Base layers have been well publicised in the cycling world of recent, whether it be used by time trialists in the UK, World Tour pros or even journalists. But just how effective are they and could we make a suit better optimised for these base layers than our competitors? Simple answer. Yes.
In testing, our first goal was to establish whether aero base layers offer any advantage at all. They do, but it depends... If you pair a ribbed base layer with a smooth sleeved suit, it is more than likely to offer a significant advantage over using that suit alone.
However, we can say that the base layers are not advantageous when paired with suits that already use trip lines or aero ribbing. In these scenarios the additional ribbing from the base layers interferes with the air flowing over the trip lines or suit ribbing, and it results in uneven flow and higher drag. This appeared with both our PRO8 and PRO8+ models, they both tested faster when used without a base layer.
Competitor brands have all gone down the road of manufacturing their top of the line suits to be optimised with a base layer. But how could we do it better?
We knew with our original PRO8 that we had a really fast suit, but as already stated, it does not work with a base layer. So we went back to the drawing board to see what was possible.
And so the PRO8 Base Layer Optimised suit was born.
When tested against a major competitor we found our new Base Layer Optimised Suit paired with a Huub base layer reined supreme, with it faster across all speeds and yaw angles, up to a massive saving of 21watts at 55km/h and 5 degrees of yaw. All data can be found graphed at the bottom.
So how do you go about buying in such a complicated line up?
We still claim that the PRO8+ is our most aero offering. However we understand that no one person is built the same, and as such a base layer optimised suit could very well be faster for some than it is for others.
We also felt it was important to provide a suit nearly as fast as our PRO8+ catered to those who have already invested in a base layer, or for those who are strong believers of the base layer.
Wind Tunnel Data
Queries
If you ever have doubts in purchasing you can reach out to our customer support team via the contact form on our website or directly at info@velotec.cc