Well, I am prepared for the worst but figured I would throw this out there…
Obviously it makes perfect sense to stay down in your “aero” position as much as possible. This is probably just common sense but I didn’t see it addressed anywhere else…wouldn’t it be appropriate to sit up tall with a strong tailwind?
Obviously any headwind will force you to stay low and even a “nowind” situation would be best suited to aero positioning but lets say you are feeling that “no air resistance since I am moving with the breeze” feeling. Wouldn’t it make since to get into the most comfortable position at that time? What about when its really whipping and you can’t even keep up with it (climbing a hill)?
wouldn’t it be appropriate to sit up tall with a strong tailwind?
Just how fast is that tailwind?
I think the way to look at it is this: A tailwind doesn’t actually propel you down the road, it just lessens the effective wind resistance you have to overcome.
What about when its really whipping and you can’t even keep up with it (climbing a hill)?
If the tailwind is faster than you are, I don’t think there’s any harm in sitting up.
WOW, that was a fast response. I am thinking the exact same thing. I guess the helicopter pilot in my is thinking about this question more in terms of airspeed rather than ground speed.
In this is approached as a product of ground speed only then it can’t really be answered. As long as there wouldn’t be an airspeed registered on the bike then it would ok to sit up higher. Zero or “negative” airspeed should benefit from a larger surface area to get pushed by.
Now if only I had a titanium airspeed indicator to go along with the Litespeed…might get some strange looks but no worse than the seat shifters of old I guess.
My gluteal muscles seem to be about the strongest of my cycling muscles, and they seem to fire better when my knees get fairly close to my chest. That being said, I think if your apparent wind speed is 10mph or less (that would be a 15 mph 180 degree tailwind when your groundspeed is 25 mph), sit up a bit for a change of position or stretch if you’d like to…or, it’s a good time for a water bottle change, etc. The reason I say this is: many places have it written that the aerodynamic effects of drag are very, very slight at less than 10 to 15 mph. If you have a long ride ahead of you, a change of position may be welcome…and this would be a good time. Now, in a shorter time trial where you aren’t going to have to break a good aero position…just stay down there and get maximum advantage. Now IF your tailwind matches or exceeds your ground speed…by all means, sit as tall as you’d like!
