Provided that you have an efficient aero position, you could probably make the jump from 15 to 16mph quite easily. The point is to punch a smaller hole in the air, making you go as fast or faster with less resistance. The point of the aero position is not go go really fast, it is to allow you to go fast with less resistance, therefore expending less energy.

In the case of a less flexible athlete, the aero position probably* will not help in giving a quantifiable edge in speed, as you will not be quite as aero as some, but you will end up doing it more comfortably. The point of the aero position is to support yourself skeletally, not muscularly. So, one could argue that being more comfortable, yet not being really aero could help you in the fact that you will be less fatigued.

In the end, a good aero position could be beneficial to all. Cleaning up all of the extraneous things from the bike could help, as making sure that ponytails, helmet straps, etc. not flapping in the wind can mean free speed, or at least less expenditure of energy.



*bunnyman institute does not do wind tunnel testing, though numbers to back this up could be out there.

Something I read recently, but can't remember where, stated that aero postion will be good for you at any speed above about 13 mph. analyticalcycling probably has way to calculate that. Remember that wind resistance increases as the cube of the speed, so your engergy savings are much greater the faster you go.

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"My strategy is to start out slow and then peter-out altogether" Walt Stack

Wind resistance goes up as the square of velocity - it is the power required to overcome that goes up as the cube.

That is damn funny...bunny. Don't know why, but it is! That is why I love this board. Makes me laugh.