Is The Science Wrong? Which Bike Actually Climbs Faster?

Lightweight vs aero is one of cycling’s biggest debates, and after all the love we’ve seen for the new lightweight Orbea Orca, it’s time to open it up again! Science says aero bikes are faster, even up climbs, but is that actually true? We’ve called on our resident hill climber, Andrew “The Twig” Feather, to find out which really is the fastest bike for climbing.

00:00 Intro
01:12 The Climb
04:13 The Bikes
05:44 Run 1 - Aero Bike
07:55 Run 2 - Lightweight Bike
10:17 Conclusions

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Which would you choose: lightweight or aero? 🤔 Let us know in the comments below! 💬

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[gcn]

Which would you choose: lightweight or aero? 🤔 Let us know in the comments below! 👇

[yonispinal]

I was ‘that guy’ being passed at 6:08 in. To anyone who thinks it’s demoralising- it’s not- it’s a great experience being lucky enough to see the uk’s best fly past you as you’re doing hill reps. Take the positive in things- just see what is actually possible- and the ridiculous speed the elite riders smash these climbs up with. Just get out and cycle - I’m not demoralised or broken. I didn’t get off to walk and put the bike on eBay. I just did a few more reps and enjoyed the day out 🎉. And Andrew and the gcn crew were great to chat to.

[Zwiesel]

It's kind of funny to give Andrew a (heavier) aero bike and expect aero benefits when his preferred riding style is out of the saddle 😅

[RobLarsen]

I think we need power to compare, for starters. I'd also like to see someone who normally climbs seated since climbing out of the saddle makes the whole system way less aero. Deep dive please!

[markstone]

Mr Feather, a rider who goes up hills faster than most people descend.

[FlatSpinMan]

That white GCN British champs jersey is a thing of beauty.

[andras.]

That overtake at 06:08 was a straight up murder :D

[awhite]

A test over 2 days would have been better, so he had time to recover. But as Andrew said, it’s a relatively shallow climb with a flat section so it’s one of those perhaps borderline scenarios. Overall it doesn’t change the fact that aero is faster on flat and lightweight is faster on uphills.

[TheBridgee]

Generally any long ride will have a mixture of terrain. As such a bit hard to judge on a 1.4km uphill effort. Also aero tends to lose significance when climbing. When it comes to longer rides, positioning and comfort take the prize. Ollie's awesome 1000km had him commenting that a more relaxed position would have been better and led to less pain. Really enjoyed watching this video. Andrew is such a unit!! Left the other rider looking like he was standing still.

[oliverberger]

Putting power meter pedals on it, would have taken 5 minutes.

Shame on you. 👎

[dannyjbr]

Why wouldn't you have a PM for this test?? 🤔

[andreasolsson]

Bringing one of the best amateur climbers in the world and then NOT using power meter on both bikes? Hmm....

[MrRichi]

I’m a bit late to the party here but this is very interesting. As Simon mentioned towards the end of the video, “lighter cyclists often prefer lighter bikes”. I would assume that this is because the lighter you are the more that weight of your bike/equipment will affect your w/kg. The heavier a rider is the less effect the weight of the bike will have and technically then aero would help more. So the question to be answered from this video that would be interesting is not which one is faster, but at what weight is there no difference. As I have no doubt the aero bike is faster at a higher rider weight.

[LarsKerch]

I'm a US rider and watching your rides on the more narrow (and more picturesque) UK roads I always wonder how riders and drivers get on? Your drivers seem to be extremely patient compared to US drivers.

[malmsey]

Feather out the saddle is what caused it imo, aero bikes aren't really that much more aero when the rider isn't included in the system. It's the way the aero bikes direct the air around the rider that makes the difference, and when your out the saddle it's completely different really.

[hotsky]

6:10 imagine your confidence crushed like that 😂. You're climbing along, doing great and someone just flying by you on a climb. Andrew should have yelled " don't worry its ok, I'm the best!"

[danielopicache]

Fun content. But this is just an Orbea commercial, not really a “test”.

[revelationdetailers]

I recently bought a new bike and looked very hard at aero vs. lightweight and specifically an aero Canyon or a lightweight Cannondale. I just couldn't bring myself to get over the bulk look of the aero and opted lightweight instead with wireless shifting. I ended up with a Cannondale Supersix Evo with SRAM AXS eTap. I have to say, it climbs like a goat and seems to not require the wattage my almost 13 year older Trek Madone full carbon bike. Hard to compare these bikes with such a time spread and technology that has come in last 13 years to frames. But I am happy with my choice of lightweight over aero.

[chrisdunn]

The feather needs to stand it's the way he rides to get the most power out, the climb is to short for the aero gains to show through needs a longer faster climb. The feather is a cool dude, great video keep them coming 👍

[SJPMs]

Wonder what the cyclist at 6.10 was thinking😆