I can regularly out-coast me riding partners. My bike is titanium, but about the same weight as my friends' bikes. There's no explaining it except for one thing - my Ultegra rim brakes don't have any drag at all. My friends' fancy bikes all have discs. I suspect that even a small, almost undetectable disc drag might be enough to account for what is a pretty significant difference at the end of a moderate 1/2 mile downhill.
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#1006.1Editing a commentAdd increased wind resistance with disc brakes? -
Hadn't thought of that. Perhaps. What do they say about "incremental gains?" -
• At High Speeds (45–55+ km/h / ~28–34+ mph): Wind-tunnel tests (such as those by Quintana Roo) show that rim brakes can have an aerodynamic advantage of roughly 3 to 7 watts.
• At Realistic Speeds (25–35 km/h / ~16–22 mph): The difference shrinks dramatically to just 1 to 1.5 watts, which is negligible for most everyday and recreational riders.
So coasting downhill at 30 to 40 mph, rim brakes would give you an advantage. Even more at higher speeds.
https://quintanarootri.com/blogs/new...riathlon-bikes
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