made. After only a couple of hours it seemed we had adjusted everything that could be adjusted in every significant direction - which is where Simon's experience is invaluable - knowing where the biggest gains are likely to come from therefore speeding up the whole testing process.

We were, however, careful not to do anything too radical with my riding position as I only had 2 weeks to my first race of the season! The tests were carried out in a very systematic way, with a number of repeat tests to confirm what we found. Finally we went ended up with what was to become my new race position for 2008, and the best aero hat for my body shape.

The calculations suggested a significant saving in drag, that when applied to my best time over 10 miles could easily have taken a whole Winter of training to achieve. Not a bad return for 4 hours of slow pedaling! The final test for me, however, was a few weeks later when I set a new PB over 10 miles by almost 40 seconds. Anyone serious about their racing will know how much time needs to be spent training to improve by just a few %. This is a much easier and quicker way to achieve the same, and it works

Tim Carter

I did a 10 miler on Saturday - it's not a very fast course the record is 20. 35 but I managed to win with a time of 20. 57! 2nd place was a chap called Ian Cammish ( 21.11) and I beat Jason Gurney by almost a whole minute.

Very happy indeed - I was very aware of my position, how I held my bars, head down , helmet high on my head so the gap was closed etc. This is 40sec faster than my previous ride on the course. Granted I had just returned form SA in the morning but still it's a great result. A couple of guys were quite keen to hear about the wind tunnel test and I will send them your details.

Jamie Pringle (Coach to Michael Hutchinson and Julia Shaw)

A day in the tunnel is an extremely productive and rewarding few hours, and I can't recommend Simon Smart and Velo Science highly enough. The gains in speed we found in just four hours of tunnel time equate to one or even two season's worth of fitness gains for a top rider. Even more extraordinary is that this was with experienced athletes who were already meticulous about their equipment, position and preparation - riders who at face value had very little more to find.

With the wealth of accessible information as to the most aerodynamic wheels, frames, and bars on the market, the rider can get left out of the equation. But, this is where the vast majority of the gains are to be made. It is only by being in the wind tunnel with the whole package of rider and bike can that these gains really be discovered. There are some key principles to guide the optimisation process - narrower or wider, lower or higher, forward or backward; but ultimately, if it's fast, it's fast. And, I'm particularly appealed by the organic nature by which this is determined for each athlete - Simon has a keen eye for speed and his experience at the highest level in both with cycling and motor racing allows him to quickly spot where and how the gains can be made.

The amusing thing is that what looks aero is not necessarily so. What looks lumpy and ugly can sometimes be better! But, the numbers coming off the strain gauges don't lie. So long as the drag coefficient is reduced, we're in business. In fact, the precision of the wind tunnel is much better than I ever imagined it would be. To take a rider and his bike back to the tunnel 6 months later and repeat the exact same trial to within a quarter of one percent accuracy is remarkable sensitivity (less than 1 W difference in power requirement at 30 mph). So, even tiny changes like a change in hand position or a different skin suit fabric can be detected, and they really do all add up to a sizeable improvement.

A fast position is only as good as being a powerful position, and this is where the benefits of having a rolling road in the tunnel really come to the fore. No longer is it a conflict of sacrificing comfort and power for speed. It's all about finding the most powerful position and then tweaking it to make it the fastest. That can't be done on a computer - it has to be done in real life in the tunnel. It's testimony to the value of the process that the optimal positions we ended up with in the tunnel were ridden to victories on the road within the very same week.

Our understanding of the physics and physiology of cycle racing has progressed to the point that we can predict race performance on the track and even on the open road to a surprisingly high level of accuracy. The first domestic time trial championship of 2008, the National 10, was won by two riders fresh out of the wind tunnel. Their finishing times, Championship records for men and women respectively and the two second fastest ever in open events in the UK, were both within 4 s (0.3% in a 18 to 20 min race) of our pre-race predictions, and this process was driven largely by the knowledge of their exact drag co-efficient. Some might think putting such numbers to things removes the mysterious magic out of racing, but in fact, it can actually be very empowering to the rider - they know they are on the start-line as best prepared as they could ever be. And for me, a physiologist playing the role of coach, it allows us to guide their racing effort to an exact plan, knowing that it is taking them to the very edge of their ability. They can get on with the hard bit - the riding - confident they have the best form and the best set-up they've ever had.