Which Shimano components do you have?

What brand and model is your chain?

What model are your wheels?

Pull bearing seals, clean and replace lube with the Ceramic Speed light race grease.

Replace the wavey washer in the crank with shims

Low friction derailleur pully

I don't know what the skewers on the Venge look like, but getting rid of any handle is a good idea

- Components Shimano Dura Ace electronic
- Chain Ultegra
- Wheels Rapide CLX

Bike fit.

Narrow & aero handlebars.

What pedals?

(Also, what's your goal?)

Goal ? Slow down Father Time with technology so I can keep up with the young kids for a few more years

Standard look Keo pedals . Good thought

I was getting at:
Are you racing? Breakaway or in the bunch? Or casual riding? Solo or group? Hill climbing? Or just because you want to go faster all around?

The answer might bias the responses.

Dura ace chain is slightly faster. Another gain is optimizing tire pressure.

Goal is breakaway. Racing when we are allowed to again some day

No climbs around here so weight is usually a non factor . I could stand to loose my Covid weight gain though.

Tire pressure I agree is a good factor to optimize but I’ve yet to come up with a good method to dial that in

Wippermann chains are better.

Which one? And how do you know? Don't actually remember ever seeing wippermann chains tested.

Premier bike chain or ice friction chain

PremierBike Optimized Chain and SLF motion upgrades for the BB and RD.

What is your kit like? Please don’t say a club fit jersey and no socks. I’m hoping for at least a San-Remo-esque road race suit from a notible company, aero socks and lace-up shoes to match.

Evade ii...save 6 seconds....Doesn’t get much more marginal!

36 or 38 cm handlebar. Aero if you don't already have one. If you ride a lot of hills, there are a lot of places to shed weight.

Have you experimented with aero testing and separating CRR from CDA ?
Crr is definitely your greatest shot at marginal gains

That certainly is on the list . I need to read through the platypus thread and start to learn more about how to test. I assume going from ground zero to meaningful results might take a bit. There is a course near by that is a loop with sweeping turns and low traffic I think I can use

https://info.silca.cc/...-pressure-calculator

At the same time you may find some position change optimizations.

speaking of marginal gains, what is the fastest to slowest and by how many watts ?

$3 of grip tape on the handlebars for no-slip IAB usage.

Is your frameset designed for best aero WITH or without a bottle? Research that and how to handle it.

 
Ya sorry, I meant position only. It's the only thing that changed between those 3 pics.

2-3-1

2-3 pretty close
1 ~ 12w off

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Is it cheating if I answer? ;-)

marcag is making an awesome point here, I've seen 20+ watts from 1 to 2 and another 20 between 2 and 3 depending on the rider (and the speed of course).. though rider arm and core strength is key!!

For the OP I'm assuming your Venge has a wing shaped drop bar? These can be big, and also can facilitate the faux aerobar position if you are so inclined to use it. Something like Nastro Aero tape on the flats and thin tape on the drops will further reduce frontal area. And no tilted bars!

Also, don't forget shoes and pedals.. they are each important in their own way, but the combo can be even moreso. Something like a speedplay aero with the right 4 bolt shoe can lower your entire position on the bike 5-8mm depending on your baseline setup.

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