I was contemplating wearing my Pro Compression socks for a 200km ride.
These are not optimized for aero with chevrons, etc but just plain old running compressions socks.
Are they more/less aero than bare legs?
I have a pair of 7 inch aero optimized socks I can wear as well…
Depends (sorry). Even aero socks aren’t more aero for every rider (ex. Ben Kanute recently found Silca socks 2W slower than no socks…but Santini calf sleeves were 5W faster, go figure).
Aero socks do tend to work for most riders (calf sleeves are more variable, go figure), so if you can’t test I’d go with the aero socks.
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Question is why the PC socks? If to save your calves/keep fresh they will be better than aero socks which generally have non compression foot if your talking blood flow. The trade-off has to do with your body. If your calves get tight then Aero socks will cost you. So there’s the question to ponder
None aero…
I tried on compression socks (after, admittedly, making fun of their look for years) a few years ago when I started experiencing a lot of muscle twitching/cramps at the end of long/fast runs. I tried them on the bike and found they really helped with cramping and stabilizing the muscles at high rpm spinning. Now I rarely run or ride without them. Old age, sigh.
You will be the oddball on a cycling event. In my two cycling only events this year, I looked around and cyclist DO NOT wear compression socks. I was the only one at either event.
Why do you do high rpm spinning? Cadence is self selected based on power.
I wore the socks for my cycling event. Not a single person commented on them. I sweat they helped though.
I tested CEP compression socks in the wind tunnel as pretty fast for me, but I don’t like that brand because they are longer than my calves and wear the Pro compression brand instead. I feel confident for me they are a good option, especially since I like to wear them for the run. If a race is wetsuit legal I’d still go with calf guards instead since you can wear them under the suit, in which case I choose a more modern aero sleeve without having done testing.
ETA: just realized you asked about a 200km ride, not a triathlon. My n=1 I would 100% wear the pro compression over shorter silca socks. Just be prepared to be made fun of by cyclists.
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My self-selected rpm tends to be high whether under high power or easy riding. I’m not at all a masher. I’ve yet to have anyone comment about it at any of the events I’ve done with pure cyclists. I am just the only one wearing them.
I wear them for almost every ride and most of the rest of the time besides. And yes, I agree that they help.
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