So, this is more of what you're going to see from us. Completely independent tests without participation from the manufacturer. In this case, I bought the Omega X myself at full price (though it was on sale at the time), and also the Shimano Ultegra brake we used for the DA. The other two brakes came off the Cervelo and IA10.
This test was of particular interest because I had two tests shared with me that indicated the Trimax was faster. Problem was, once I dug a little deeper, I found out the Trimax tested at about 2-3 watts faster than a standard Shimano brake, but the Omega X wasn't actually tested, they just assumed, based on the data off the TriRig site suggesting a 2 watt advantage for the Omega X, that the Trimax was as good or better. I should know better than to trust anyone's data at this point.
As stated, and as you can see on the site, we tested each brake multiple times to insure accuracy. For these tests, we didn't need to repeat more than twice (on each bike) since the results were so consistent across the board; however, it's not unusual to have tests that are "outliers" showing results that are much better or worse than previous tests. In these instances, more testing needs to be completed to determine which is the outlier and which is the true number. It takes time and patience, but that's how you get good, reliable, data.
Anytime you include an actual human on a bike, you're going to get inconsistent data, and it will happen often. Wind tunnel or velodrome, it doesn't matter - rider variability is always present. As the saying goes, "Measure twice before cutting." You'll also notice I wrote about re-baselining multiple times. This, too, is key for any aero testing, but especially important for velodrome testing as results can vary from fatigue, or even the athlete simply getting better at riding the velodrome itself.
Now that I think of it, I should probably have included the "baseline" numbers from both the Gossamer and Ultegra brakes. They, too, were tested multiple times.
Jim Manton /
ERO Sports