{"id":3423,"date":"2025-09-25T18:30:25","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T17:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mywindsock.com\/page\/?p=3423"},"modified":"2025-09-25T18:30:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T17:30:25","slug":"how-marginal-are-marginal-gains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mywindsock.com\/page\/discussion\/how-marginal-are-marginal-gains\/","title":{"rendered":"How marginal are marginal gains?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
It\u2019s become less fashionable a term recently, on account of its horrific overuse, but marginal gains is the idea that if you make incremental improvements to your setup or training that it will add up to something significant. It was popularised in the early 2010s by Team Sky (now INEOS) back when they used to win stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recently, I\u2019ve been on a bit of a buying spree for my TT bike and have been thoughtfully shopping – aiming to prioritise by Watts saved per pound spent, but while doing this I realised that the thing that matters really is time saved per pound spent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The marginal gains we will test in today\u2019s simulation will be\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Switching from GP5000 to GP5000 TT, both with latex inner tubes<\/strong>
Independent tests of this set up have shown an improvement of around 1-4W per tyre. <\/li>
Removing the front derailleur and switching to one chainring<\/strong>
This could save, again, between 1 and 4W in aerodynamic savings. <\/li>
Adding an aero OSPW system
<\/strong>This has a claimed saving of 2.4W relative to a dura ace set up. <\/li>
Using a super slippery waxed chain
<\/strong>Wattshop claim their ‘Cratus’ waxed chain can save 3-5W compared to a standard clean chain. <\/li>
Very moderate weight savings<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Using a combination of factors, I\u2019ve also managed to shave 650g off my set up and body weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marginal gains can include aero overshoes that go to knee height and other such accessories banned by the UCI on the grounds of fashion decency. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Before we get started here, it\u2019s worth noting that all of these claims are probably wrong in the context of this specific simulation with this specific setup. However, that\u2019s not really the point of this blog. It\u2019s actually to answer the question of \u201cWe know you can accumulate meaningful savings but how much of a difference does it actually make?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first step we\u2019ll do is run each saving individually and then finally, we\u2019ll put them all together and see the time difference between the standard set up plus all the marginal gains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s worth noting that aerodynamic savings scale with speed whereas rolling and drive train resistance savings remain more stable (they\u2019re not actually constant, but for the simplicity of our model approximating them as constant yields acceptable results). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We will assume that, for the sake of simplicity, saving 1W is the equivalent of riding 1W harder – this is not actually true (as 1W saved at 30kph might be 3W or something at 50kph) so, if anything, this is likely to underestimate the time savings from our marginal gains – especially the aero ones. That said, it makes the simulation much simpler to carry out – so we will make the assumption none the less. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final assumption we\u2019ll make here is that our rider is riding at a constant power of 300W – this is not realistic, or optimal, but makes it easier to isolate changes so we\u2019ll do this for illustrative purposes. At the end, we\u2019ll have a perfectly paced simulation – centred around 300W. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Standard Set Up<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Using our standard set up on the almost 87km bike course from Challenge Peguera Mallorca we can see that our rider is able to achieve an average speed of 39.4kph. This was completed with a standard 2X12 drivetrain with a new-ish, clean but standard chain, Continental GP5000 tyres and such. Pretty close to the standard, out the bike shop, set-up.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
After each run, we\u2019ll reset the simulation to the original conditions so when you see a time saving, it\u2019s with respect to our baseline set up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weight Savings<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As we\u2019ve saved 650g – that\u2019s about 0.7% of our total system mass, we might see a gain in speed as a result of this, considering it\u2019s a pretty punchy circuit. Let\u2019s run the simulation taking 650g off our set up and see what happens.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can see here that we\u2019ve saved a total of 11 seconds and had a speed increase of 0.1kph, based on the amount of money and effort that weight loss required I\u2019m not certain it was worth the bother\u2026\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Waxing our chain <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s see if the Wattshop waxed chain, with a saving of 3-5W (we will use 4W) can save us a decent amount of time\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Wattshop chain typically costs about \u00a370, so we\u2019re paying \u00a31.40 per second saved. Let\u2019s take a look at the OSPW. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Oversize Pulley Wheel <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A saving of 26 seconds is decent, but when we remember that the OSPW costs around \u00a3400, we\u2019re looking at about \u00a315.38 per second saved which isn\u2019t the best value for money, however it\u2019s a decent saving if money is no object.\u00a0 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Going “one-by” <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Typically, the 1X chainring\u2019s aero savings are dependent on yaw angle but savings between 1 and 4W are common. As such, we\u2019ll see a saving of around 35s here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fresh Tyres <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This is actually one of the most interesting examples of non-obvious speed improvements. Independent testing has shown the difference to be about 3W per tyre – so a total saving of 6W. Running a simulation with a 6W boost in power we see this\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A massive 75s off our original bike split, I bought a pair for \u00a3120 which is a price of \u00a31.60 per second saved.\u00a0 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
All together <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In total, these savings add up to 15W (plus our 650g) saving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we put all of that together we find a total saving of almost 2 minutes adding 1kph to our initial average speed.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Marginal gains AND perfect pacing…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s not the end of it though, we all know that riding a course (especially one that\u2019s hilly) with a flat power is not the fastest way to do it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can optimise your pacing for a \u00a320 a year myWindsock subscription, which costs you 19.6p\/second saved.\u00a0 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
As much as it pains us to say (not at all, we love it), marginal gains really do add up, without getting any fitter at all we\u2019ve just saved ourselves almost 4.5 minutes simply by throwing money at the issue and pacing properly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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