Blacky does have a point. If you took all the supposed time savings of all the various aspects of wind resistance that you could find...like time savings from having the cables internally routed, handlebars, wheels, skinsuits, helmet, glasses, frame, fork, water bottle type and placement, even tire shapes, etc., you could save enough time to arrive at the finish before you even start!
I don't know the real answer, but I did perform my own real-world coasting tests with a supposedly aero rear wheel. It was LESS aero than my 32 spoke Mavic....on two different bikes....even after the manufacturer replaced the hub in case the hub was sticking. I tested the wheel two different ways. One was coasting down a specific hill starting at a point at the top where I was going 20 mph; I noted my top speed as well as the point at which I dropped back to 20 mph, and compared the results from the two different bikes to my results with a 32 spoke Mavic wheel. The other way was riding with my two cycling mates, both of whom I always outcoast. With the new, supposedly aero wheel, I was always outcoasted by them.
Needless to say, I got my money back.
I did the same experiments with an H3 tri-spoke front, an H3 tri-spoke rear, and Renn rear disc. Any combination of these wheels was faster than my 32 Mavics. And the H3 front/rear disc combination is the fastest of all I tried. My tri-bike was faster than my road bike...but that could easily be explained by body position differences...which makes the BIGGEST difference by far compared to all the wheel swapping I did.
These were not rigorously designed scientific tests...but, they still are good enough to show real differences between different set-ups on MY bikes with MY body...that's all that really matters.
Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)
I don't know the real answer, but I did perform my own real-world coasting tests with a supposedly aero rear wheel. It was LESS aero than my 32 spoke Mavic....on two different bikes....even after the manufacturer replaced the hub in case the hub was sticking. I tested the wheel two different ways. One was coasting down a specific hill starting at a point at the top where I was going 20 mph; I noted my top speed as well as the point at which I dropped back to 20 mph, and compared the results from the two different bikes to my results with a 32 spoke Mavic wheel. The other way was riding with my two cycling mates, both of whom I always outcoast. With the new, supposedly aero wheel, I was always outcoasted by them.
Needless to say, I got my money back.
I did the same experiments with an H3 tri-spoke front, an H3 tri-spoke rear, and Renn rear disc. Any combination of these wheels was faster than my 32 Mavics. And the H3 front/rear disc combination is the fastest of all I tried. My tri-bike was faster than my road bike...but that could easily be explained by body position differences...which makes the BIGGEST difference by far compared to all the wheel swapping I did.
These were not rigorously designed scientific tests...but, they still are good enough to show real differences between different set-ups on MY bikes with MY body...that's all that really matters.
Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)