Climbing bike vs aero bike efficiency test
Aero road bikes have come a long way in recent years, but are they compromising your performance more than you think? To find out, we put Orbea's latest top road bikes, the Orca and the Orca Aero, through some testsAero road bikes are getting more refined by the day, but does this mean they pose an existential threat to the classic lines of the climbing/lightweight road bike? To find out, we donned our science caps and set out to see if an aero bike really compromises more than just weight..
However, I think there’s more to it than that. You see, as clever as Orbea’s engineers are, I think that just like everyone else they’re going to have had to compromise in certain areas to make the Orca Aero all pally with the wind. To keep things fair, both bikes were fitted with exactly the same crankset, chain and cassette, and the wheels, tyres and tyre pressures would also be kept exactly the same.To see what the future might hold, it's sometimes useful to look to the past - and for as long as there’s been bike racing, it’s been lightweight bikes that have ruled the roost.
In fact, despite the Orca OMX frame weighing a very competitive 750 grams, and the lightest builds weighing less than the UCI weight limit, it’s only around 50 grams lighter than the final rim brake Orca from years back.This latest Orca has been designed to be a lot more than just light. In Orbea's words:"Having the lightest bike is worth nothing if it isn’t stiff and efficient."
If you look closely though, despite using the same chain, crankset, wheel, tyre and tyre pressures, we found a measurable and very repeatable difference between the two bikes. So where are these watts going? Well as you ride along it’s impossible for all of your effort to go into forward motion. Any noise that your tyre makes on the road or that your drivetrain makes is energy being dissipated. Your tyre will also heat up as it soaks up vibrations, which is also energy being lost.
The feeling of a bike that is both light and efficient is infectious, and the instant acceleration from slow speeds is something that not many aero bikes can pull off. Throw in the vibration absorption, which is gladly received on B roads and responsive handling, and you not only do you have a serious climbing machine, but a true all-rounder.
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