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🚲 BIKE · Helmets

Premium Time-Trial Aero Helmet

Reference models: Giro Selector, Lazer Volante, POC Cerebel, MET Codatronca

Cost $350
ΔCdA 0.01021 ↓ sources (3)
Time Shaved · 140.6 Full 3.53min
CWPM · Cost / Min Saved $99.19
CWPS · Cost / Watt Saved $48.75

CWPM vs Sustained bike power

Cost per minute saved across the full slider range, all other parameters held at your current profile.

$99.2 · 225W120W195W270W345W420W$90.1$99.2$108SUSTAINED BIKE POWERCWPM ($/MIN)

FORMULA CWPM = cost ÷ Δt, where Δt = (min/h at your speed) × κ(slider) × Tbaseline(slider). Curve reynolds sets the empirical κ bump; Tbaseline is the leg duration at your profile.

Time saved vs Sustained bike power

Minutes shaved at the 140.6 Full format as your slider value varies.

3.53min · 225W120W195W270W345W420W3.21min3.53min3.85minSUSTAINED BIKE POWERTIME SAVED (MIN)

FORMULA Δt = (min/h at your speed) × κ(slider) × Tbaseline(slider). Curve reynolds sets κ; Tbaseline is your 140.6 Full bike leg duration.

Time saved across race formats

Minutes shaved if you raced each distance at your current profile.

Sprint
0.39min
Olympic
0.78min
70.3 Half
1.76min
140.6 Full
3.53min

FORMULA For each format f: Δtf = (min/h at your speed) × κ(profile) × Tbaseline(f). Only the leg distance — and therefore Tbaseline — varies between bars; κ is held constant from your profile.

Cost vs time saved — bike alternatives

Every bike upgrade in the catalog plotted at your current profile. The line is the Pareto frontier: anything above it is dominated by a cheaper item that saves the same or more time.

THIS · 3.53min · $3500.00min10.0min20.1min$0$7,560$15,120TIME SAVED (MIN)COST ($)
This upgrade Pareto frontier Dominated alternatives

HOW TO READ Each dot is one upgrade. Its horizontal position is the time it would save you at your current profile — the same Δt computed in the charts above. Its vertical position is the upgrade's cost. The green dashed line is the Pareto frontier: items where no cheaper alternative matches or beats them on time saved. Anything floating above the line is dominated — somewhere down-and-to-the-right sits a frontier item that delivers the same or more minutes for less money, so it's the better buy.

Why it works

The head is the first point of clean air contact. A dedicated TT aero helmet wraps closely around your ears and utilizes an integrated visor to smooth airflow seamlessly over your face, chest, and shoulders.

Reynolds (sail) effect — watts saved scale with $v^3$, plus an empirical $(P/225)^{0.35}$ bump as deeper sections work better at speed.

Source basis for the savings estimate

3 references

The ΔCdA = 0.01021 m² primitive is a calibrated midpoint drawn from the literature below. Peer-reviewed studies are weighted most heavily; independent / industry labs fill gaps where peer review is sparse for this gear category.

  1. PEER-REVIEWED Chowdhury H, Alam F, Mainwaring D, Subic A, Tate M, Forster D (2011).
    Aerodynamic study of bicycle racing helmets.
    Procedia Engineering, 13:208–213.
    Quantifies CdA across short-tail TT, long-tail TT and standard road helmets at race yaw angles.
    doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2011.05.075
  2. PEER-REVIEWED Crouch TN, Burton D, LaBry ZA, Blair KB (2017).
    Riding against the wind: a review of competition cycling aerodynamics.
    Sports Engineering, 20(2):81–110.
    Comprehensive review of CdA contributions from rider position, helmet, frame, wheels and clothing.
    doi.org/10.1007/s12283-017-0234-1
  3. INDUSTRY LAB AeroCoach UK (ongoing).
    Wind-tunnel and velodrome aerodynamic test reports (wheels, helmets, hydration setups, race suits).
    aero-coach.co.uk.
    Repeat-measurement velodrome protocol with statistical control; one of the more credible non-peer-reviewed sources.
    aero-coach.co.uk

How the savings estimate was built

ΔCdA 0.01021 m²

Yaw-sweep tunnel data → ΔCdA → watts saved at your actual speed → minutes per hour.

  1. Take averaged drag reduction across realistic yaw angles (0°–15°) from independent rim/helmet tests.
  2. Express as a ΔCdA, then watts saved at the rider's on-the-fly speed (ΔP = ½·ρ·v³·ΔCdA).
  3. Convert via ΔM/h = 20·ΔP/P and apply the empirical (P/225)^0.35 sail-effect bump.
  4. Bias toward the lower end of independent data when manufacturer claims diverge.

This is a calibrated model number, not a measurement of your equipment. The value reflects published delta-ranges for the Helmets category with a reynolds response, biased toward independent rather than manufacturer data. The slider sweep above shows how watts-saved at your speed and the curve κ reshape it across athlete profiles.

Disciplinebike
CategoryHelmets
Curvereynolds
ΔCdA0.01021 m²
Watts saved @ your speed7.2 W
Baseline split5.53 h