Test 2015: Aerodynamic cycling clothing - Aerodynamic clothing for road cyclists put to the test

Professional cyclists leave nothing to chance. Every adjustment screw to improve equipment and material is being turned step by step, and the aerodynamics of riders and bikes has been the dominant topic for some time now. One aspect with considerable potential is clothing - which can be clearly seen in the design of helmets: all well-known manufacturers now offer aerodynamically optimised helmets (not only for sponsored professionals) for classic road races - in addition to normal racing helmets and alongside the teardrop-shaped special helmets for time trials.

When it comes to clothing, progress is much harder to recognise - at first glance, the racers look the same as always: short-sleeved jersey, shorts, done. But if you take a closer look, you will notice that in classic road races, skintight one-piece suits are being worn more and more often, which used to be reserved for time trials, and that the tried and tested combination of jersey and shorts is also changing. Special cuts and fabrics are designed to allow the rider to glide more easily through the tough airstream. Paying more attention to clothing is only logical: as the rider generates considerably more air resistance than the bike, optimising the body promises significant advantages. And: amateur athletes can also benefit enormously from this form of tuning - for considerably less money than it would cost to buy a super streamlined bike.

Test track in the velodrome

We tested how big the differences are between a flutter jersey and a special outfit at the Augsburg race track with the help of professional cyclist Leif Lampater. The central test instrument is a power meter, which the cyclist uses to record how much power (in watts) he has to expend for a certain speed. Lampater rides constant laps on the track in the lower link position at 45 km/h, his Pioneer power meter records the power required for the speed. A comparison of different rides then shows the influence of clothing on riding performance.

The test results in brief:
- Difference between casual sportswear and the fastest outfit in the test: 65 watts
- Difference between tight clothing and the fastest outfit: 21 watts
- Additional power required with a rain jacket: 35 watts
(in each case at 45 km/h)

You can find the test results of these models in the Aero comparison in the PDF download below:

- Castelli one-piece San Remo 3.0 Speed Suit
- Castelli Free Aero Race Bishort and Aero Race 5.0 Jersey
- Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Bib Shorts and Aero Jersey
- Rapha one-piece Pro Team Aerosuit
- Santini B-Rob Aero Bis shorts and Photon 3/4 jersey
- Santini one-piece Sleek 2.0 Road Speed Skinsuit
- Sportful Bodyfit Classic Bibshort and R&D Speedskin Jersey
- Maloja Pushbikers Race Bib and Race Jersey 1/2 (original outfit from Leif Lampater)

Downloads:
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