It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of gravel, and it was the age of aero. While off-road capability and aerodynamics were once mutually exclusive, now that we’re squarely in the Anal Probe Space Bike Age (don’t worry, that link is safe for work), riders demand both characteristics in equal measure and on the same bicycle. No wonder Unbound Gravel riders were complaining about the size of the number plates–just look at what the elites were riding!
Being more or less completely checked out from what’s going on at the upper reaches of pretty much every cycling discipline I figured I should see what the top-end gravel equipment looks like these days, and I’ve never felt so out of it:
If you’re wondering, all the wind tunnel time netted Dylan Johnson a 10th place finish:
I also learned from both his and Ted King’s video that they’re not allowed to use aerobars at Unbound Gravel and so they just hold onto their computer mounts instead:
Ted King even has shifting “blips” under his, and though he says he’s happy they don’t allow aerobars it it seems to me if you can actually shift from your computer mount then you have nothing to feel smug about and that’s no different from using Spinacis:
Meanwhile, the first place finisher was of course Lachlan Morton with his crazy saddle position:
Fine, not only did he win, but I guess it was the fastest finish at Unbound Gravel ever or something, but I don’t care and I still think he should Just Buy A Rivendell Already.
Just imagine how much faster he would have been then.
Speaking of aerodynamics, a reader informs me you can now monitor your drag coefficient directly from your cockpit:
This is the look of sheer exuberance a Fred exhibits when he unlocks a whole new set of metrics to obsess over:
It’s called the Aerosensor, and the “Body Package” goes for $1,239:
I didn’t watch the entire video (generally you can assume if I post a video I’ve watched at most a small portion of it), but I did skip to the end and he basically says that when you need to get more aero you should ride in a more aero position:
Heady stuff.
Ironically you can probably learn just as much about aerodynamics by observing your own leg hair while cycling, but most roadies shave their legs so need to spend twelve hundred bucks on electronics to get the same effect.
But what about helmets? Are they aero? Well, according to one study, only a full-on time trial helmet is more aero than a bald head:
Sadly time trial helmets are never available at your local helmet giveaway, though in an effort to distribute as much plastic as possible it looks like the new trend is giving away both helmets and rain barrels:
I had no idea the city was giving away free rain barrels, and I can’t believe there hasn’t been an aggrieved Streetsblog post yet about how the city endorses using them to wash your car:
In all sincerity it seems like a good program because a rain barrel does seem like something that might actually be useful.
Unlike the helmet.
