Measure the rider and the machine, run one climb, and read the equation of motion term by term. Nothing here is a game — this part exists to produce the numbers everything below depends on. Get the mass, the CdA and the Crr honest here and the rest follows.
| Term | Expression | Force (N) | Power (W) | Share |
|---|
| Scenario | Power | Speed | Time | Δ vs baseline |
|---|
| Change | Δ time at constant power | Δ power at constant time | Δ speed at constant power |
|---|
Pick a course or draw your own, then start taking things off the bike and see what happens. Half a kilo out of the frame. Better tyres. A lower position. The clock at the bottom is the only judge — and the honest answer is usually not the one people expect.
| # | Segment | Length (km) | Gradient (%) | Δ alt |
|---|
| On the climb test | Initial | Optimised | Δ |
|---|
| Aerodynamics | New CdA (flat) | Δ time — the climb | Δ power — same climb time | Δ time — the whole course |
|---|
| Rolling resistance | New Crr | Δ time — the climb | Δ power — same climb time | Δ time — the whole course |
|---|
| Segment | Grad. | CdA | Gear @ cad | Speed / time — initial | Speed / time — optimised | Δ |
|---|
No more abstract percentages. Here you pick a frame, a wheelset and a cockpit by name, and the numbers behind them are measured ones — weight on the scale, CdA from the tunnel, validated on two riders of deliberately different build. Three setups at a time, on the same course or on three different ones.
| Setup | Course | Frame | Wheels | Cockpit | Δ kg | Δ CdA % |
|---|
| Setup | System mass | CdA (flat) | Course time | Avg speed | Δ vs fastest |
|---|