How to cut through the aero hot air

Is every new bike/wheel/handlebar/skinsuit really the fastest on the market? Michelle Arthurs-Brennan looks at the bad science behind the aero claims

- Michelle Arthurs-Brennan

Products (like articles) need a snappy headline – but marketing claims do need to stand up to scrutiny. ‘It does what it says on the tin’ worked for Ronseal, but if you’re not selling woodstain, a little extra creativity goes a long way. ‘Rotates to aid forward propulsion’ won’t sell many wheels, and ‘forms hanger for components’ isn’t a strapline likely to see frames marching out the door.

Marketing is essential if a brand intends to differentiate itself from its competitors, but where there’s a claim there should be evidence to support it.

“I can totally see why technical teams and marketing teams have arguments – ‘this wheel is probably as fast as anything else out there’ isn’t going to grab headlines,” says the refreshingly honest Dov Tate.

Tate, an Oxford University engineering graduate, is the founder of UK wheel brand Parcours. He’s operating in a market I would quite confidently call saturated, but from the outset, he’s only ever made claims supported by a research document.

“I’ve always set out to be transparent. If you’re going to make aerodynamic claims, you have to show your workings. You can never test all of the variables – you can never answer every question, all you can do is put your best foot forward, justify why you’ve tested and be explicitly clear on how you’ve tested.”

Providing background means that a committed consumer can at least “dig around under the bonnet” as Tate puts it, and try to ascertain the validity of claims. But what should they be looking for?

Dodgy yaw angles