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Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing
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Some interesting wind tunnel results for aero socks (disclaimer - my brand, but it is the test results I encourage you to read!)

Tests were carried out by Dov Tate of Parcours, the well renowned and reviewed wheelset manufacturer, at the A2 wind tunnel in North Carolina.

Full details available here

Summary - tested across a range of yaw angles for valid race scenarios and repeated for reliability - versus cotton socks and bare shaved legs

At 30mph 5W versus cotton socks, over 4W versus bare legs

IM bike leg saving of 68 seconds (for any speed between 10-60 km/h)

Roughly £3 ($5) per watt - worth the few seconds they may cost in transition?
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [gloscherrybomb] [ In reply to ]
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Watts be damned, worth it just for the rainbow unicorn socks. You should do a Nyan Cat model.

How thick or thin are the "in the shoe" part? Are these "max'd" out on length to long enough to make the UCI break out the ruler?

Pshhhh, little hint: In the promo pics on your site, get the models into something more aero as a shoe. Maybe a Specialized sworks 7 with the cover, or a Speedplay Zero equiped lace/cover shoe. The double velcro plus boa looks a bit.......non aero.
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [gloscherrybomb] [ In reply to ]
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Definitely lots of good data out there that aero socks have a very real benefit, and I'm in the market for something on that front right now. However with the existence of aero calf sleeves out there, I don't see myself buying full socks anytime soon. If you could keep that price point for some longer sleeves that you can just start the race with, I'm sure that would be a hit with the triathlon market.

Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]
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They're UCI legal in height 😁

More designs are on their way. Sock part is CoolMax, supportive, moisture wicking and feedback has been great for the run.

Good shout out on the model pics - they need updating and I'll do so as soon as I can!

@socks4watts on insta if you're that way inclined.
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]
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burnthesheep wrote:
Watts be damned, worth it just for the rainbow unicorn socks.

+1. I think I have found something for my Christmas list this year.

Matt
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [Chemist] [ In reply to ]
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Glad you like them - I'm more excited about introducing tri-ceratops though...


Last edited by: gloscherrybomb: Oct 23, 19 10:47
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [gloscherrybomb] [ In reply to ]
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Good to know.

Anecdotal observation from the IMWC - this was the first year that I noticed way more triathletes wearing socks on the bike, in Kona. Even whizzing by at speed whan I was on the side of the road, I could tell that most of these were not these go-fast aero socks, but some in fact were!

Sock Doping is now a THING in triathlon! :-)


Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [Fleck] [ In reply to ]
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Fleck wrote:
Good to know.

Anecdotal observation from the IMWC - this was the first year that I noticed way more triathletes wearing socks on the bike, in Kona. Even whizzing by at speed whan I was on the side of the road, I could tell that most of these were not these go-fast aero socks, but some in fact were!

Sock Doping is now a THING in triathlon! :-)

I know there are some other well known brands that are promoted heavily by some of the top IM triathletes, but the study shows that bare legs are more aero than cotton socks...
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [ In reply to ]
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Always good to see someone bring data to the table on this.

From having tested socks on many people it's still a hit or miss thing. We've seen the same pair of socks produce superior & inferior results on two different subjects. (yes they were sock sharing haha!)

I wish I could find the pair that were faster on me, well calf sleeves, not socks actually. But so far bare legs for the fastest bike split. YMMV..actually it probably will vary

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [gloscherrybomb] [ In reply to ]
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gloscherrybomb wrote:
They're UCI legal in height 😁

More designs are on their way. Sock part is CoolMax, supportive, moisture wicking and feedback has been great for the run.

Good shout out on the model pics - they need updating and I'll do so as soon as I can!

@socks4watts on insta if you're that way inclined.

Do you have longer socks which are NOT uci legal? Which would probably save more watts

I would say many triathletes are not concerned about UCI regs
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [desert dude] [ In reply to ]
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desert dude wrote:
Always good to see someone bring data to the table on this.

From having tested socks on many people it's still a hit or miss thing. We've seen the same pair of socks produce superior & inferior results on two different subjects. (yes they were sock sharing haha!)

I wish I could find the pair that were faster on me, well calf sleeves, not socks actually. But so far bare legs for the fastest bike split. YMMV..actually it probably will vary


What material was the sock made out of?

How far up the leg did they go?
Last edited by: MrTri123: Oct 23, 19 19:40
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [gloscherrybomb] [ In reply to ]
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Just been to your website to look at ordering some. I am US12 in size but the sizing seems a bit unusual.
A large is listed as UK 9-12, which should equate to a US 9.5-12.5, but the site lists the large as being US 8-11.
Will take the punt anyway on the large but there could be an error in your sizing conversion?
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [MrTri123] [ In reply to ]
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MrTri123 wrote:

What material was the sock made out of?

How far up the leg did they go?

I don't remember all these things. I'm also too lazy to go look through 100s of testing results.

In aggregate testing socks has been hit or miss. We've not seen a 100% solution..yet

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [MrTri123] [ In reply to ]
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MrTri123 wrote:
gloscherrybomb wrote:
They're UCI legal in height 😁

More designs are on their way. Sock part is CoolMax, supportive, moisture wicking and feedback has been great for the run.

Good shout out on the model pics - they need updating and I'll do so as soon as I can!

@socks4watts on insta if you're that way inclined.


Do you have longer socks which are NOT uci legal? Which would probably save more watts

I would say many triathletes are not concerned about UCI regs

How about just making the aero part (full calf length, non-compressive) w/o the sock component, so we can wear them all race?

Right now I use CEP calf sleeves specifically for the aero benefit, but these would probably work better.

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [Titanflexr] [ In reply to ]
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Titanflexr wrote:
MrTri123 wrote:
gloscherrybomb wrote:
They're UCI legal in height 😁

More designs are on their way. Sock part is CoolMax, supportive, moisture wicking and feedback has been great for the run.

Good shout out on the model pics - they need updating and I'll do so as soon as I can!

@socks4watts on insta if you're that way inclined.


Do you have longer socks which are NOT uci legal? Which would probably save more watts

I would say many triathletes are not concerned about UCI regs

How about just making the aero part (full calf length, non-compressive) w/o the sock component, so we can wear them all race?

Right now I use CEP calf sleeves specifically for the aero benefit, but these would probably work better.

Certainly something I can look in to, and should been reasonably easy. Interestingly nearly all the triathletes I know wear socks on the bike (as you need them for the run really over Olympic distance).
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [gloscherrybomb] [ In reply to ]
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At the pointy end of the field (your target market), most folks go sockless for the bike but will put on socks for the run (esp for 70.3+).

The advantage of sleeves is if you have a wetsuit swim (pretty much all we have in California), then sleeves add zero transition time regardless of distance. Shorter socks are also easier to put on, and people can accommodate their own sock preferences.

They wouldn’t be UCI legal obviously, so it’s a niche market; but if the fixed cost is low enough they might make sense to offer. I’d expect >2x the gains of the UCI length socks as you now have better adhesion on the thicker and less streamlined part of the lower leg.

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [Titanflexr] [ In reply to ]
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Titanflexr wrote:
At the pointy end of the field (your target market), most folks go sockless for the bike but will put on socks for the run (esp for 70.3+).

The advantage of sleeves is if you have a wetsuit swim (pretty much all we have in California), then sleeves add zero transition time regardless of distance. Shorter socks are also easier to put on, and people can accommodate their own sock preferences.

They wouldn’t be UCI legal obviously, so it’s a niche market; but if the fixed cost is low enough they might make sense to offer. I’d expect >2x the gains of the UCI length socks as you now have better adhesion on the thicker and less streamlined part of the lower leg.

I will certainly enquire with the factory to see if we can offer an attractive price point. Could see them doing well with triathletes that want a bit more colour.
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Re: Aero Socks - Wind Tunnel Testing [Fleck] [ In reply to ]
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My anecdotal reasons for wearing socks at IMWC...

In most races, where often every second counts to KQ, I'd go sockless, sprinting through T1, flying mount into my shoes already clipped on the bike, and then just dealing with the chafe and hot spots in weird places I seem to get in later in IM races (but never in training in the same shoes - go figure)... But, at IMWC where for me the 30s lost to put on socks and shoes means the difference between 88th and 89th place (who cares?), I took the time to wear socks for a more comfortable ride.

I think that's probably the case for a lot of people who do IMWC as more of a "victory lap" than actually racing it for every last second.
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