Is It Faster To Climb On Your Aero Bars? | Tips For A Hilly Triathlon

[@MattyJTri]

after growing the beard we need an aero comparison after shaving

[@markthrelfall3577]

Matthew Johnson what about the resistance training gains??!

[@MattyJTri]

Mark Threlfall haha that’s true! My new comeback for people saying my beard will slow me down

[@sbkmc5123]

Specialized did a video on that, kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJzQdH-Fn9Blnpo

[@theseusbodymind4261]

Mega useful, doing my first ironman next week and thinking that it'll be nicer just to change positions on the inclines more than anything else to reduce discomfort! Now I'm happy I won't be in too much danger of losing any significant time on the steep bits

[@alec7341]

The bike in the thumbnail is peng 👌🏻👌🏻

[@lassekarsholt6115]

Really good video, given IM 70.3 Marbella is upcomming with some big climbs!

[@VaeVictisVII]

I want to see the GTN presenters do the #GCNPushUp challenge!

[@lisapet160]

The GCN will be morally obliterated by Heather.

[@markankone9362]

@@lisapet160 where have we seen that before 😂

[@heatherfell_oly]

@@lisapet160 I'm not sure I'd be that confident, better get training!!

[@lisapet160]

@@heatherfell_oly Fast pushups is about dynamic endurance, the GCNers have their upper bodies accustomed for static loads and have little chance against the Swimmer. Except for the one who was sacrificing his finish times by handling water bottles to teammates (and covering them from the wind and rivals too, so please don't treat it as belitteling or offence). But that Person got most pushups in GCN club. Even considering that, his water bottles are no comparison to your waves of open waters :). [Wow! I did not expect such adulation from me :) , still - leave it unedited....]

[@lisapet160]

@@heatherfell_oly On the other hand, Si was spotted in a rugby helmet recently.... kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6OXnmqQpLuZrcU must be training hard for inter-channel pushup challenge :).

[@Wilfgood]

TT bike Vs road bike with clips ons for Alpe d'Huez? (300 FTP , 63kg rider and 7kg road bike Vs 9kg TT bike)

[@Darren.Lindsay]

The information on repeated efforts at high intensity dropping off is interesting, as I was doing Sweetspot efforts tonight @ 300w, only for the first 8 minutes to be hard but manageable, but with only 2 mins rest between 8 min efforts my 2nd and 3rd dropped off to 285w, then 280w. 4th effort was into 280w average and I had to stop because my HR went from 167 for 1st, to 170, 173 then 178 for the final. Fatigue definitely kicking my butt..

[@pikanoutepikanoute2698]

Actually, i think aerobars are not the best issue on climbing because the effort is stronger that on flat road. So, we need to breath better and deeper to limit the effort. The aero position not allows completely this pacing. Globaly, i know that triathletes manage their energy by limiting the effort on climbing to be able to repush harder just after on flat road, so as a consequence, they reach a global good performance.

[@lisapet160]

Your lung capacity is bigger when you ride more up-right. For flat road it's pretty much wasted feature amid lower aerodynamics. For climb, it's a bit different game. That's why.

[@justin-eu7nh]

comfort was my choice to take off the areobars, when I did a very hilly race. I could use the brake hoods to get areo when I needed to. Theres so much more strain on the back muscles in my opinion and running afterwards with a tight back is very unpleastant

[@nielsbrand291]

I tend to get out the earobars below 23 kph, if im not powering over a (small) hill and I drop below 23 this tends to be in the power zone where the aerobars would be resticting my power. Dropped from 170mm cranks to 160mm for the new cranks. would be interesting to see what the "new" get out the aero bars speed will be since my hip angle will be more favourable

[@mustaphab.1190]

Please let me know the results of the crank arm change mate, planning the same 172.5 to 167,5 or 165.

[@GavinHarte]

How about a video on how much power can Mark gain by shaving off the beard.

[@normanwoods8844]

Great video

[@mustaphab.1190]

Nice video guys, I think bringing in a 17K TT race and a cyclist don't help us understand the topic, the distance is shorter and there is no running afterward. Personally I don't have a powermeter, I use HR, feeling and I have 3 gears of my cassette for sustainable threshold efforts, mostly I play between them, if I drop further from the easiest of the 3rd gear it's time to get up, pass to the hoods and deploy some raw power

[@mustaphab.1190]

Mark everytime I watch you riding, that Canyon is tickling me to change my bike even though it's not the time and I don't need a replacement at all 🤩🤩🤩

[@markthrelfall3577]

Thanks, and I am a little in love with my Canyon too! I understand, it was simply to demonstrate a good and well documented example of where a field was split by this hilly/aero debate, and aero came out on top. It always highlighted this importance of speed for aerodynamics

[@ChristoNorman]

390 watts seems to be way out expected ranges for a tri. I am guessing most triathletes would be putting out 200-300 watts and trying to keep VI as close to 1 as possible. If this is the case then you would keep power going up the hill only marginally higher than your average and thus being aero would outweigh any marginal gain from sitting up on the hoods.

[@markthrelfall3577]

Absolutely, and I was well aware of that. We needed an effort that would obviously show a difference for the purpose of the video, but I was very conscious of making sure I made this relevant to all speeds and abilities in the remainder of the video. The power is not really the focus point for this, it’s more the speed, as we explain later in the video

[@oscarricardo8113]

Actually this is where strategy plays a role. You should know your strengths and if the climb isn’t one. Cruise to it let the the rest blow their load climbing. I’ve always seen guys losing there guys who had passed me. Boom I’m in decline energy saving mode and changing cadence to rip them.

[@siskatrainingsystems]

Nice vid guys, what kind of bike setup would you suggest for the new 2019 Ironman UK bike course?

[@toshman696969]

it all depends on the gradient of the hill, at certain point the aero benefit is minimized so it is better to get out of aero bars.....

[@markthrelfall3577]

toshman99 you got it. Or to be really specific, it’s more to do with the speed as a result of the gradient. Some people will slow more on a lesser gradient, and vice versa

[@simonjamesroddam8039]

Would you use a TT bike on the IMUK course?

[@bikeanddogtripsvirtualcycling]

mark's climb on the aero bars was so fast, his beard ravelled through time and aged by 6 weeks, whilst mark aged by an hour

[@markthrelfall3577]

bikeanddogtrips 😂

[@jonathanzappala]

Well yeah it’s going to be harder to grind up a hill in the 80s in the aerobars. You got to spin or it won’t work.

[@markankone9362]

I am going this video toninght, but is'nt always earodinamic is the key

[@Bimmer_Bill]

I hate to say your tests are flawed but they are. You should not be comparing heart rate or even controlling power outputs for a test like this, especially during back to back high intensity efforts for heart rate. The better method is going full gas in both conditions or if you want to do a submaximal test you use perceived effort because there is good variability in TT and uptight positions between subjects.

[@chrisguilfoyle8799]

Don't ditch the beard. In fact, keep it growing in spite of the haters in this section. #teambeard

[@raphaelhenry1]

You guys are fit! 400W at 150bpm! I bet you are fitter on the bike than GCN presenters.

[@chrisholmes8339]

+1 for a GCN vs GTN challenge. :-)

[@alexkk6zly262]

He went full beard!

[@truthfacts57]

Question everyone, here in Clermont Fl I have good choices with a nice loop within a start park with good hills, or a park that is flat, and of course no problem riding indoors simulating that flat course. My race in Sep is flat but could be heavy wind, should I include riding hills even though the race in Sep has zero hills ? Thanks

[@heatherfell_oly]

Lew Ironman 1995 incorporating hills into your training are a great addition for strength. As you get closer to your event you'll need to keep your training more specific to your race but hills can certainly help in your base training period.

[@jacobanteau6020]

Speaking of aero, Mark definitely isn't making any gains from that beard 😂

[@markthrelfall3577]

Jacob Anteau resistance training 💪😂

[@fionnbrennan8444]

Either Fraser’s bike is too big or marks is too small because mark is actually taller

[@joeyhinton2624]

Cadence is too high. It will keep your hr down. I bet they don’t any big gear work.

[@joelklingenberg3271]

Growing the beard for cycling is like letting the leg hair grow free for swimming :). Shave it all on race day and feel like a missile :)

[@markthrelfall3577]

Joel Klingenberg you know it well 💪

[@triathlonsteve9675]

Nic vid guys, but what is going on with mark and a beard 😱, that must loose him 100s of Watts of aero power 🚴‍♂️🤣🤣🤣

[@NoxiousNoodles]

Not going to lie, thought that beard was part of a buff.

[@markthrelfall3577]

Denning76 it’s definitely blossomed a lot in the last couple of weeks!

[@jimshields6149]

Interesting but struggling to interpret for “average” triathletes. Doing the experiment at ~400W (probably 5+W per Kg) is not representative for most of the people who rock up to do an IM or 70.3. Those folk (like me) are probably closer to 3W per Kg for an FTP and even then I’m not going to sustain that for 6hrs on an IM i.e. might plan for a sustained 2-2.5W per kg. What should I therefore take away from the experiment?

[@markthrelfall3577]

Absolutely, and I was well aware of that. We needed an effort that would obviously show a difference for the purpose of the video, but I was very conscious of making sure I made this relevant to all speeds and abilities in the remainder of the video. The power is not really the focus point for this, it’s more the speed, as we explain later in the video

[@tomepton4317]

Any aero gains made by staying in the aero bars are ruined by Mark's shocking beard

[@markthrelfall3577]

Tom Epton haha thank you. I agree, there is nothing trendy or fashionable about my beard, but it sure did come in handy whilst filming on this cold day

[@myneighbourhood2842]

What the hell is that thing on Mark's face ???????????

[@markthrelfall3577]

It's an extremely trendy beard! ;) I like it, so it's staying I'm afraid

[@myneighbourhood2842]

Thanks for all the great Triathlon tips but I think I'll get my fashion advise elsewhere. Keep up the great work buddy.

[@ilanpi]

You don't know what "exponentially" means. Don't use terms you don't understand.

[@markthrelfall3577]

Ilan Vardi interesting comment, so what does it mean? A ‘rapid increase’ or to ‘change by large amounts’ as per its definition, makes complete sense in Fraser’s use

[@ilanpi]

@@markthrelfall3577 By definition, "exponential" is a function of the form a^n, as n varies. In particular, if you increase a by 1, then you multiply the output by the constant factor a. For cycling, this would mean that increasing 1kph would multiplying the necessary power by a constant amount, which is not the case. In fact, power increases as the cube, which is n^3, so not at all exponential. The definition you state is incorrect. It appears that people use the term "exponential" to mean "faster than linear growth," that too is incorrect.

[@markthrelfall3577]

@@ilanpi well the dictionary is wrong?! Very puzzling..

[@ilanpi]

@Fraser Cartmell Polynomial growth is sub-exponential. Look it up.

[@ilanpi]

@@markthrelfall3577 By definition, and exponential is a function of the form a^n. Look it up.